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.
10 comments:
Look at it this way: your garage will be totally free of insects. :)
Shall we call you Batgirl now that you have your own bat cave?!!!
Brave woman!! In the wee hours of the morning not fully awake it must have been initially terrifying!!!
1. I can always tell when you've made a new post by the flurry of comments on my blog.
2. HOW COOL!
3. Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na BAT LYNN.
4. Maybe if you put up a bathouse on the side of the garage, the bat(s) will not be tempted to stay inside when it warms up, and you'll still have the advantage of having bats around.
5. Now we can say, "You're batty!"
6. HOW COOL!
That's true, Jan. The bat will be quite pleased when he sees all the insects that gather by the garage windows in the warm weather.
He was very small, Karla, so not much of him to be terrified of. But then, I'm scared of spiders and they're not monster-sized, are they?
Yes, NT, I visit other blogs only about once a week when I have time to settle in for some good reading. It's one way to make time fly by. I think your bat house idea is great! I'm not sure what my neighbours will think, though.
Nice thing you're doing by letting him stay warm. Don't know much about bats, but I hope he stays out of your way until he's ready to move on.
That's my hope too, Georgie. I don't relish bat-tousled hair.
I love that you have a bat in your garage! That's what you get for not having a belfry, I suppose. Not knowing where it is might be a bit unnerving, though. But of course, you being you, your instinct is to protect the animal, and now it has a cozy, safe place to pass the winter!
Do you know, Raggs, that despite hearing the phrase "Bats in the belfry" hundreds of times, I've never really known exactly what a "belfry" was? So I just looked it up. And you're right, I don't have a belfry.
Post a Comment