Since I don’t want the overly-large Coco to attempt to bust out the small openings of the broken screen in the front door that I have previously used as a cat door, I’ve been leaving the screen off one of the front windows. The cats leap in and out of the window for their excursions. Sometimes I shut the window. I hate to admit this, but it’s terribly amusing when the cats try to leap out the window when the window is shut.
Anyway!
So last night, a bat came in the window. I don’t have a photograph of said bat because I was asleep when this occurred and none of the teenage children in the house thought they should wake their mother and tell her there was a bat in the house. Weston said it kept trying to roost in the corners. Eventually he caught it and put it back outside. And didn’t even shut the window afterward. If I keep the window open at night anymore, I won’t be able to sleep for imagining there will be a bat roosting on top of my head when I wake.
In other unrelated news, I’ve finally figured out what to do with the garden bed at the studio. Next spring, I’ll be dividing these huge hostas to spread them out. The hostas look lush and beautiful, and they cover the ground, which will reduce weeds and reduce the need for so much mulch. I had to just let this bed float this year so I could see what was there. Now I know.
Here are several views of the studio garden. There is a large bare area near the top where nothing has come up, and the previous owners have told me that nothing was planted there. Must. Put. Hostas. There. As you can see, weeds are coming up no matter how much mulch I put down there. The roses are starting to bloom and are looking beautiful, though! Other things in this garden including a lilac, a hydrangea, and a Japanese cherry tree plus columbine, lily of the valley, and all kinds of other stuff.
In other other unrelated news, I’m working on my book again. It’s always such an entertaining fantasy to think you are finished with a book because of course the next thing your editor will tell you is that you are most certainly NOT. In fact, why, I need to nearly double it! Morgan is an experienced daughter of a book writer. I was writing books before she was born. She grew up with me writing books. She grew up going to the grocery store, sitting in the cart in the paperbacks aisle. “Look, Morgan, there’s my book!”
She was never impressed. Children are so cruel. She’s quite jaded about the whole thing.
Me: “Morgan, I’m working on my book again.”
Morgan: “Oh GOD. PLEASE buy me some Ramen noodles! I hate starving!”
*This disjointed, unrelated post is brought to you by my book brain. Besides, what do you expect? There’s a bat on my head, I JUST KNOW IT.
Old Geezer says:
We get a few bats in the house each summer. Since bats in this area have been known to carry rabies, I won’t touch them. I have developed a technique using two badminton rackets.
The trespassing bat will generally swoop around one of the rooms trying to escape. Their sonar is apparently not precise enough to see an oncoming badminton stroke which knocks them to the floor, dazed. The second racket makes a bottom scoop for the (now angry) bat. The bat sandwich is then taken to the door and flung outside.
Never touch a bat without at least wearing gloves, but don’t kill bats if it can be avoided — they eat tons of mosquito!
On May 16, 2012 at 8:02 am
rurification says:
I’m sending you good editing vibes. It takes more energy to edit, I think, than to write in the first place.
On May 16, 2012 at 8:12 am
DebiJ427 says:
My Grandma used to get them in her house. They would get behind the crown molding, so if you have crown molding in your house, watch out for that! 🙂
On May 16, 2012 at 8:17 am
jinx says:
:fairy: Have you thought of making your cats either completely inside or completely outside cats??? That would stop the need for holes in screens or removing screens………..
On May 16, 2012 at 9:15 am
quinn says:
“it’s terribly amusing when the cats try to leap out the window when the window is shut”
😥
On May 16, 2012 at 9:58 am
Leck Kill Farm says:
Old Geezer beat me too it, please tell the kids to never touch bats. Just had a long conversation with the vet about this. (elderly cat that we are no longer vaccinating and the very real risk of rabies from bats) Tennis rackets work too but badminton rackets have the advantage of longer handles.
On May 16, 2012 at 10:10 am
beforethedawn says:
One place we lived, the cats used a window to enter and exit the house. It didn’t have a screen so at night I did not leave it open, didn’t want bats to come in. The window was next to our bed, so when they wanted back inside at night, they would jump up to the closed window alerting us they wanted inside. It was funny hearing them do this since there was no place for them to jump up onto on the outside of the house. If we were sleeping, they’d jump up a bunch of times until we woke up. Cats are silly and determined critters.
So glad Weston got the bat out, I would have been freaking and calling animal control, wouldn’t matter if it was middle of the night or not. lol.
On May 16, 2012 at 10:39 am
brookdale says:
Hope Coco doesn’t think SHE can jump out the open window! Once DH had a dog jump out through an open window with the screen ON. (From the second story of the house!) Luckily the dog didn’t get hurt, just startled.
On May 16, 2012 at 11:59 am
Donna says:
We had bats get in the house once… Dad thought he got all of them out before we went to bed, but one had managed to find a hiding place in mom & dad’s master bathroom. That ‘one’ figured it would be safe to hang under the toilet seat ring… at least until mom got up in the wee hours of the morning to make a little trip you-know-where… seems the bat didn’t appreciate the company, flapped his wings a bit and gave mom a little ‘tickle’ – boy, you never heard such screaming! Mom could’ve waked up the dead – LOL! :clover:
On May 16, 2012 at 12:25 pm
whaledancer says:
How lucky you are to have bats around…but not in the house! We got bats in the bedroom a few times when I was a kid, until we got screens. Their sonar would get confused in the enclosed space and they’d go zooming around bumping into things. My way of dealing with it was to pull the covers over my head and scream blue murder until an adult came and managed to shoo the bat outside.
On May 16, 2012 at 2:21 pm
bonita says:
re: Your book— ‘spose you’ve already tried larger font, extra leading, and bigger/more pictures, new maps. . . 🙂
On May 16, 2012 at 2:56 pm
bbkrehmeyer says:
how does one keep the bugs out with no window screens?
We have had little hummers get into the house but no bats here(only in my belfry.)
do know they carry rabies.
the garden is absolutely lovely…..)
On May 16, 2012 at 8:21 pm
MissyinWV says:
I laughed out-loud at the ending to this story 😆 I vote for some sunflowers to planted in that bare space in your flower garden this year. You can get the seeds at the dollar store and the birds will love you for it….almost as much as the bats do!
On May 16, 2012 at 11:53 pm