Watching ants...

 I was waiting for a ride in the hot sun when I thought I was developing an eye problem.  Something seemed to be moving along the surface of the steel rails that enclose the edge of the lawn at the college.  The air was still quite smoky from the Minerva Fire and my eyes were watery.  I'm glad I took a closer look.  The motion was caused by a long line of ants.  I love watching ants.  I am currently teaching a correspondence class to inmates in California prisons, and through their nature journaling assignment I find that more and more inmates have become interested in watching ants, and even keeping some as pets rather than stomping on them.  Some catch them as a food supply for lizards they catch and keep as pets.  I find this kind of activity very therapeutic at home, so I assume it works that way in prisons, too.

This last photos of a group of four reminds me of a passage in Thoreau's Walden that is often published separately as an essay titled "The Battle of the Ants."  It contains metaphors about how humans treat each other.       I guess I should add that I took these photos with my iPhone.  I know that Apple would want me to mention that.