365 2014 Day 60 Jonquil Hill

I could hear their song long before I crested the hill at the end of my pasture. The Jonquils are in full bloom and singing their hearts out. I had to capture them one more time before they were silent and sleeping again. They are the first to bloom every spring. They are the bold, obedient ones who push through February’s frozen ground to welcome a spring they do not yet know. Their song is sweet and cheerful.

But there lurks an enemy in their midst.

It is no secret that I often get lost in my photography. Once I am behind the lens it is just me and my subject and I am often not aware of my circumstances. For example, last summer I stepped barefoot onto a wasp while photographing some roses on my back porch. If that weren’t painful enough (and it was extremely painful), I dropped and broke my macro lens and also ended up the ER because I went into anaphalactic shock. Yikes!

Today my enemies were fire ants. Lots of them.

If you do not live in the south, you have probably never encountered fire ants (and please count your blessings right this very minute). They are some of the most wicked creatures I have ever come across. Having grown up in Virginia, I had never met them until I moved to Georgia. I remember calling my dad to tell him about them after I was stung by them in the garden. He laughed. He could not imagine being frightened of an ant. His remark was “I just know one foot will kill a whole lot of ants”. I could see his smirk through the phone. He had no idea what I was dealing with. When Annie was barely one we took her to Stone Mountain and had a picnic. She was not saying sentences at the time but would say a word every now and then. That afternoon she kept saying the word bite. We thought it strange because she didn’t seem upset. She insisted again emphatically (like only Annie can),”Bite. BITE. B-I-I-I-GHT.” She never cried, but when we opened her diaper we found ants and bites everywhere. Bless her heart. She was a trooper. She laughs about that story now.

Today, as I often do, I lay down right in the middle of the flowers to photograph them. Leaning on my left elbow I took in the sight of the yellow flowers agains the blue sky. Lovely. It didn’t take long to feel the burning pain of fire ant bites all over my left arm. I know it well. Here is the thing about fire ants: they cover their victim quietly before they bite. By the time you are feeling pain, you are already covered in them. That’s when you do the fire ant dance, jumping up and down batting them off you and shaking out your clothes. At least that is what I do. It’s not my favorite dance.

So tonight as I look at these beautiful images of the happy Jonquils I am reminded to be more aware of my surroundings while taking photographs. My left arm is throbbing. Thankfully I did not have to go to the hospital this time. That is something to be thankful for. Focusing on the best parts of today.

When I texted Annie a photo of my battle scarred arm she texted back. ” Awww. Bite.” She remembers.

Philippians 4:8~

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”