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Jul 30: Childhood Reminder of Ants
10 years ago
|██████████|SANITY
|██████████|ENERGY
Status: Still Melting
█ Writing a journal in attempt to follow a resolution to try and do so at least once a month. Nothing too much to report as I'm still working on the motivation issues, though I suppose I have some progress as I've actually been scribbling a few things the past couple of days. Hopefully I'll be able to put a bit more focus on it and get it into a more finished state in a reasonable amount of time.
█ Though as to what the title of this particular refers to, I find a chunk of memories I retain from my childhood (that were along more positive veins instead of negative ones) were of my interaction with ants, even if it was just watching them. I believe the earliest one I have was perhaps that of when I was in pre-school/kindergarden or whatever it's called these days, where one of the other kids brought in an ant farm for show and tell. I remember picking them up in my backyard, my dad building an ant farm that really only existed for a few days from my recollection. I recall it being kind of elaborate in design, but thinking back on it not very functional; certainly wasn't something that you could bring indoors or move around easily. On a few occasions I would see queen ants running along the sidewalks and pavement and would attempt to see if I could take care of them to the point where they'd start a colony. It never did pan out as I didn't really know anything about how to take care of ants. I certainly did read a fair share of books about ants, but that information was generally about stuff about their behaviors, physical trails, life cycle; nothing at all of how to actually take care of them. This was all during the time when the internet was still young, browsers clunky, connections slow. So I never did have the knowledge to take care of a newly mated queen ant looking to establish a colony. It was something that slipped outside my sphere of awareness as there was fewer reasons for me to be walking outside on the sidewalks for any length of time. The odds of me encountering queen ants as such of course went down next to zero.
Yet despite that, while bringing in groceries from the car I spotted one: A queen ant, something I hadn't seen for year; maybe even in a decade. She still had wings, but considering there weren't any other ants flying about I suspected she already had mated and was looking for a place to found a colony. It took a minute or so but I eventually managed to pick her up by the wings and placed her inside an empty tic-tac box while I tried to figure out what exactly what I should do with her. Internet to the rescue. All my previous attempts centered around various kinds of ant-farms which I eventually learned weren't all that great for the purpose of getting a queen started. The dirt you put in and moisture levels would either be too dry, too wet, or end up with mold growths. I learned all that needed to be done was to have a container where you can place water inside and block it off with a medium (in my case paper towel) and to block the entrance to said container as well. Test tubes were recommended, but since I didn't have any of those around I did think of something that was pretty close: An old pencil lead container, from when I was still drawing my art with a mechanical pencil. So I filled it with water, blocked it and blocked it off with some paper towel. The pencil lead container already had a cap that wasn't exactly air tight so I used that to keep the queen inside. All of that was done earlier this month and today she's still in there, still alive; and with seven larvae. It's as far as I've gotten with a queen ant. Previous best was some eggs, and that was an accidental discovery as I dismantled an earlier attempt that was having a mold outbreak and discovered that there was a queen deeper inside (That I didn't even know was still alive)
So far the experience is nostalgic for me, a reminder of that childhood wonder and interest I had. It's kind of strange to have that sensation of... I suppose 'life' is the best way I can put it. Perhaps it's the only thing from my childhood that doesn't have the burden of negativity saddled with it in one form or another. No heavy burden of expectation from another. No 'ultimate' goal. No final 'purpose'. It was just me and my personal interest in ants. Course I'll be a little sad and disappointed if this attempt doesn't pan out either, but I already failed at it multiple times before; it never changed my interest, nor my drive it seems cause I think I feel just as excited about the prospect as I ever did when the first time I tried; maybe perhaps more so since I have the internet help me through the attempt this time around. Though yeah, it's a strange unfamiliar feeling overall. Something I haven't felt in a long time.
|██████████|ENERGY
Status: Still Melting
█ Writing a journal in attempt to follow a resolution to try and do so at least once a month. Nothing too much to report as I'm still working on the motivation issues, though I suppose I have some progress as I've actually been scribbling a few things the past couple of days. Hopefully I'll be able to put a bit more focus on it and get it into a more finished state in a reasonable amount of time.
█ Though as to what the title of this particular refers to, I find a chunk of memories I retain from my childhood (that were along more positive veins instead of negative ones) were of my interaction with ants, even if it was just watching them. I believe the earliest one I have was perhaps that of when I was in pre-school/kindergarden or whatever it's called these days, where one of the other kids brought in an ant farm for show and tell. I remember picking them up in my backyard, my dad building an ant farm that really only existed for a few days from my recollection. I recall it being kind of elaborate in design, but thinking back on it not very functional; certainly wasn't something that you could bring indoors or move around easily. On a few occasions I would see queen ants running along the sidewalks and pavement and would attempt to see if I could take care of them to the point where they'd start a colony. It never did pan out as I didn't really know anything about how to take care of ants. I certainly did read a fair share of books about ants, but that information was generally about stuff about their behaviors, physical trails, life cycle; nothing at all of how to actually take care of them. This was all during the time when the internet was still young, browsers clunky, connections slow. So I never did have the knowledge to take care of a newly mated queen ant looking to establish a colony. It was something that slipped outside my sphere of awareness as there was fewer reasons for me to be walking outside on the sidewalks for any length of time. The odds of me encountering queen ants as such of course went down next to zero.
Yet despite that, while bringing in groceries from the car I spotted one: A queen ant, something I hadn't seen for year; maybe even in a decade. She still had wings, but considering there weren't any other ants flying about I suspected she already had mated and was looking for a place to found a colony. It took a minute or so but I eventually managed to pick her up by the wings and placed her inside an empty tic-tac box while I tried to figure out what exactly what I should do with her. Internet to the rescue. All my previous attempts centered around various kinds of ant-farms which I eventually learned weren't all that great for the purpose of getting a queen started. The dirt you put in and moisture levels would either be too dry, too wet, or end up with mold growths. I learned all that needed to be done was to have a container where you can place water inside and block it off with a medium (in my case paper towel) and to block the entrance to said container as well. Test tubes were recommended, but since I didn't have any of those around I did think of something that was pretty close: An old pencil lead container, from when I was still drawing my art with a mechanical pencil. So I filled it with water, blocked it and blocked it off with some paper towel. The pencil lead container already had a cap that wasn't exactly air tight so I used that to keep the queen inside. All of that was done earlier this month and today she's still in there, still alive; and with seven larvae. It's as far as I've gotten with a queen ant. Previous best was some eggs, and that was an accidental discovery as I dismantled an earlier attempt that was having a mold outbreak and discovered that there was a queen deeper inside (That I didn't even know was still alive)
So far the experience is nostalgic for me, a reminder of that childhood wonder and interest I had. It's kind of strange to have that sensation of... I suppose 'life' is the best way I can put it. Perhaps it's the only thing from my childhood that doesn't have the burden of negativity saddled with it in one form or another. No heavy burden of expectation from another. No 'ultimate' goal. No final 'purpose'. It was just me and my personal interest in ants. Course I'll be a little sad and disappointed if this attempt doesn't pan out either, but I already failed at it multiple times before; it never changed my interest, nor my drive it seems cause I think I feel just as excited about the prospect as I ever did when the first time I tried; maybe perhaps more so since I have the internet help me through the attempt this time around. Though yeah, it's a strange unfamiliar feeling overall. Something I haven't felt in a long time.
I particularly like that ants seem a whole lot more docile and non-threatening than spiders. :-D
to be able to wonder at the beauty of nature as a child does is a gift; don't give it up:)
Also, I raised a House Sparrow chick for a few days (when I was a kid) until I gave it to a Pet store to better care for. They kept in touch with photos to let me know it was fine and eventually returned to the wild.
Btw, how is your ant farm coming along?