Just a Little Batty

I find myself out of sorts a bit tonight, so I decided to write a late week post to see if I could cheer myself up. Generally I am a cheerful person, cup always half full, the sun will come out tomorrow type person. I still am, but I am just in one of the moods. We have had cold, cloudy weather for all of the month of May. Not just cold, but lots of rain, too. I don't keep track of the inches that we have received, but let me say that we have a enough.

We really must be grateful for the rain because we have had a long drought and once it does stop raining and the sun does come out it will be blistering hot and we will be begging for the rain to return as we see our lawns start to burn up and the flower beds wilt. (Feeling better already).

Why don't you put on your Willies and join me outside in the rain.

Mud volleyball, anyone? 

You've heard the saying ?Mad as a wet hen"? I'd say the girls have reason to be a bit irate.

The pond is full to nearly running over. It has been so wet and muddy that we have not been able to do any yard work nor gardening.  Finalizing the the rock around the pond and doing some landscaping were at the top of the Spring To-Do list.

Wet prairie grass. 

Wet sedum

The clematis in front of the house looks so beautiful with huge blooms thanks to the rain.

The snowball bushes are just beginning to bloom.

I like this photo. I was trying to layer it with the snowballs in focus and the blue spruce in the background all blue and shiny and wet.

Even Fat Cat Mo looks cold and grumpy with the crummy weather.

The pasture is rich and green. The boys love the tender, wet grass but I remember how sick it made Sundance last spring when he ate too much, so we are keeping them off the pasture when it is wet. A horse with a belly ache is not a pretty sight.

In my last post I had this robin picture up at the top. I should have given it a bit more narrative. On the left is the original taken from my living room window with my telephoto lens. Not the best quality because of the blurriness on the side, but a handsome Robin Red Breast. I put the photo into Waterlogue on my iPad with very good results, I think.

And another wildlife rescue. I took quite a beating on Face Book when I posted pictures of our rescued bat safely contained in a cat carrier in front of the lit fireplace. If there were an EEEEWWWW/ICK/GROSS rating, this story would have rated at the top.

 The Head Gardener puts Boone in his outdoor kennel during the day since we don't have a fenced yard. After taking Boone out yesterday morning, he came back and told me that he had found a bat in his food bucket that had rain water in it. He said he put the bat on a post out of the rain, but I thought that the little guy should be in the barn.  It was soaked and so cold that it was very stiff.  Really, I thought it would die. After taking this photo, I told the HG that we should take him--it--in the house to warm it up. So we put him in the cat carrier that still had wood shavings in it for the fledgling doves that fell out of their nest last week. Their flight lessons didn't go so well, so to keep them safe from both the dog and cat, the HG but them in the cat carrier for a couple days. Once he released them, they were able to fly to the nearby pines where they would be safe.

Back to the bat. We brought him into the house, turned on the gas logs, and placed the cat carrier in front of fire place. In about half an hour the little guy had warmed up and climbed up the side of the crate where he found a comfortable spot to hang out and sleep. He slept all day.

By evening the cat crate was removed to the barn with the door left open so that the bat could leave when he was ready. And he did.

Now what is so eeeewwww about that? 

Some Bat Facts:

• Only true flying mammal
• Second largest mammal order after rodents
• They are pollinators and disperse fruit seeds, too (did not know that)
• They eat insects, 1,000 mosquitoes per hour, so during night shift with overtime each bat could consume as many as 10,000 mosquitoes. If he brings his family along, well adios mosquitoes.
• They live world-wide, excluding the Arctic, Antarctic, and a few ocean islands. (source Wikipedia)

Other than misleading folklore that surrounds bats and the eeeewww creepy factor, bats do carry rabies. This little guy was so cold and stiff he had no fight in him, and the HG was very careful in handling him.

We save a lot of critters around here just because to do so is the right thing to do whether is it a snake or a toad trapped in the window well, a baby bunny lost from its mommy, a less than desirable bird, or feral cat, there really isn't a good reason not to show compassion for nature's creatures. Apparently others think otherwise. 

With the bad weather, I am spending a lot of time on the dollhouse. I have been thinking about what sort of  young woman might live in the old farm house. Looks like I might have my answer. The Pullip sisters stopped by to get a look at the bedroom that I have been working on. They are pretty picky creatures with a quick eye for the mistakes I have made, and let me tell you they don't hold back with pointing out the imperfections. I think they expect me to lower the rent. 

I caught them trying out beds that aren't even in the house. Who do those girls think they are?

Okay. After a bit of writing therapy and a bit whimsy, I am feeling better.  If you want to read more about the dollhouse and the Pullips, drop by Ann's Dollhouse Dreams in a day or two to see what the girls are up to. 

I'll be back on Monday with a the grand kitchen reveal. And perhaps reports of sunshine. Maybe we can get out in the garden. States side, enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. Camping trip for us has been postponed due to, yeah the weather. 

Thanks for visiting.