I don’t know about you, but I already miss the dog days of summer, just sitting in the sun and relaxing now and again.
Of course, not even the hummers had it easy all summer long.
We haven’t seen any hummers for several days now.
I also liked watching the occasional bird take a dip in our bird bath.
Of course, not even the red-wing blackbird had it easy all summer.
- Red-wing blackbird bath interrupted by a baby starling.
We haven’t seen a bird take a bath for weeks now.
I also miss the ants that were in our backyard. We had a huge ant nest. But one day about two weeks ago, I looked outside and saw hundreds of them lifting off into the air. Mark said they were leaving our backyard to mate and start a new nest somewhere else. Like it could be better anywhere else.
I’m thinking the world looked pretty large from an ant’s point of view.
Some ants were more hesitant than others.
Some ants had a hard time getting off the ground.
Like most people, I wanted to help the little ant.
But even the ants didn’t have it easy all summer. This crow came along more than once to poke at the nest with its sharp beak.
The crow poking the nest aggravated the ants and caused them to squirt their formic acid on the crow. This helps kill the crow’s parasites.
So when summer ends, ants take to the air to mate and start a new nest, hummers and black birds migrate south, and birds that stay around all winter stop taking baths and go dirty for months at a time. Farewell ye dog days of summer and all the critters that I got to see. I hope to see some of you next spring.
As for Little Dipper? Well, she’s adjusting to the end of summer just fine.
