It was a pure miracle the other day that we now have a beautiful, lush backyard. Thanks to our friends, Jim and Jenn, who ordered too much sod, we reaped the benefit of the excess. Will had to work extra hard the entire weekend to cut out the weeds that existed, grade the ground and lay out the sod but the result is an amazing backyard...my dream come true!
Here's my hubby laying out the sod pieces. Those things were heavy!! I hadn't gone to the gym that day but it definitely took the place of my weight training.
And the "after" shot.
We had to order more sod from Lowe's to finish the other half of the backyard and it turned out great as well. Here's a shot from the left to the right. I had no idea our backyard was that big!
So, just as we were admiring the beauty of our yard and planting fresh vegetables in our vegetable garden and becoming very "Leave it to Beaver-esque," along came some friends. OK, not friends, more like bitter enemies. But I have to start at the beginning...
About 6 months ago, well, maybe longer, Mikayla was bitten by something on her foot. It hurt enough to elicit a few tears and produce a very white and red bump. She said it had been an ant but I didn't know if I'd ever been bitten by an ant and didn't really know what to think. A few months later, and a few bites later (one on Tyler that produced a cyst-like bump), I started to re-analyze the critters that were around my yard. Then it happened, the moment that began the "hunt for the truth." Tyler, Mikayla and I had been planting our Sugar Snap Pea seeds and Mikayla said, "I think I know where the ants are coming from, mommy!" She had pointed to the space between the railroad ties of our vegetable garden. I, being the "touch and not just look" type, took my trowel and scratched between the ties. Out poured hundreds of ants. Now, we're not just talking
normal ants. Oh no. They came out with teeth bared, literally. Well, their scissor-like mandibles were bared. No kidding, they came out ready to fight. Luckily we weren't standing on their nest but it would have been quite painful if we had been.
I immediately began a search on the internet to find out exactly what these agressive, teeth-gnashing, multi-sized ant-looking-things really were. I found it...Red Imported Fire Ants, or RIFA, as Los Angeles County calls them. And there was a hotline. A hotline! It had to be serious or they wouldn't have included a hotline. So I called it. Left a message. On Monday, bright and early, the RIFA people called. Within a few days, they were sending some "agents" to assess the situation. They came bearing a handout of what the FIRE ants were capable of complete with some photos of some not-so-nice skin reactions that resulted from their bites. I'd been bitten several times and the phrase, "when bit, it feels like a hot needle in the flesh" was a pretty accurate description.
Here's a shot of the little buggers. I highlighted the ones I could in yellow but there are quite a few more. They are all different sizes, reddish brown in color, and VERY angry.
Anyway, the guys brought out the big guns...Fritos. Yes, it turns out these nasty creatures can't get enough corn chips. I'll never look at Fritos the same ever again. All over our yard were little flags, warning all of our neighbors that this was a place you did NOT want to tread.
...and here were the corn chips, in a cute little basket, ready for their prey. I won't even show a photo of the masses of ants dripping out of the basket. Oh, yes, they loved them! When the RIFA man called me back to either confirm or deny that we had red ants, I believe the word he used was, "infested." Wow, anyone want to walk barefoot in my yard?? I didn't think so. Tomorrow they come with the "granules of death" so I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I think I'm going to go grab a snack...definitely not corn chips!
I made a few things this week to satisfy that creative streak. My sister's friend wanted a few casserole holders so I made these for her. Leopard, green and pink. What could be better? Complete with a little bling.
Then I made a photo purse. I keep telling myself I need to get a business off the ground with my purses but haven't had the time to make all of the marketing stuff. I will start it one of these days...I'll let you know.
We had to order more sod from Lowe's to finish the other half of the backyard and it turned out great as well. Here's a shot from the left to the right. I had no idea our backyard was that big!
So, just as we were admiring the beauty of our yard and planting fresh vegetables in our vegetable garden and becoming very "Leave it to Beaver-esque," along came some friends. OK, not friends, more like bitter enemies. But I have to start at the beginning...
I immediately began a search on the internet to find out exactly what these agressive, teeth-gnashing, multi-sized ant-looking-things really were. I found it...Red Imported Fire Ants, or RIFA, as Los Angeles County calls them. And there was a hotline. A hotline! It had to be serious or they wouldn't have included a hotline. So I called it. Left a message. On Monday, bright and early, the RIFA people called. Within a few days, they were sending some "agents" to assess the situation. They came bearing a handout of what the FIRE ants were capable of complete with some photos of some not-so-nice skin reactions that resulted from their bites. I'd been bitten several times and the phrase, "when bit, it feels like a hot needle in the flesh" was a pretty accurate description.
Anyway, the guys brought out the big guns...Fritos. Yes, it turns out these nasty creatures can't get enough corn chips. I'll never look at Fritos the same ever again. All over our yard were little flags, warning all of our neighbors that this was a place you did NOT want to tread.
...and here were the corn chips, in a cute little basket, ready for their prey. I won't even show a photo of the masses of ants dripping out of the basket. Oh, yes, they loved them! When the RIFA man called me back to either confirm or deny that we had red ants, I believe the word he used was, "infested." Wow, anyone want to walk barefoot in my yard?? I didn't think so. Tomorrow they come with the "granules of death" so I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I think I'm going to go grab a snack...definitely not corn chips!