A couple of years ago, we were inundated with little black ants. They were everywhere, including places they were certainly NOT welcome…namely, my kitchen! Ugh! One morning I walked in to start my coffee. I left a box of cereal on the counter the night before and there was a black line of ants marching to and fro…in a direct line from the box to the corner of the window. It reminded me of that song we sang as kids… “The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah!”
I think they were so bad that year because our hummingbird feeder hung from a hook outside the kitchen window and it leaked. That just invited them in. I mixed up a solution of sugar and borax in a bottle of water. I saved a few caps from soft drink bottles, put a cotton ball in each one, and poured the borax/sugar solution over them till it was soaked. I kept several on the sill between the window and the screen. For a few days, they were just covered with ants, but they took the borax back to the nest and that got rid of them.
Last summer, we hung the hummingbird feeder in a different place and I as soon as I saw the first couple of ants, the cotton balls and borax came back out. They were gone before they got a foothold. I’m hoping the same will be true this year. Mr. FixIt forgot about the hummingbird feeder and put it up in the old spot where it hung for a couple of days before we remembered it shouldn’t go there. So, here’s hoping they will be gone soon.
Mr. FixIt is really knocking these chores off our very long list. Yesterday, he replaced boards in a door frame in the building where carpenter ants got to it. I continued sorting through papers and started another pile for shredding. Oh, and cleaned out the fridge. Who doesn’t just love THAT job? I fed my sourdough starter again because Little will be here in a month and I promised to teach her how to bake bread. I’ve been a little lax at feeding it so I may need to start fresh. I’ll know in a day or two.
The weather forecast said rain the last couple of days, but the most we had wasn’t even enough to wet the sidewalks. We are getting so dry, the grass is crispy when you walk on it. When the wind blows, yellow leaves float on the breeze as though it were autumn. The only upside when it’s this dry is less mowing. My sweetheart went out with the weed eater the other evening and was working on the bank by the road. The weed eater jammed and shut off. That’s when he heard a buzzing sound. He looked down and right in the area where the next swipe would have gone was a yellowjacket’s nest! They were going in and out of a hole in the ground. They aren’t very aggressive at this time of year, but come July, this could have been a very different story. God was watching out for my man, that’s for sure.
Mr. FixIt waters the garden every evening, but we’re going to have to start watering twice a day as hot as it’s been. I need to feed the tomato plants. The pool is clearing up more and it’s about warm enough to get in and vacuum the bottom. The exciting news is, the utility people are coming out this week to mark their lines so we can finally lay the electric out to my little campground! Between Mr. FixIt’s strokes and covid, that job got pushed back and I’m really excited to get it done. Then we can have campouts with my friends and it won’t cost a thing!
Well, the week is half gone. My goodness…how the time flies! The peonies started to bloom today. I’m looking forward to the weekend with a little break in the heat…and hopefully some moisture.
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“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”
Proverbs 6:6-8 ESV