False Alarm

The sound of coyotes woke me in the middle of the night, their voices overlapping into an eerie chorus.  

When they quieted, I could hear insect music streaming through the window on the cool night air.  

This is not an ordinary summer.

Usually, by this time of year, the only sound we hear at night is the air conditioner, 

and chipmunks, who all quake in their dens at sound of the coyotes, rarely venture out in the heat.

This week has been deliciously cool, and chipmunks spend the mornings outside, 

the little ones staging mock battles and looking for food.

I watched one on the deck, going about his business until suddenly he put on the brakes,

 startled by what was before him.

It was a carpendar ant, made in Mexico of stones and metal.  

It set up shop on our deck several years ago and has been working away quite diligently ever since.

Apparently, his saw is rather dull, because he's still working on the same piece of wood he started on when he came.

Fortunately for the chipmunk, the ant is far too preoccupied to represent much of a threat.  

And we're going to leave him be, because we can't wait to see what he's making.



Linking with Saturday's Critters