nature X 3

Ants

There are these big ants building their nest in the street outside our house (under a rose, to be exact), and it is just so amazing! They march quite a distance (maybe 100 meters?) to get these little pieces of straw and then march back to the nest. The other day there was a big pile of straw outside the nest but also ants coming back and going into the nest itself with the straws (and struggling with the long pieces of straw). And they've been doing this for days! 

Birds

Another type of nest building. Suddenly yesterday* I look up and I see above my window, on the air-conditioning pipe, two birds flying around a nest. How did they build it without me noticing? Can't wait for their eggs to hatch! (just hope that now that I've discovered them, that I won't scare them too much..)

* I wrote this post more than a week ago. After writing the post (that is after I discovered the nest!) it looked like they abandoned the nest perhaps thinking it is a dangerous spot. However! There is now a bird hatching in the nest!!

Plants
Yes, nature very much fascinates me!! Anyway, last summer I (well a worker) dug a hole in the ground to put this little pool to be used as a sand pit. And last summer we played some in that sand pit (but not too much as that corner also happens to be mosquito heaven :-( ). And then came the winter, and the rains. Not thinking ahead, the material I covered it with was enough to make sure cats don't poop in it, but not enough to stop the rain. And during the winter it was too cold to deal with, and then it got really dirty and horrible I didn't even want to think how and what. Once towards the end of the winter I tried emptying some of the water, discovering worms (my reaction - wow worms! how cooooool!) but what was more cool were these pecans [it is right under a pecan tree] that sent out little roots. Coming back again some time later when the days got hotter, these plants have really grown!