Five hundred and seventy-eight little days ago (but who’s counting these little things?), little ol’ me wrote a little blog post, Day 1790: Thankful for the little things. Yesterday, I was a little perturbed by many little things when I was writing yesterday’s little post, so I sent Michael this little email:
Hello my darling,I would say we have an infestation of ants . This is based on many of them crawling on me this morning while I was blogging, which is a new experience for me here at Squanticello. Let us research kind ways to invite them to leave.Much love,Ann
When I got home from work, Michael was more than a little freaked out at the not-so-little size of the invaders, which turned out to be carpenter ants. He said, “Usually I don’t think of insects as animals, but these enormous winged things are definitely animals.” Michael spent many little moments yesterday identifying the big ants’ little points of entry and applying spray that is kind to little things like children and pets.
I didn’t take any pictures of those little things, but I invite you to spot the little things in today’s little photos.
I don’t see any little or large ants as I’m creating this little post, so I’d say that Michael’s efforts paid off, in a big way.
Here‘s “The Little Things You Do Together” from a little musical called Company:
Here are the great lyrics to “The Little Things You Do Together” by that musical giant, Stephen Sondheim:
It’s the little things you do together
Do together
Do together
That make perfect relationships.
The hobbies you pursue together
Savings you accrue together
Looks you misconstrue together
That make marriage a joy.It’s the little things you share together
Swear together
Wear together
That make perfect relationships.
The concerts you enjoy together
Neighbors you annoy together
Children you destroy together
That keep marriage intact.It’s not so hard to be married
When two maneuver as one
It’s not so hard to be married
And Jesus Christ, is it fun.It’s sharing little winks together
Drinks together
Kinks together
That make marriage a joy.
The bargains that you shop together
Cigarettes you stop together
Clothing that you swap together
That make perfect relationships.It’s not talk of God and the decade ahead that
Allows you to get through the worst.
It’s “I do,” and, “You don’t,” and, “Nobody said that,”
And, “Who brought the subject up first?”It’s the little things…
The little things, the little things, the little thingsThe little ways you try together
Cry together
Lie together
That make perfect relationships.
Becoming a cliche together
Growing old and gray together
Withering away together
That make marriage a joy.It’s not so hard to be married,
It’s much the simplest of crimes.
It’s not so hard to be married,
I’ve done it three or four times.It’s people that you hate together
Bait together
Date together
That make marriage a joy.
It’s things like using force together
Shouting till you’re hoarse together
Getting a divorce together
That make perfect relationships.
Uh uh
Kiss kiss
Mmmm mmmmm.
I’m greatly looking forward to all your little comments, below.
Gratitude for the little things helps me deal with all the little and big things every day, so big thanks to those who help me create this little blog and — of course! — to YOU.
Soon after publishing this post, I made up some new little lyrics for that song, more relevant for tall Michael and little me:
It’s battling ants together
Making sure you dance together
Keeping the romance together
That make perfect relationships.
May the carpenter ants pack up their wings and things and vanish Squanticello in a hurry, Ann!
You packed a lot into this little comment, Mark!
If you are going to break the rules, like if the door is open or shut, I guess it is always best to do it with a keg of beer….
You notice the little things, Trent.
I have a lot of experience with ants, especially carpenter ants, which are endemic in my area. If you saw a lot of them with wings yesterday, they were probably swarming. They do that at this time of year but it usually only lasts one day. The fact that they disappeared after spraying does not mean the ants have disappeared. They can remain extremely hidden in the meantime. If you can track down where they are coming from and remove the section of what they are in, you usually get a permanent cure. They may be housed in a big rotting fruit tree nearby (as happened in our case), and if so you may see a thin line of ants outside the building walking towards the foundation. They may have a satellite nest inside the house, which is why they are swarming there. They like damp wood for their main nest.
I like carpenter ants even though we’ve had some battles with them. They’re pretty smart.
I want to open the door to our garage and discovered that it was full of flying gigantic ants. We hadn’t seen an ant in our garage before! They were walking from our cherry tree into the wall of our garage behind the clapboard we eventually found their nest in the header beam over the garage door. We had to remove the cherry tree because it was at risk of falling in a kid in a wind (not due to the ants) and we replaced the header beam. Solved the problem.
Good luck!
Thanks for this big, helpful comment, Maureen!
I vote for the little duck on the lovely stream full of little drops of water! 😊
I vote for all the lovely little things in your comment, Elouise!
When I was a kid I got an ant farm for my birthday. The ants—carpenter ants—were shipped separately and arrived in a plastic tube. As I was putting them into the farm one almost escaped. I still remember how it marched across the table looking very proud of itself before I caught it and put it in with the others. Since my birthday is in the middle of winter I wasn’t able to find an ants’ nest to replenish the farm. Slowly they died off until there was only one left, and I still hope the last survivor was the one that had nearly escaped. It was a small thing but a big lesson.
Thanks for this big comment from your big heart, Chris.
Ants are so annoying
So true
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For me the opposite of a shortcut is a haircut
Here’s a little thing I can tell you about myself, Ann. “Company” was my first introduction to musical theater. I believe it was 1971, and a friend’s family took me with them into Los Angeles and I saw it with at least some of the original cast. Elaine Stritch and Dean Jones anyway. I smile every time I think of it because I was so in awe of the entire experience. I’m a big Sondheim fan, as well. It IS the little things that bring a smile. Not ants, however. LOL!
To quote Stevie Wonder, Debra, “I love, I love, I love, I love every little thing about you.”