Sent them scurrying

   Son and I were moving a pile of boards that have been forever an eyesore on the back side of the property.  We were using garden hoes to pull the boards free from the vines then would drag them to be hauled away. This method was working wonders and the pile was quickly disappearing.  Along the way, we were uncovering a myriad of critters.  Small snakes, frogs, lizards, spiders, walking stick bugs and ants...lots of ants..all made their home in and under the boards.  Care was taken to move each critter to a new area until we reached the bottom boards.  Nope...most of those critters would have to be dealt with in a different way.

  Under the bottom boards were thousands of carpenter ants.  Tunnels and "rooms" had been dug beneath the pile.  Those "rooms" were nurseries and filled with large ant eggs.  When we pulled back the rotted planks, the ants knew their world had been invaded. More ants than ever poured out of the tunnels and started their attack.  Others (the nurse maids) started scurrying around as they were protecting the eggs.  Each ant grabbed an egg and started carrying it down into the tunnels.  Son and I had to step back and come up with a plan to eradicate the ants without getting too many bites.  He headed to the shed for some spray and I headed to the house for my camera.  By the time we got back to the pile, most of the eggs had been spirited away but the soldier ants were still on a rampage. 

  Carpenter ants are a menace to anything made of wood.  Even many trees are infested with the critters. The damage can be devastating, to say the least.  While I usually go by the mantra of "Live and let live", I draw the line on critters like this (and termites) that can and will literally eat me out of house and home.  Not today, Carpenter Ants...not today.  These won't be munching my house nor trees.  They are gone.

The Wild Ride

   Before the horrendous lightning storms set in for the afternoon, Son and I were hard at work with the yard cleanup.  Most of the smaller stuff is done so it is now onto the huge, mostly unmovable things...like old vehicles and tractors that Mark seems to love to collect.  I am seriously considering making some sort of planters out of them!  (Not really.)  One of those "unmovables" is an old pickup truck that has seen far better days.  The thing just would not crank since the wiring is bad.  So...we pushed.  Well, he did most of the pushing and I sort of pushed and steered.  I am sure you are familiar with the process of the weaker person steers through the open driver's side door and pushes when the opportunity arises.  We pushed.

 For those of you who do not know, we live on quite a steep hill.  While having no intentions of pushing that goofy, nonworking truck too far, we inadvertently got "caught up in the moment".  Yep, one little drop-off led to a nigh on calamitous event!  The truck started rolling faster and faster as it made its way down the hillside!  It had two possible ways of ending badly...in the marsh or in the creek.  Not good!

  So...me being the "pilot" of this thing did what any good, non-thinking driver would do.  I hopped into the truck!  (This is not an easy feat for an old lady.)  With the door still flapping against the wind, I tried to steer between oak trees, peach trees and yard tools.  Whee!  I had no idea where I was to turn at any given second.  It was my goal just to miss things as I barreled along all the while Son chased behind.  Bumpity, bump! 

  Within seconds, it blasted through my brain that I needed to stop the runaway truck...no brakes!  What???  Now how was I supposed to stop this rocket?  Well...it became apparent that anything "soft" would suffice in a pinch.  Mark had put new planking on the trailer about 5 years ago and left the old boards in a pile in the edge of the woods.  Dirt had washed down the hill against these boards and the mound was covered with vines, leaves and straw.  This giant "pillow" seemed an obvious choice if I could steer the maniac truck that way.  I did and WHOOMP!  The feisty beast came to a halt.  Whew!

  Son caught up with me just as I put the truck in park.  He and I both broke out in a fit of giggles but not before he asked "Are you trying to be one of the 'Dukes of Hazzard' or just going for a joyride?" making reference to the wild and crazy television show he had watched as a kid.  Yep!  That has been my life-long goal!  Actually, this ride was the most exhilarating thing that has happened to me in a long time!  What a wild. two-hundred foot ride on an otherwise boring, work-filled morning this turned out to be!