We sat in silence among the trees, hoping to spot an elusive red squirrel. There were traces of their presence all around – fresh gnawed pine cones – but the squirrels were hiding from us.
We did see a sika deer, a young stag who ventured close, rising up on his hind legs to browse the newly bursting spring foliage.
And further on we found the wood ants.
We came across a number of wood ants’ nests in the woods that day, but this one was particularly impressive.
The surface of this mound of pine needles, twigs, and other woodland debris, was covered with worker ants – the whole nest appearing to seethe. The smallest of creatures, working in unity.
Definitely the highlight of my day.
Sounds like a great day out with nature!
ReplyDeleteAnts are fascinating, provided they're out of doors. We had an invasion in the kitchen in May. My son used to have something called an "antery" which had some sandy soil between two pieces of Perspex, so you could watch the ants working away.
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