Extermination

The theme of my week has been pests. It began with a mouse in the pantry on Saturday. My little gray friend has since been captured and set free thanks to the use of a live mouse trap. They are wonderful little contraptions, but a word of caution if you ever need one--check it daily... The little mice do not fare so well in them if they are left longer than a day or two.

This evening I made dinner and cleaned up, then checked my orchids to see if they needed water. While watering the second one I was horrified to look down and see a swarm of ants flowing out with the water...fleeing up my beautiful spikes in an attempt to get to higher ground. I freaked out and rushed them all outside to check the damage. It seems they made a nest in my largest and of course my healthiest plant. The only thing I could do to save it was a quick transplant, which may kill it.

Before the gruesome discovery:



There are few things that make me cry and this is one of them. I have nurtured these plants for over a year now, and to deal with this while they are blooming just makes it even harder for me to handle. I hope this plant survives. At this point there is nothing I can do but wait and see. I had to throw away my second paph...new growth and all. I'm down one plant and the other is in critical condition. *sigh*

Surgery:




Resting in the bathroom: banished and (hopefully) ant free


There are 20 potential blooms on all those branches. If it dies I will be so disappointed. :(