While it is a
nuisance to some, it is a home to thousands. One little step could mean a
declaration of war, but why does it beckon me to stomp on it and then run away?
What is it that makes me want to set
fire to their subterranean network? Why do they come to my picnic when all I
did was run their dwelling over with a Honda riding lawn mower? The answer is
because they are deeply connected to nature. After hours of herbal enhanced
meditation, I have come to a conclusion deeper than any lyric in a Bob Dylan
song, deeper than their tunnels under the ground, and possibly deeper than life
itself. Ants are too spiritual and in-sync with nature to understand our simple
human ways. Their utter defiance of my property line, and resilience to my
juvenile attempts to eradicate their crawling race with liberal amounts of
gasoline, only manifests this. It only takes a short time observing their home
to realize that they are immensely skilled architects as well as miniature
Buddha’s, covered with hair and antennas.
At a quick glance, one might think of it as only a dried mass of cow
droppings, but this could not be further from the truth!

           Glance number two
releases to you the true beauty of its aesthetically pleasing structure, which is
cleverly built atop the mass of dried cow droppings. On one side you might find
a small worker ant carrying the severed head of a grasshopper, soon to be an
offering to his Queen, and while glancing to the other, you may notice a
vicious, burning feeling on your left big toe. And while your simple human
instinct may be to succumb to rage, and smite the little devil, it is only the
misunderstanding of Mr. Ant that leads you to this brash decision. It is only
his immense knowledge and intricate connection to nature that you are
crushing.  Look twice, save a life, ants
are everywhere.

Or any large coastal city... or any other large city for that matter.