A few days ago, on our way to getting a great latte, we spotted a parade of yellow-petal-carrying ants along the sidewalk in front of
Cesar Alberto Morales Rivera’s Indio del Sur coffehouse.
My gaze stopped and followed the line of moving petals back from where they came. They were descending a nearby tree full of blooms of matching yellow petals.
Then, like a sniffing hound dog, I followed where they were going: west along the sidewalk, with a quick sharp left turn before climbing up the wooden siding of a house.
From there, the column of ants turned left again on the vertical wall and, paralleling the ground, marched away from me and got so small they disappeared. A fence was blocking my way.
Cesar told me the ants are always busy there in the wintertime (which it is now, in San Juan del Sur). In the summertime, he continued, they are gone.
Today it’s been pouring rain and cold. And I thought of Cesar’s ants, so I messaged him and asked if they were gone. They were taking the day off work today, he messaged back. And sent me a picture as proof.
What do ants do, when they take the day off? Is there room for them all inside their ant hill, wherever that ant hill is? Do they keep each other warm and dry?
Today, with the heavy, steady rain, I too have not graced Cesar’s sidewalk in search of sustenance. Instead I’m home, warm and dry. And dreaming of bright yellow petals scurrying along.
