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Jul. 20th, 2008
Vindication
Jul. 20th, 2008 05:44 pmThe events of the day have FINALLY made my decision to return to Arizona at least somewhat worthwhile. As mentioned in my previous post, it rained in Tucson last night, as I discovered when I checked at 4 am. So I packed everything up in a jiffy and started the drive at 5 am. I arrived at about 6:30 and immediately began prowling the streets in search of swarms, hoping beyond all hope to spot another one of those magical, ephemeral events. Not too far down Ina Road, I spotted one in the median, and pulled over as quickly as possible. I grabbed my gear and ran back to the swarm to watch and collect queens.
It wasn't as large a swarm as the one I spotted in August of 2005. That swarm made me feel like I had won the lottery as the ants rained down all around me. This time, it was like getting a modest jackpot--nothing to brag about, but enough, at last. By the time I reached it, the swarm was mostly made up of unlucky males, but a search of the surrounding area revealed many queens beginning to dig new nests. I collected what I could until things died down at 9, and got enough to share with a professor who requested some.
Today, K and L helped me weigh, paint, and house the new batch. Tomorrow we'll start behavioral observations. In the very least I'll be able to get eight hours of sleep tonight, on a schedule that's a bit more normal.
Here's how things have gone for about the past week or so:
Tuesday night: get home from Portland, socialize with relatives, pack bicycle, sleep at midnight.
Wednesday: up at 4 am to catch a bus and then a plane, arriving in Phoenix at 11:30, departing Phoenix at 2, arriving in Tucson at 4. I looked around for ants for an hour or two and found nothing, and then had dinner and went to bed.
Thursday-Friday: Got up at 4:30 and collected 8 ants at D's house. Drove to the Santa Ritas and collected nothing. Drove back to T and Z's house. Took a nap. Ate food and drank coffee. Left at 6:30 to go back to the Santa Ritas with L. Looked for ants until 10:30 and found nothing. Drove back to D's house to collect ants, arriving at 11:30. Collected ants until 2:30 am--40 queens. Drove L home. Asleep from 3 until noon. Hung out with T and Z and D, ate dinner, and went to bed.
Saturday morning: Got up at 1:30 am and looked in T and Z's yard. One queen. Went over to D's yard and collected until sunrise at 5:30--23 more queens. Went back to sleep until 10, then ate and drove back up to Phoenix. Arrived in lab at 2, and weighed, painted, and housed queens until 7. Got dinner at 3 Roots and started checking the weather again.
Sunday morning: Got up at 4 and used "emergency internet" (a corner of our house that poaches a weak signal) to check rain gauges in Tucson. It rained, and how. Got stuff together at home and at the lab, and started the drive back down to Tucson at 5. Arrived at 6:30 (gorgeous sky during the drive, and the Interstate was pleasantly empty). Collected ants, and headed back up to Phoenix at 10. Spent the afternoon weighing, painting, and housing again.
In comparison, riding my bicycle from Seattle to Portland was quite relaxing.
It wasn't as large a swarm as the one I spotted in August of 2005. That swarm made me feel like I had won the lottery as the ants rained down all around me. This time, it was like getting a modest jackpot--nothing to brag about, but enough, at last. By the time I reached it, the swarm was mostly made up of unlucky males, but a search of the surrounding area revealed many queens beginning to dig new nests. I collected what I could until things died down at 9, and got enough to share with a professor who requested some.
Today, K and L helped me weigh, paint, and house the new batch. Tomorrow we'll start behavioral observations. In the very least I'll be able to get eight hours of sleep tonight, on a schedule that's a bit more normal.
Here's how things have gone for about the past week or so:
Tuesday night: get home from Portland, socialize with relatives, pack bicycle, sleep at midnight.
Wednesday: up at 4 am to catch a bus and then a plane, arriving in Phoenix at 11:30, departing Phoenix at 2, arriving in Tucson at 4. I looked around for ants for an hour or two and found nothing, and then had dinner and went to bed.
Thursday-Friday: Got up at 4:30 and collected 8 ants at D's house. Drove to the Santa Ritas and collected nothing. Drove back to T and Z's house. Took a nap. Ate food and drank coffee. Left at 6:30 to go back to the Santa Ritas with L. Looked for ants until 10:30 and found nothing. Drove back to D's house to collect ants, arriving at 11:30. Collected ants until 2:30 am--40 queens. Drove L home. Asleep from 3 until noon. Hung out with T and Z and D, ate dinner, and went to bed.
Saturday morning: Got up at 1:30 am and looked in T and Z's yard. One queen. Went over to D's yard and collected until sunrise at 5:30--23 more queens. Went back to sleep until 10, then ate and drove back up to Phoenix. Arrived in lab at 2, and weighed, painted, and housed queens until 7. Got dinner at 3 Roots and started checking the weather again.
Sunday morning: Got up at 4 and used "emergency internet" (a corner of our house that poaches a weak signal) to check rain gauges in Tucson. It rained, and how. Got stuff together at home and at the lab, and started the drive back down to Tucson at 5. Arrived at 6:30 (gorgeous sky during the drive, and the Interstate was pleasantly empty). Collected ants, and headed back up to Phoenix at 10. Spent the afternoon weighing, painting, and housing again.
In comparison, riding my bicycle from Seattle to Portland was quite relaxing.