May 24th, 2010    Bats and Bees and Butterflies

While wintertime invariably brings some mice-y visitors to our home, the summer gets a little more exciting. Last week there were invading chickens, and this week more and more of the outdoor insects are starting to come inside. This includes some that we'd rather not get too personal with, like wasps and yellow jackets and ticks, but it also includes a host of interesting creatures who tend to get caught in our screened-in porch. There are moths, butterflies, tiny beetles, honey bees, and one of our all-time favorites -- big, fat, bumblebees.

This bumblebee was rescued from our porch in a jar. Nice pose!

The most exciting visitor, however, wasn't an insect. It was a mammal, and a flying one at that. He swooped into our room as we were lying in bed reading Sy Montgomery's recent book, Birdology. At first we thought it was a bird, and were delighted at the coincidence. But soon enough, upon investigating the upstairs to which the winged guest had fled, we found that our 'bird' was clinging to the wall, watching us suspiciously. Lacking a net, we commenced to dance with the bat, him flying about the upstairs room as I tried to 'net' him in the laundry basket. The whole affair was so ridiculous that I had trouble aiming straight due to laughing. Bats are rather good dodgers, you see.

At last, however, the bat was safely basketed, placed outside, and returned to the night.