Ants tend to show up in an army, with flags unfurled. They invade every crevice and surface of your kitchen, or any other place they feel at home. Sometimes they appear out of nowhere. You walk away from a sinkful of dirty dishes, and the next morning the food-encrusted plates and cups are animated by insects. On other occasions, one or two show up here and there, and you might ignore them. Don’t. You can never be sure there aren’t more on the way to join these scouts.

The ants here in the Sierra foothills aren’t the puny ones we have out on the North Coast. These are hefty. They remind me of the ants of Southern California that used to bite me on the toes when I was a kid. I discovered one on the bathroom vanity the other night, and before I removed it (I won’t go into the details of its demise), I photographed it. It was a beautiful creature, don’t you think?