When It Really Rains

 

The other day I biked in the rain.  Drizzle really, underneath the canopy it was hardly noticeable.  The forecast suggested rain all day long today.  But there was a period of mere “scattered showers” from noon till two and, as the rain stopped and the clouds broke some I suited up in my anti-tick garb, pants and gaders that have all been sprayed with napalm and casually made my way down to the rail trail. 

 

Within moments of setting off it started to pour.  Crossing Cedar Lane I was doused and I considered returning.  Eh?  What did I care.  You get wet.  You get dry.  I sped along reckoning that soon I’d be beneath the canopy.  And indeed, soon I was beneath the tall deciduous tree cover and I made an important discovery that when it rains, when it really rains hard, this doesn’t make a bit of fucking difference.  The leaves catch the deluge and send it right on down when the rain is fierce.  Summer time, and then, just like that, the rain ceased and I pedaled along sopping wet but no wetter for the onward effort. 

Napping in the afternoon my older daughter burst in and hesitated.  “What?” I asked, newly awakened, annoyed.   “We have an ant crisis.” She informed me.  Bug crises seem to follow my daughters with great regularity.  There’s always one more bug for me to kill and I dismissed this call for help and attempted to return to sleep.  And later, when I went to pull out my Planter’s sunflower seed canister, I noticed that there was indeed an infestation of the nearly microscopic red ants that I’d notice a few of the other day, mobbing the cabinet and most of everything within.  Oh dear. 

 

My wife and summoned our bug-loving daughters as this was as good a chance as any to review just why it was we needed seal bags shut and not leave things in here half opened.  The ants had closed a pincer move on just about everything of interest to them on all three shelves and we pulled everything out, boiled a pot of water and set about throwing away anything that was open into the trash and anything that could be salvaged into the sink.  Chief sanitation officer, I suggested that rather than tossing the garbage into the garage we ferry it up to the end of the driveway where trash collection takes place, far, far away from the kitchen.   We’ll be need a shop now to replenish things.

Thursday, 07/08/21