I'm a MURDERER!

Oh crap. I feel so bad. We've had the bat visiting in the evenings for a couple weeks now, just like every summer. He makes a few laps around the house and then we open the door and he flies out, or we catch him in a hat or towel and take him outside.

I was rather cheered when he showed up again this year; it seems like a novelty and he really didn't cause much of a ruckus anymore. I enjoyed mentioning him on Facebook; he/she was our little nightly drop in and quite enjoyable: "as long as he doesn't bring over any friends!".

But a few days ago, How Spat showed up around 7:14pm instead of 9:00 so I wondered whether he could be sick or something.

Googling about bats made me quite uneasy--people and children bitten during sleep and then even dying despite long hospital stays. Some sites were quite alarming while others made rabies and bat diseases seem rather rare. And our house is just too crappy to decently find and block every tiny air space. But the majority of thee sites sounded horrible, so 3 days ago I asked Brigham if he would get his pellet gun or something and then kill Spat, even though I really didn't want to.

"NO." He would NOT.

I told him this morning that How Spat must of heard me because he hasn't shown up for the last 3 days!

Until this evening. Spat flew around the living room about 8:00, and ducked behind a dark picture up in the corner. Soon I could see his little ears as he peered out sideways on the right and observed me watching 'House'. I opened the front door, which he ignored and since the AC was running, I shut it again.

Then...
CRAP! Another bat swooped by--a fast one! Soon both were swirling and twirling and avoiding the now open door. OH NO! I'm thinking of safety now and disease in numbers and finally little Emery. I could not have this. Not a bat infestation. When I got the broom, one swooped into the night. I eventually (sweating a great deal) knocked down the hyper-bat, scooped him into a coffee can, then into the freezer.

I feel just horrible but I know he will go to sleep quickly first and not even know...

The bad part is, I will have to do it again tomorrow night.

So I pose the question: Am I a good person for protecting my family or a horrible one for killing this innocent creature?

Creepy Crawlies

Down on the Spit--these were on board under foot...I didn't bring home any gooshey things this time--but I did leave my clothes behind and fill by backpack with rocks.

A Gift from the Easter Moose

I was delighted to see many moose when I was visiting Homer last week; all in the vicinity of Bailey and Nate's house and one downtown by the 2 Sister's Bakery. (MMM!) Most of them were young small ones, but a time or two a big one was on the street in front of us.
(And when I gazed out her picture window, an Eagle swooped right by my face letting off a terrible scream "Welcome to Alaska!")
Anyway, I did not see any Snowshoe Bunnies, but there was a nice,(actually weirdly appetizing) pile of um, chocolate 'eggs' right outside the back door!

Puffballs, Probably.

Last Sunday was so nice that one could be warm outside; I noticed that the wind had blown leaves away from my lily bulbs. These strange leathery star shapes were in the yard and secured to the ground by what looked like fungi 'roots'. (First glance reminded me of a cow pie.) I guess they must of been large hidden puffballs--too bad they hadn't been discovered during their white 'steak-slicing' stage!

Black Coal and Oval Stony Beach

Don't know what the name of this beach was, but it washed up several oddities that were intriguing to one living in the middle of the U.S. What appeared to be magenta/vivid pink plastic was really a type of seaweed, as was the tough hollow green onion bulby thingy. It was LLLOOOOONNNG like a whip and measured about 33', enough to wrap around ones body and drag you under. (If it was alive. Like a horror show monster.)
Nate pointed out beguiling pieces of 'brain' lying here and there and I eventually found a whole one--baseball size. I still don't know if it was a plant or animal. Bailey found a tiny dead starfish, and we all watched the eagles swooping around and disdainfully observing us from above. Daphne tried her darndest to catch one...
Enjoy the bizarre collection that I smuggled through customs in a cottage cheese container, then forgot about for a week in my fridge. Phew. Barf.

Inadequate...

ALAS. While walking in a pasture this weekend, I found some puffball? mushrooms, but they are defeatist size. Miniscule in proportion, some were smaller than a Q-tip tip; incomparable to Bailey's. However, I did find the most incredible brilliant blue-violet flower at the same time! and yes, that is a sadly misshapen dung-beetle ball. Slacker.

Another Woodland Find.

Sounds like many mushrooms and some bear poop have been sited in the woods across the street from the kid's home. These are edible. (The mushroom!)