Going Batty...

 

The heat is getting to you, Jim?  Thanks for asking, but I am staying hydrated and try to stay out of the sun in the hottest part of the day.

Yesterday, when I got back from a motorcycle ride, as I was putting my gear away, I saw what looked like a brown leaf fluttering on the sidewalk.  I could image that, since it was windy, but... we don't have any broadleaf trees around here.  When I had the bike put away and was heading for the front door, I looked closer... it was a bat.  As in: the flying rodent.  Tiny.  It was "crawling," looking like it was struggling.

Did ya kill it?  No, I did not.  I wasn't a fan of bats when I was a kid, because they used to get into our house, and my Mother would make me kill them and dispose of them.  A football helmet and a broom was my "battle gear."  As I have gotten older, I understand that bats aren't just trying to get into your hair or bite you on the neck - they are beneficial: they eat a lot of insects, especially mosquitos.

This little guy looked like he was on his last legs... um, wings.  It was hot, and he was in the blazing sun on the sidewalk.  Looking around, I saw another one, about the same size, who had made it to the shade, but looked just as distressed.  Rather than move them, I put some water from my Hydroflask on and in front of them.  Looking around some more, I saw a slightly bigger bat in the grass (probably the Mom), doing that same "crawl."

 I sprinkled water around all of them again, and left it up to Mother Nature.  I told Joan, "If they haven't moved by tonight, I'll dispose of them."

Last night, they had each moved.  This morning, all three were gone.  I can't say whether a predator bird got them, or if once out of the sun, they got a second wind.  Hope they eat a bunch of mosquitos.