Ant Farm

              I dreamed we were getting rid of the large potted palm tree. (A tree which we don't actually have.) The two large ant colonies were somehow warned that we were moving and decided to move out. The small black and brown ants streamed out in a single file line, carrying their eggs and larvae with them. The larger red ants (just recently making a comeback in this part of California) piled out in a large sheet of red. The sheet filled the table they were on and then stopped, keeping a respectful distance from the line of escaping Brazilian ants.
              I could tell that they were a bit stymied. They didn't roam much out of the tree, using it not only for a home but for sustenance as well, they had aphids or something they farmed up in the crown and scavenged the leavings of the ravens that nested in the dead fronds. I asked them to wait a second and went and got a sheet of 17x22 inch paper from my office. I ferried a bunch of them to the edge of the patio and then sprinkled a line of them back to the leg of the table so they could create their own escape route away from the smaller black and brown ants.
              I believe the red queen waved at me as she and her attendants made their way out of the trunk of the dying tree and off the table out into the yard.
              “Stay out of N's roses and you should be all right.” I told them and went back into the house to let N know the tree was almost ready to move. I didn't tell her about the ants, as I didn't think she'd understand.