Fleas and Fire Ants

For the last two weeks, my biggest battles have been fleas and fire ants. One is at work. The other is at home.

 

Fortunately fleas are at work.

 

As far as the fire ants, my roommate calls me a mass murderer.

In my garden, I work to be as organic as possible until fire ants are found; at that point, I go nuclear.

At work we are having construction taking place in many parts of the building over the summer months when students are not present. As a result the resident vermin (rats, opossums, skunks, and raccoons) have been greatly disturbed from their established territories under the building and have  created and infestation of fleas, particularly in carpeted areas of the building –which is of course the part of the building where the principal has chosen to have administrative meetings this summer. Even though the exterminators made their rounds this past weekend, I still cannot walk into the room without my legs starting to itch uncontrollably.

Because work has been so demanding for the last few months, much like this blog, my garden has been greatly abandoned. Unlike the blog, however, the garden has become overgrown with grass and various weeds. When I began cleaning it up in earnest, I found it difficult to step far into it without being overcome by fire ants crawling across my feet and up my legs, hitching rides on grass stems to be carried high up on my thighs. Fortunately, for me, my work has required much thinking which is best facilitated by manual labor in my yard.

So, my garden, my work, and the blogs have all benefitted from the time spent grinding dirt under my fingernails.

 

And my expanding waistline makes me think that much the Department of Agriculture has to say about the nutritional value and calorie content of veggies is a lie.

 

While at work, I have to trust that the exterminators have brought the fleas under control. At home I know I have the fire ants on retreat.

Now I can start doing the physical work that gets my brain most engaged.