Sunday, August 21, 2005

Wildlife at the ScrimChateau

There I was, peacefully reading a science fiction novel (2024 edit: sorry no idea what the book was now) in my room when I heard a "clicking" noise behind me. 

Must be a leaf dropping off the hibiscus, I thought. Then fifteen minutes later another "click". 

Funny, I've been watering it pretty well, I thought. 

Then fifteen minutes later I glanced up at a flicker of motion. 

When you have a cathedral ceiling, a bat can do some dramatic swooping. 

The bat is gone now. (Let's just say it was over fast for him.) 

But I got some photos first. Looks big, doesn't he?

[Bat flying towards the sky light] Glad there's no belfry


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you KILL that bat?

Hey buddy --- there are humane removal services available for this sort of thing.

David Scrimshaw said...

Really, tell me more about these humane removal services.

The web info I read is that if you take bats far away from where they're used to living, they'll die.

And before I read that, I discovered that driving across the river to Hull is not far enough.

Anonymous said...

Look, these services REMOVE the bat (not kill).

Then they FIND the way it got into the house.

Then they COVER the hole. The bat is released right outside your door (in his territory), but can't get back in. He lives, you live, everone happy.

HOWEVER, you have to pay for the service. There's a few in the yellow pages. They also advertise in the Citizen. Look for a little bat symbol in the ad.

David Scrimshaw said...

Oh, oh, I've ticked off a nature lover.

But the thing is that with my 95-year-old house, I have paid quite a few people to patch the holes ($250 this spring) and the little guys still find their way in.

I know they mean me no harm, but I really can't fall asleep when they're in my house.

Anonymous said...

Dude, I heard you can get bitten and not even realize you were bitten, and then, like, die of rabies months later.

David Scrimshaw said...

Hmm, maybe that's where I got the scratch on my leg that has almost healed even though I only noticed it this evening.