Part of feeling pressured, overwhelmed and frazzled is having a ton of demands and no outlets or ways to minimize pressure. There are a lot of ways to cope with that - the best one being exercise or simply “taking a break.” I’m not a big television person and don’t even own a tv. But I wanted a way to “take a break” without having to go to the gym or get sweaty or eat. So I bought an ant farm. I always wanted one, so I indugled. $19.95. You have to order the ants separately - and they suggest “Harvester Ants.” Today I found out why.

The Ants came. They are all female (the book tells me so I didn’t have to look). And they have pinchers. HUGE jaws that look like they could pack a mean wallop. And they were pissed. 25 of them were crammed into this little tube not much bigger than a fat slurpee straw. At the top of the tube was a warning. Caution! Ants can sting! (Their emphasis). I dumped them into their little NASA space age blue gel ant farm and noticed (1) the SIZE of those freaking jaws!!! (2) the SIZE of those freaking jaws!!! (3) two were dead and (4) the SIZE of those jaws!! These are BIG ants. From a foot to 14 inches away I can see those jaws. I’m having visions of nightmares already. I’m considering duct taping the lid shut even though it’s hard to get off or off anyway.

They’re mostly running around, checking out the space and trying to climb the walls. I guess they’ll settle in, order pizza and argue over who gets what hole later. (The instructions come with a fat blue toothpick and instructions to punch four inch deep holes in the goo to “get them started.”)

The larger ants have all migrated towards the top (left) of the gel slope and are all making concerted efforts to climb the acrylic walls. The smaller ants are exploring the gel, have gathered at the low end of the farm and are doing more antenna rubbing. After about 10 minutes of frantic activity and climbing however they all just stopped and appeared to fall asleep - spaced an equi-distance apart from each other. One or two of the larger ants have ventured into the holes and started to remove gel. Interesting….since the book said it usually took them 24 to 48 hours to start doing that.

There are two ants I’ve dubbed “The Amazon Twins” since they are the two largest ants in the farm. I think after watching them for awhile I’ll be able to tell at least some of them apart. The death toll has risen to four of the 30-something ants on the farm. I removed the bodies and things seem to calm down. Watching them groom themselves, or gather in pairs head to head with antenna linked as they appear to be talking is really just amazing. I think I could watch them for hours. I’m SO glad a magnifying glass was included. I may buy a larger one though. So much fun to watch! Okay - I’ll quit gushing. New toy and I’m a bug and insect fan from way back.

I’m fortunate. There are no tractors to buy, no ant food or water to sprinkle (the gel itself is 100% nutrient and water).
Either way, it’s totally fascinating and if you have kids I suggest you buy them each their own farm.