fighting the war on terror in my kitchen

I had really hoped it wouldn’t come to this. I haven’t been completely forthright in my posts. There has been a battle going on in my kitchen that I haven’t told you about. A secret war. However, it is part of our home and therefore should be mentioned. We have ants. They are tiny and plentiful. I loathe them. Just when I think I’m finally rid of them, they are back with a vengeance. They are grease ants so they are into anything with oils or fats. They are small enough that they are able to get into a closed peanut butter jar. They must wiggle their way through the tread somehow. They didn’t show any interest in the olive oil however, so when my MIL suggested I use it on my unfinished wood table in the kitchen I gave it a whorl. Guess what? They are swarming my table sucking the oil out of it! Argh! Here’s another thing I haven’t mentioned about ants. They are EVERYWHERE in the yard. Fine, ants live outside, but when they crawl on my feet, up my legs, and in between my toes and then bite I am not okay with this. And it’s EVERY time I go outside. Mister Fox doesn’t believe me. That is neither here nor there however much it upsets me. What kills me about it is that outside is my place of zen, but it has been anything but zen-like. After an ant encounter I feel crawly for the rest of the day. Mister Fox is concerned that I may be showing signs of schizophrenia. Whatever. I have scoured the internet for ways to naturally get rid of the ants. I have tried them all. Nothing has worked. Except vinegar, that kills them on contact. But nothing works to prevent them and I am tired of waking up to a kitchen full of ants only to spend the next hour exterminating them to have them return the next day. So, the plan is to get some caulk and seal around all the windows before I lose my mind. In the meantime, I may store all our food in the fridge.

(I had pictures for this post but didn’t think you’d all like to see them…)

 

 

 

before and after the rain (the little that we had)

I was out snapping photos quick before it rained the other day and baby bunny was hanging out munching clover. Thunder rumbled in the distance and I said to bun, it’s going to storm soon, you should find a place to stay safe from the storm. I wandered around taking a few more photos and looked back to see the little bunny crawling under the fire bowl. He understood me!

 

 

Waiting for the rain.

 

 

 

 

So I know I said I was done with garden posts and was going to focus on the inside of the house, but I lied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tigerella tomatoes are getting their stripes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moon and stars watermelon leaves have their “stars”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s already a pepper on there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cucumbers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dragonflies seem to enjoy perching on top of the cucumber teepee to sun themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zinnia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lupine and flax

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stargazer lilies blooming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hibiscus starting to bloom

 

 

 

 

 

We also got a grill. (Thanks Mom and Dad and G.G. for the anniversary gift!) Now we just need to finish the patio so it has a proper place in the yard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fantastic Mister Fox manning the grill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I promise the next post will be on the inside of the house. We are having an Ocean Day play date on the 16th and I need to get the house in order before then. So look forward to pictures of Ocean Day fun and painted rooms!