You wanna know what despair looks like? It's unscrewing an electrics panel and having dozens of dead ants fall down on your head like a nightmare shower while live ants swarm out in droves
@ California mutuals: If it hasn't already been said: Try not to walk in flood water. If a power line is down its a perfect recipie for getting electrocuted. Its likely also dirty and full of sewage. Sometimes theres no choice, so if you DO end up walking in flood water, beware: if you see a patch or raft of brown like this, it's fire ants. They all climb on each other to form a raft and it's TERRIFYING (and cool to watch. ) Yes those are ALL fire ants.
🌱 🐜 🪽🌿✨// white trillium & ants // gouache on hot press paper
part of my natives + pollinators series. white trillium are a delicate spring ephemeral native to the eastern US. they bloom in the early spring in woodlands, soaking up the sunlight on the forest floor for a few weeks before the canopy grows in. tiny ants help pollinate them for the 4-ish weeks they're in bloom, and spread their seeds on the forest floor.