Bats in the Belfry

It was a long day. On top of it being a long day, it was hot. The kind of hot that you don't mind too much in early July, but detest horribly after it was in the upper 60's on Sunday. A 20+ degree temperature change in one day that brings on a little heat wave isn't fun. Especially when you work in a building that is over a hundred years old and retains heat like a ... well.. like an old brick building does. This kind of weather gives me headaches. The kind that make me want to crawl into bed when I get home and sleep until the pain subsides and I can feel like a functioning human being again. Of course we know that never happens.

Instead today I walked home, looked at some stuff, and walked inside. I went about my afternoon stuff.. homework discussions, cleaning, paper shuffling, etc. etc. Then the boy came home. And while I was clearly happy to see him (Advil does amazing things for headaches when taken in the right dose), he mentioned some things to me that my pain-stricken self had missed on the way in the door today.

So we went outside to check out the situation. And lo' and behold.. there was a bat hanging off the side of the house. I tried to get a better picture, and aside from shimmy-ing up that ladder(we won't even go into how much I loathe ladders, even though I am often forced to ascend up them) to get a better shot.. this was as good as I got. I wasn't sure why a bat would be hanging on the side of a house in plain daylight, but rabies and Triple E and West Nile ran through my aching head and I figured I'd settle for a lousy shot. (If you click the photo you can get a bigger, better view)

I went outside a few minutes ago to see if he was still there. Some days I crack myself up. I got out there, armed with only the porch light, and stood there a few minutes squinting. Is that it, I wondered, or a shadow from the tree? Do I dare climb up that ladder in the dark now that the bat is in it's naturally comfortable setting? Do I care that my ladies are flopping under this tank top and the porch light is bright and my neighbor might come out to walk the dog and get a show? Heck no. I went back in, begged a flashlight from the boy ( I really need one of my own) and headed back outside. My neighbors all know I'm wacky, I don't much care if they see me shining a flashlight at the side of my house.

The bat has moved on to bigger and better things. In a way I'm kind of glad. My daughter wondered if it was the same bat that was in our barn a few weeks ago. I'm not sure, but I have to tell you.. there's something really ugly about a bat clinging to the side of a building.