Ants

The ants for my son's Ant Farm arrived this week. The Ant Farm was a birthday gift, received seven months ago — the form to fill out to send away for the ants has been sitting on my desk during most of that time, waiting to be filled out. (And even after it was filled out, I think it took me another month to finally get around to sending it in.) What can I say? I've been distracted.

This is a Space Age Ant Farm, the Ant Farm of Tomorrow — filled with a bright blue gel that the ants live in (it's also a source of food and water), with an illuminated base that shines a bright blue light from the bottom.

They're already starting to build tunnels, too. Apparently, I was supposed to have made small holes in the top of the gel to get them started, but I neglected to do this, so they've been digging around the edges for most of the past two days.

It seems the ants will only last an average of one to three months, though. I had been thinking of getting an Ant Farm for the office, but I'm not sure how keen I'd be on having to replace them a half-dozen times a year. I think I'll stick to cactus plants, instead.