Yesterday afternoon, while putting garbage in the garage, something flew overhead. For a few moments, I hung onto the hope that it was a bird, but with some dread, soon accepted that it was a bat. I opened the large door, spotted the bat on the floor, and tried to shoo it outside with a broom. He was so darned scared (and cute), and wasn't about to budge. That's when it hit me -- I never see bats in the winter. I closed the door, went back into the house and checked Google for some bat information.
Bats hibernate and will die if put out in the cold. So now, my garage is a bat cave. Luckily, there's no door leading directly from the garage into the house, so I don't have to worry about that. But I do get a bit of a shiver when I have to go out to my car. I have no idea where he's hanging out -- there's hundreds of great cubby holes where he could hide -- but I hope he's only here until spring (and I keep saying "he" because a "she" could have babies later and decide to take up year-round residence).
In my second book,
Return to Aten, Jodie, the main character, ventures into a cavern which, it turns out, is chock-full of bats. As all teenage heroines must do, she continues on despite her fear. She's much braver than I am, I think.
Read an interesting little news item this morning: Scientists, at a biotech company called Pharming Group, have genetically modified rabbits whose milk will be used to treat heart patients. The rabbit herd's milk contains a protein that helps control inflammation in the human body. 
