Today was spent weeding a couple of beds that looked like a cage fight between ants and weeds. I joined in the fray with a hand held tool at first, but after getting an ant bite on my hand and realizing how soft the soil was after all the rain, I quickly determined that I could get more done from afar. So, hoe in hand, I joined the conflict.
In the battle between the weeds and the insects, lines were clearly drawn. The ants owned the back wall of the bed, while the taproots held the middle ground. However, in one instance, they formed a symbiotic relationship. I'm not sure who was there first, but the dandelions (3, to be specific), were growing straight through the ant mounds. It makes sense, I guess. The ants make the soil light and frothy, making it easy for the weeds to create their long, deep, carrot-like roots.
Regardless, I had the hoe! So, in this battle, I won. That, and the bucket of fire ant killer we spread around the area. (Insert evil laugh here.) Really, I'm not a violent person, but those fire ants have had it in for me since I moved back to Georgia a couple of years ago. I get scars where the damn things bite me. So, payback is hell, little creatures!
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