Every year around this time we seem to get black ants in our home. Not in alarming numbers, mind you, but certainly enough to get our attention. So much so that I find myself thinking about ways to get rid of them once and for all. Every year is the same. They show up, I resolve myself to not wanting them around, and I go about doing what I do best. Killing the little bastards, that is. Stepping on them when I see them, flicking them off the counter and on to the floor where I can step on them even harder, and kicking their little black carcasses back to the stone age. My thinking is that they will tire of me decimating their ranks and they will go about finding new and more hospitable digs. I've thought about canvassing the internet for age old remedies but have found none in my travels. I have even considered doing a little research to find out a little more about their natural enemies with the idea that if I introduce them it might drive the black ants out. Then again, we may end up with an altogether different problem to solve so I'm not sure that's the answer. I am careful, I should hasten to add, to not let the wife see me in my ant annihilate mode since she doesn't know that particular Johnny. Not by a long shot. Sometimes, when I see them in the trash, where they seem to like to hang, I take a certain pleasure in tying the bag at the top with the hopes of suffocating several generations at the same time. I wonder if ants can scream. If they could, they might scream, LET ME OUT!. Not likely, you little bastards. Yesterday, it occurred to me that instead of killing them it might make more sense to cripple them so their ants and uncles can hear their little screams and perhaps even think twice about coming down for dinner. I've clearly given this little problem of mine more thought than it deserves but I am tired of all the frustration and energy required on my part to solve the issue. Feel free to weigh in here. I'm all ears.

Ev had his first Babe Ruth game yesterday. It was fun but it was cold and not much fun sitting in the bleachers for the 2+ hours it took to go seven innings. He is in a 13-14 league and this is his first year so he is slow in getting acclimated. It was just his luck to get a flame thrower of a pitcher on the mound for his first at-bat. It probably wasn't fun for him and it was even less fun for us to watch him struggle as he did at the plate. I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger but those are just words. He will have better days and so will we. We hope to take pictures at a few of his games and post them to the Slideshow section of the blog so be sure to click on that link on the main page to see what we got out there. You may also be interested to know that I will be posting family pix out there today so be sure to take a peek.