We stand this day ready to take our journey and return to our home. One of the families we've come to know and have made fast friends is the Root family, along with granny Moss. Lilac Roots mom. They are a hearty group, and will do well in helping us to survive. They were one of the first families to have joined us when the petition was sent out, to help find those who did to not want to live under the dominating regime of the fire ants. It will take about a week to return home, but in that time we shall finalize our plans on who in our motley crew will be in charge of what. Some have natural talents, others, will have to learn as they go. But we all feel confident that we can support our needs as required. I'd also like to make a special note of Shelly. A single female ant who I would not have suspected to be joining us. She mainly keeps to herself and I've only heard her say a few things in all the time I've known her. She belongs to the colonies ant welfare system that took care of the needy, the poor and ill ants back home. They were a great force in keeping the less fortunate of our old home from ‘slipping through the cracks.' The reason I bring her up is her domineering spirit she posses. It my not show in her expressions or what she says, but we can all learn a few things from her. She is that determined to live as a free ant. We all are, but she has shown the most determination and perseverence. Perhaps then this journal can serve a purpose after all. To let future generations know of the various routines we did and traditions we held that were both successful and treasured. Also to let them know of how to protect themselves from this terribly unfortunate circumstance from happening to them. I hope that none of our progeny have to experience what we are going through. We've been held up from our journey home by a couple of days. As Winter soon approaches, we've encountered a hail storm. No one was injured, but it was a fiasco to say the least. Some of our provisions were scattered when two of our ant made carts were demolished by the giant hail stones that pummeled the ground. Everyone managed to find shelter in various ways. Some ran under the rocks nearby, while a few took refuge under an old mushroom, the remaining remained huddled beneath a strange green object. Looking much like a flat topped mushroom. One of our group called it a ‘sprinkler'. A device that emits water like a natural spring, but oddly enough it only runs at certain times during the day. After the hail storm ended, my family and I decided to have a little fun and rolled a number of the hail stones together. After scooping portions of ice with our hands we made snow balls and tossed them back and fourth amongst the many other families, who had followed our example and created ice fortress of their own You should have seen the look on Toby Greenleafs expression when Lily whapped him right in the side of the face with a snowball! After we were all tired out from our little war, we ate dinner and retired for the evening. We should be back home in a couple of days. Horror of horrors! Our home has been rendered unliveable by those horrible fire ants. The main tunnels as far as we can dig down safely have been blocked by giant boulders, and it would take months to remove them all. Which is only made worse because of the small numbers we have with us. The cold winds, rain and snowstorms will soon be becoming our way, so we must find shelter as soon as possible. One of the families I haven't had the chance to meet yet has informed us of a cave about two weeks from our current location. It's been decided that we shall seek refuge there, and return in the spring to our home. Unfortunately it will now take even longer to return our home in livable condition again, as four of the families have decided to go back to the fire ant colony to spend their lives there. They do not wish to risk the freezing cold and the months of rain and snow that will befall us. I do not blame them, and would choose to do as well, especially since our youngest in only a few years old. But to submit to the will of those horrible ants! Well... if our circumstances become more than we can handle, or our shelter can't give us the support we need, there is always that option. But the fear amongst us is that they wont for long tolerate us coming and going every few weeks. Either they will not let us return, or we will be held in captivity for our lives. Neither is a viable option in my view. It's been two months and the rain will not seem to end. We have so little to do, survive, is the only thing on our minds. Many have grown ill, though no one has lost a loved one, we are all cold, tired and miserable. The Sunray family has a new addition. Clint, his name is. And for one born in the wild, he's quite the lively little ant. With a good set of lungs, I might add. But with the addition of old leaves used as privacy screens, and a using some of the moss as coverings for our antenna, we manage to get the rest needed. Though each day seems so much like the other, we tell each other stories, both real and fictional. Our older daughter, Clover, has quite the talent for making engaging, entertaining stories, and many of the groups children, as well a number of the adults gather around and listen. I've encouraged her to begin writing them down, and she is doing so. I'd like to include some of them here, but I fear I might not have the room to include so many favorites of mine because of the vast number she has told, and that it would be nearly impossible to pick one. Like choosing a favorite child, it cannot be done. Perhaps I will let her choose a story of her own to be written here. I do not boast of her own talent that she's been so generously blessed with, but in turn choose to share it with those who find benefit, and comfort in them. Hello, my name is Clover Tunneler, and my dad has asked me to include a portion of one of the stories I've been telling our Winter bound group. He is right, it is very difficult to pick a favorite story, as they have become so special to me. This however, is a poem I've written rather than a story. This one I call ‘Flakes of Snow' As I look aloft to the dark, greying sky, I feel the chill, the wind passing by. It makes me shiver, it makes me shake. I've heard that this is for the snow's sake. It may be cold, as the rain descends down, down from above to our place on the ground, but in some wonderfully magical way, such delicate, beautiful shapes abound. I look in awe at such a beautiful site, a radiant glow, a color so white. Some appear like the form of a flower, or branches that grow from center to out. They come from above and scatter about. They commence to multiply, neck deep in an hour. I feel them land so cold on my head, then the flake melts, and my back they tread, and chill as they go, they run to and fro. It makes me jump, it makes me jitter. I run back inside, back to our shelter, away from the cold, away from the snow, It's from this time I wish it would go. It makes us so tired, it makes us all sick. Then I go outside to get another lick, a lick of snow. So cold on my tongue, so chilled in my mouth, I then benefit from a loved one, warmth from inside to out. Some hot berry juice, heated by the fire, the snow it may fall, the flames will dance higher. From the cold of outside, to the heat of the flames. I return to my home, to my family and friends. I hope you enjoyed that one! Spring is finally here! But our troubles are not over. The melt off of snow has started to accumulate in the riverbed we've been living along side of. The opposite side of our colony. The water has been rising daily, and as we prepare to leave, it has become too deep and runs to rapidly for us to traverse. The father of the root family had the idea of using leaves and sticks to wade our way across the river, he nearly got himself drowned in the process when he attempted to go about his plan. Fortunately we were able to create a life line by joining hand to hand and drag him from the water. Needless to say he won't be trying that again, but I've personally promised that if we find a quieter place along the river, we will try his idea once more. It's become apparent that if we do find ourselves wandering as nomads for the time being, we need to set up a system for our own self protection. A group of individuals can make the decisions that will be in the best interest of our band. After a great deal of discussion, it sounds like it's going to be quite regimented, but I welcome that. Ants need a set regimen, or problems can arise. After wandering up and down the river for the past three weeks, it seems that there isn't a really good or safe place to cross the river. The water seems much higher than usual, and it will probably take months for it to drop so we can get across. Meanwhile, we're going to look for another colony we can take refuge with. If they are willing to accept us, we might just stay with them permanently. The only problem I can foresee is that all reports we've heard tell about other colonies as being inhospitable. It would be nice to find a new home one way or another, but our food supply along the river bed is plentiful, and there are a myriad of places to hide if needs be. So we should be able to live in the wild for the time being. We plan to find a home by the end of summer. Despite the encouraging word from a group of termites we met a few days ago, our first ventures with a neighboring ant colony was less than agreeable. They were very territorial and said that we had invaded their lands. We had no knowledge that this was their area, and would be more than happy to leave, but the told us they owned the land from edge of the river, to the great mountains that are much to far for an ant to walk, even in five years! So we will have to turn around and go back the other way. The most terrifying ordeal was then they targeted all of the female ants in our group to be taken. They consider the female ants of worth, and had no desire to accept the males. Obviously we had no desire to be parted, so in a crafty attempt to escape, we hid in the depths of the water, breathing out of hollowed dried reeds, while the youngest were kept underneath acorn shells. When they gave up looking for us, we withdrew and headed back in the other direction. It took us three weeks to find that one colony, so it will take at least that much time to get back to where we originated. I just hope that we find a way across the river, or another colony at some point. I'd rather not spend another winter in that burrow. We've discovered that not all ant colonies are hostile. In fact, the one we've just left from gave us a good deal of provisions, food, tools, supplies and stuff. The problem they have is over population. They had to have some families live in the council chamber while new chambers for them were being created. It would seem that they typically have a large number of kids. Some as many as eight or even ten! My what a handful that would be! Both my wife and I love our children very much, and wouldn't mind having one or two more, but so many! It's hard to comprehend having the time to take care of them all. But it would seem they have a system set up to do so. They had what they called ‘nannies' or helpers to take care of the children while the parents worked. That is until on of the oldest kids can take care of the younger, or themselves in single child families. I can see an advantage to that system, bringing the children closer together. But it still seems like such a detailed process. Finding an adolescent ant in the colony to watch your kids for you. I'd prefer to have myself or my wife to be there while they are little. But I do not criticize the other colony for their familial concepts. We all should have the right to raise our families as we see fit. Too bad so many of our old colony lost a certain degree of that when the fire ants captured us. Okay, after a wrong turn, an encounter with a rat, and a few days of rain, we've managed to get back to the narrowest portion of the river. Unfortunately, winter seems to be coming early this year. Two from our group were able to get across the river, but it's far too dangerous to take everyone. So it's been decided to stay another Winter in the dugout. At least this time we know what to expect, and with the extra provisions we received from the friendly colony to the north, we should have a better time of it this year. In addition, we now know to pack moss and leaves at the entrance, so we will stay warmer, for a longer time period this year. Oh, it looks like we have wonderful news. Carissa, my wife, in case I haven't mentioned that by now. It's a shame if I haven't. She is expecting! So amidst all of the turmoil and strife, we are going to have another new life in our family. Carissa feels it's a boy. I think another girl. But she's been right with our last two daughters, so I dare say we might be having a little boy in our family.

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