I was relaxing and enjoying Long Lost Family last night when I needed a Jimmy Riddle. I got to the landing to see the kittens sailing through the air over the spare bed, in pursuit of a rather upset bat. Then L. Whale scooted past me to join in the fun. I can only think these bats somehow squeeze under a tiny gap below the attic door (now blocked with a towel.) Anyway, I quickly opened the window wide, got Lulu and L. Whale out, but Pippi was more determined and after a couple of laps in pursuit of her (trying to avoid getting said bat in my hair) she hid under the bed. ALL I wanted was a quiet life, not mayhem at midnight! (well, 9.45 p.m.) I pursued her with a roll of wallpaper but she was out of reach, right in the middle on top of a box. All this in the dark, as I had to shut the door to stop the bat escaping and Lulu etc coming back in. Success finally, and bat locked in room until I came up to bed and no sign of it.
Then this morning, as I went up the stairs I spotted ANOTHER bat on the half landing carpet. So did Lulu and she had to be grabbed as she hurtled in for the kill. There was some kitten wrestling and I managed to get her heading in the opposite direction and then got a duster (no more used knickers this time!) to pick up very unamused bat who was swearing at me, and decant it in the stable. Yeesh.
Anyway, here is a photo of my bat-free loaf of Oat Bread made at the weekend using my own flour mix (so I am not missing my Wessex Mill Oats & Bran Flour now).
Plus some rather gorgeous Banana Choc. Chip Cookies I rustled up. I took half of them for my friend at the Dog Show.
Enjoy your day.
Sometimes when I am reading in bed a small insect squeezes under the screen and zooms toward the bedside lamp. This immediately inspires any feline in the room into launch mode. One day last week we came in from working in the garden to find the floor lamp that stands near a chair where I often read in the evening, over-turned on the floor with lampshade and light bulb shattered. I can visualize several possible scenarios. 'Someone' skidded across the adjacent chest of drawers and careened into the lamp; or--'someone' clambered up the window to have a better view of the hummingbird feeders on the porch. Life with cats--at its best! Thus far we've not had a bat in the house--although a bird did come down the chimney!
ReplyDeleteNever a dull moment at your house. Bet it causes lots of laughter afterwards. Kittens always bring much joy except when they are after Bats! Are the Bats following you! Pippi the little terror and the Bat swearing at you to boot! Saying that I was outside last night and saw the Bats which are local to where I am in town. Used to see them all the time, but have not seen for ages. Only saw a couple of them though, which leads me to believe that where they were hanging out has been affected in some way! Your baking looks yummy as alwaysxxx
ReplyDeleteAll I wanted to do last night was sit quietly! Hmmm - kittens had other plans. There are always plenty of bats hereabouts, and when we drove up the Cothi Valley after dark (at our old house) there were 100s.
DeleteThere is a regular "splat" here where Lulu has pursued a flying something (often a tasty bluebottle!) and cornered it against the end window. The sound of summer!! You have my sympathies over your floor lamp "accident"- they are little devils aren't they? Here, the standard lamp has had both kittens yanking it over when grabbing at the fringe . . .
ReplyDeleteBats were a regular occurrence - usually in August - back at Ynyswen. We rather hoped we had left them behind as no in-house bats the first year here. Now they seem to sense when Tam (who is terrified of them) is visiting and they come down through the attic to say hello. Needless to say they are living beneath the roof tiles and as they go to bed/come out to play the House Martins are doing the reverse!
This was for you Sharon - somehow another post pushed my reply down one.
DeleteProblem is bats are protected so hare to move out. I'm down at our caravan and see all the signs fro the show next week, are you going. I've been coming here fror twenty years and have never been. I know my wife's firend goes to the dog show with her Italian Greyhounds
ReplyDeleteWell, they were here before us. I would just rather not have them indoors! I won't bother with the show - too many people, and it's quite an expensive day out when I can't spend more than a morning or afternoon there as I don't like to leave Keith too long. It's looking very busy down at the showground now and all the smart new farm machinery displays being moved on site.
DeleteI'll pop down for the dog show and will be there for the Antiques Fair in September.
Bats don't really bother me at all, although I've never had the situation of one sharing a room with me. I don't think it would bother me that much. however, if my mother had known there were bats flying up and down our drive and around the garden, I kid you not, she would have sold our house and moved.
ReplyDeleteBats are everywhere! Your mum must have had a real bat paranoia!
DeleteFor some reason wild creatures, esp birds and bats IN my space indoors bother me. Mo will chase and eat insects, eeew. I told him no kisses for a puggy who just ate a big hairy bug. Do bats carry infectious diseases? Bite?
ReplyDeleteBats can carry Rabies (NOT good!) They might bite if really bothered. I use something voluminous (compared with their size) to shift them.
DeleteWe have only ever had one bat around here and that was on our deck. I think our cat at the time killed it when he snuck out. Now our church is another matter all together. I would say bats in the belfry, but our belfry is blocked off.... I just don't know how they get in.
ReplyDeleteYour bread and muffins look wonderful.
God bless.
Our cats used to kill the (grounded) bats at our old house. They were pretty smart at trying to grab them in flight too.
DeleteI am enjoying my baking again.
MY stepfather sent me amazing film of a bat caught in the sitting room at the old family home. Incredible!
ReplyDeleteWhen you see them close to they are fascinating creatures, but I don't like sharing the interior of my house with them!
DeleteWe have bats living in the crawl spaces of our house, accessed by four separate sealed cupboards. T is often heard to be complaining about their rustling at night but I tell him we are lucky to have bats as they are a very good indicator of a healthy environment. Only once have we had a bat in our bedroom having left a light on and the windows and curtains open one evening. Nowadays we are more careful. But I love to see bats swirling around on a summer’s evening. Lots of owl activity at this time too. The old hay meadow opposite us which has always been grazed by sheep while we’ve lived here was cut for hay the other day and yesterday a tractor was turning the cut grass so I expect we will see the giant whirligig bailer in action soon. There are some old photos in the archive from the turn of the last century showing haymaking done by horse and cart and women and children on this same field. We went to the beach yesterday and had a swim and a picnic and then we both fell sound asleep in the sheltered warm dunes. It felt like a mini holiday. I love coming back to our green garden after a day on the beach. I sat in a deckchair with a cup of tea and read my book, The Whalebone Theatre, for book group next month. Then I harvested beetroot, yellow courgette, orange Sungold tomatoes and baby spinach and made a delicious raw salad to go with our cold roast chicken and Charlotte potatoes. Finally I retired to the sofa in the garden room to listen to the Proms including Mahler’s First Symphony which was the perfect end to the day. It is the Petworth music festival on at the moment and I haven’t bought any tickets, partly because sitting on an uncomfortable church pew to listen to music no longer appeals and after a busy summer’s day I am done! Today we thought we’d take a picnic to the top of the Downs. It’s a short stiff walk the way we go and the wild flower meadows atop the Downs should be at their best and then it is downhill zigzagging through a beech hanger which I especially love in the autumn when it it is like walking through a golden cathedral. Our picnic will be eaten sitting on a huge hollowed-out fallen oak tree which has the most glorious views over the sea to the south and the North Downs to the north. Once home there will be cricket to watch and I expect courgette frittata will be on the menu tonight. Today is T’s last day at home and he’s been a bit unsettled lately and I think he’s worried about adapting back to a London house share with three others. Oh well, he’s been here 10 months so time to go, I’m just hoping I won’t miss him too much. Sarah x
ReplyDeleteWhen we first moved into our old house, bats were a regular occurrence. We closed off the entrances as we located them. I am good at getting them outside. Sadly, I had no cats at the time...it sounds as if they would have added considerably to the excitement.😅
ReplyDeleteDebby - Well, I don't know where they are getting through in the attic - perhaps the cupboards under the eaves which we never use as mice get in there. Then down the stairs (!) to the attic door and squeeze beneath - now blocked with a towel. Even the end which I thought impossible for anything to get beneath - but no, I found a wee baby bat last night and had to duster it out of the house before Lulu spotted it (she was right by it).
DeleteHere is how you figure out how they are getting in: Stand outside your house at dusk and study the situation until you can see where they are .leaving for the evening. Then you block up the exit. The hard thing though is that you have to be careful. If there are baby bats, you don't want to prevent the mother from returning to her young. Over here, we have a disease called 'white nose' (it is a fungal infection) that is decimating our bat populations. We are mindful of taking care of them.
DeleteAll bats are protected by law. You're not even allowed to touch them (well, damned if I am having them crawling/flying about the house with kittens in hot pursuit!) Work cannot be carried out on any older property without an expensive bat survey first. If there is a brood roost in residence, work cannot commence until they vacate the property in the autumn. Lots more rules and regs besides.
DeleteWhat a lovely satisfying life you lead. I think listening to the Proms in the comfort of your garden room is far better than sitting on a church pew, especially as you have doubtless been many times in the past so can visualise it. I've just looked up the review of your book group book and it sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThe picnic on the Downs must have been wonderful - how I miss the chalk downland wild flowers. I wish I could whisk myself back to Avebury.
I checked out a BBC recipe for Courgette Frittatas done in muffin cases - may make these for lunch tomorrow as one of my Romsey cousins is visiting.
Your Toms are well ahead of mine, which are still very green!