BLUE LINE FARM & APIARY

Although Walter and Dana experienced bats while we were away in Vermont, it didn't really impact me. That was so wrong. Last night, after a lovely dinner at the Outlet with Clint and Joanne, Lily and Alexa, we came home in anticipation of a toasty warm campfire and 'smores. We came into the house to collect the necessary accoutrements and were surprised by what looked like a bird flying around the living room. It turned out to be a bat. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The visual that will always come into my mind is that of Joanne, Lily, Alexa and I cowering in a corner of the kitchen. Everytime the bat swooped near us (which was every few seconds as they fly in a circular pattern) the screams increased in volume. Daphne (the dog) came hopping over to us, clueless as to the reason for what she must have perceived as a big hello. She quickly realized we were not screaming in recognition and joy, but in terror and fear. She added herself to our cowering mass and began to shake. I must tell you that throughout this whole episode, Jerry, my hero, was attempting to direct the bat out the back door. He is fearless. After a few minutes, while we were still screaming and laughing, Clint came over and riffled his hand in my hair. Let me tell you, I thought I might die. I didn't realize it was him, and Lily said the terror in my face was something she had never seen before. She was right. The bat eventually flew out the back door. We thought we were safe. Jerry, on a hunch, went to check the bathroom. His hunch proved to be right. Either it was the same bat, or another bat, but we had a new swooping bat dive bombing us in the Living Room. Joanne just left. She took her sweater and ran outside to the campfire. She just left us cowering on the couch. Me, Lily and Alexa. Cowards! That's OK - I will admit it. I have a fear of bats. I'm OK with field mice. Hawks and deer are no problem. I even think bats are an important part of the ecological system. They eat tons of mosquitos. They are good. Outside. Not in the living room. My favorite book when the kids were small was Stella Luna. Great book. When you see the bat flying in your living room, it takes on evil connotations. Vampire bats, rabies, etc. Not Stella Luna. I can only say this to Walter and Dana. I am so sorry. I was not properly sympathetic to your bat experience. I stil have a stomach ache from laughing, but I am anxiously awaiting the insulation guys who will be blowing insulation into the crawl space. I am certain that this will limit the bat access. I sure hope so. My stomach can't take any more. And the Rowland family is surely looking forward to visiting us again. ya think?