Of ants and mice

The past week we have been under attack day and night by flying ants, another learning process.

In London it always seems to be the ubiquitous black ant flying on the hottest day before a storm, dotting the pavements with bloated wingless queens scurrying to find a nesting place.

Here in the country disturbing paving slabs from a path for repairing the patio has become an eye opener, airfleets of different coloured and sized kings and queens cheek by jowel with each other, orange, red and black. Eggs brought to the surface to cool them down as well.  I always feel gulty to be the alien giant from outside sent to 'punish' them by removing their sky, they're so industrious.

A quick bit of reference to discover that the orange / reds don't like daylight much, we then learned a lesson of not having an open window with a light source, they fly at night and are pretty quick to get in. It looked like a flying ant convention in the entrance hall.

Now to mice. It's harvest time, our green sward between the wheat fields has become a haven for the refugees, but grossly overpopulated as a result. Samantha has been working overtime to ensure an even distribution of mice throughlout the house. We got back from shopping to find a mouse 'retreat from Moscow' being enacted in the hall by both cats, some mice hiding, others well and truely despatched. As a result of this activity we've decided the multipatterned hall carpet has to go sooner rather than later, there is a limit to the number of dead mice you can tread on and keep your sanity.

There is an upside, rescuing a survivor or two from the cats (I am still a townie as the country born would let the cat finish it) , the feel of a little warm frame breathing heavily in your hand and finding a place to release and give it a chance. This mornings ran straight into the lower pond with a little plop, swam masterfully to a lilly pad, gave me a stare saying, get on with it rescue me again and once scouped out proceeded to squeak a few times and run into the bushes, maybe it was thanks, I'd like to think so.