Made a big batch of granola last week. Let it cool and then snapped the lids on, left them on the cabinet top and went off to bed. The next am, chatting to someone by the cabinet and idly glance over at the window... eyes stray to the granola.
...WHOA...
A whole battalion of ants. I mean- the advance guard and scouts have returned and brought in the troops and they're moving out the goods. No joke. Heaps and swarms of tiny black ants.
Now- honey is expensive, nuts are expensive, wheat germ can be next to impossible to find, brown sugar is hauled over from North America.
Are you getting this? This granola is just not on the list to toss without a really REALLY REALLY good reason. I made very quick work of the hordes outside the container that was being raided. Moved the box and made a RAID of my own. Then scooped off the top inch or so of granola.
And then picked individual ants for quite awhile.
A Very Nice Lady walks by. Do I want to know what you're doing? She asks.
I pause and consider (thoughts in head at time: NiceLadyIsFromAmericaProbablyHasReallyNiceVeryCleanHouseWithNaryAMouseNeverAnAntAlwaysHasVeryCleanFoodAndHands)- No I say.
She grins and walks on.
I discovered that if you put the container of granola on a light colored surface and walk away the ants surface on their own. Then you come back every 5 min (at first) and clean up black bodies. And then at 10 min intervals. And then less and less frequently over the next 3 or 4 hours.
And Very Nice Lady was spotted a few times picking ants and unceremoniously and very heartlessly killing them.
And Very Nice Lady had granola for breakfast Sun am. She asked for it. And she fed it to her husband. And her cousin. And his wife.
And I'm eating it, too.
And we haven't seen it move for days.
;)
ps- How would you feel if you were the Ant Commander and had sent out your best battalion on a raid only to have them all wiped out? Half the hill- GONE. How Sad.
...WHOA...
A whole battalion of ants. I mean- the advance guard and scouts have returned and brought in the troops and they're moving out the goods. No joke. Heaps and swarms of tiny black ants.
Now- honey is expensive, nuts are expensive, wheat germ can be next to impossible to find, brown sugar is hauled over from North America.
Are you getting this? This granola is just not on the list to toss without a really REALLY REALLY good reason. I made very quick work of the hordes outside the container that was being raided. Moved the box and made a RAID of my own. Then scooped off the top inch or so of granola.
And then picked individual ants for quite awhile.
A Very Nice Lady walks by. Do I want to know what you're doing? She asks.
I pause and consider (thoughts in head at time: NiceLadyIsFromAmericaProbablyHasReallyNiceVeryCleanHouseWithNaryAMouseNeverAnAntAlwaysHasVeryCleanFoodAndHands)- No I say.
She grins and walks on.
I discovered that if you put the container of granola on a light colored surface and walk away the ants surface on their own. Then you come back every 5 min (at first) and clean up black bodies. And then at 10 min intervals. And then less and less frequently over the next 3 or 4 hours.
And Very Nice Lady was spotted a few times picking ants and unceremoniously and very heartlessly killing them.
And Very Nice Lady had granola for breakfast Sun am. She asked for it. And she fed it to her husband. And her cousin. And his wife.
And I'm eating it, too.
And we haven't seen it move for days.
;)
ps- How would you feel if you were the Ant Commander and had sent out your best battalion on a raid only to have them all wiped out? Half the hill- GONE. How Sad.
I'm sorry, I had to laugh over this. I could just imagine you drooling over the thought of good, healthy granola and the absolute and utter dismay at All. Those. Ants! Glad you were able to salvage most of it!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't ya just re-cook the granola and eat it with your eyes closed? How would ya know if that crunch is wheat germ... or an ant?
ReplyDeleteEwwwww! Enjoy what was salvagable.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the 5 second rule applies to ants also?
ReplyDeleteyour story made me smile...and everybody's comments here too! :)
ReplyDeletethe ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah! i would have been beside myself it it happened here with plentiful nuts, honey, and brown sugar!
ReplyDeletehahahaha... i like the way you think. ;) i drop something on the ground, pick it up... look around to see if anyone witnessed and then pop it in my mouth anywayz... and food isn't that scarce here. hee.
ReplyDeleteLove this - throw away your gorgeous granola is NEVER an option, glad we think the same on this. Well done for the rescue mission. Absolutely justified and necessary by all accounts!!
ReplyDeletehaha!! glad to finally catch up on your posts...I'm currently doing what you were doing...cooking/laundry for a work crew...only they roped me into painting today from dawn to dusk and not much time to keep up with the goings on out there in cyberspace!!
ReplyDelete