A bat too far

 I am not scared of bats flying around. However, I am fed up with them.  With this hot weather, they are inside the house, however they get there (suspect through open windows).  Anyway, yesterday I was just SO tired from nearly a week of loading, unloading, and all that driving and didn't want to do anything much.  I managed another twelve blocks for D&E's  quilt.  I was upstairs in my sewing room, and Pippi walked across my table behind my s/machine and was about to dab at something on the wall - a very dead-looking bat (mummified in fact!) which had hung itself from one of the photos of Tam and Rosie that Tam had had printed off and put around the walls for Keith, in his final months.

I flushed it down the toilet, and sadly that photo will have to be binned.

I had to sleep, late afternoon. My poor brain was so frazzled from all the concentration of driving and needed to rest.  I read a bit more of my book too - Kate Ellis, The Painted Doom.  I went to the Library first thing and two of the books I'd ordered were in.  Another Kate Ellis (The Skeleton Room) and Horatio Clare's Brecon Beacons Myths and Legends.

In the evening I went to Netflix for the 3rd Enola Holmes film.  This one got silly.  They went properly radical with Moriarty, who was a woman, who could do Kung Foo or some similar martial art. . .    Moriarty was NOT a woman in the books and I am a traditionalist.  Then at the end it got all anti-Colonial and PC and if there is an Enola Holmes 4, I doubt I shall watch it.  However, I can recommend a brilliant series on Channel 4, The Light in the Hall, which was filmed in Carmarthen, Llandeilo and Llandovery and I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Tea was a King Prawn stir fry, using half a fresh yellow courgette from my neighbour, fresh beanshoots, spring onions, 1/2 a lovely pepper I got at Chris Thomas', tomatoes, and some Pak Choi, baby sweetcorn and mushrooms from the freezer.  The sauce was the Sweet Chilli and Garlic one I like.  Scrummy.  I had half a pack of mixed grains and rice left over from a chilli the night before, so that went in too.  Another meal now in the fridge.

However, when I went up to bed, I had just settled down with my book and noticed a bat flying round my bedroom.  Then there was a splat - and I thought it had gone down behind the chest of drawers.  But no - to my horror it had gone splat on the pillow just inches from my head!  I was out of that bed so fast!!!  I was not going to try and get it outside, so just retired to the guest bedroom for the night.  Around 5 a.m. Alfie was yowling to go outside, so I went downstairs to let him out, and noticed a bat hanging on the step of stair carpet.  But there must have been two to start with as when I went to the loo, there was a drowned one floating in there.  Clearly thirsty . . .  Stair bat is now rescued and outside in the old feed/rack room where it is cool and dark.

When Tam and Rosie arrive today I need to get Tam's help to put the proper curtain rail back up.  The light woke me early this morning.  I lay in bed and watched Swifts flash past overhead, and then I could see a branch on the bank waving, so sat up and watched no end of birds in the shrubs.  Two male Blackbirds had a set to.  A pair of Wrens flitted between branches on the Kilmarnock Willow.  Dunnocks, Sparrows, Blue Tits and Great Tits flew here and there and the winner of the Blackbird fight fed on immature blackberries which had grown through the Magnolia.  I had been meaning to cut them right back ever since spring but will leave them now until they have fruited.  It would seem that tidying up is not good for nature and my untidy garden actually encourages wildlife.

View through the - rather dirty bathroom window, due to bats and House Martin nest over it - looking across towards the quarry, which is invisible now there is lots of foliage on the trees, and a misty early morning light.

Right, this won't do.  Housework needs to be done, and a chocolate apple cake baked.

P.S.  Just found another bat on the stairs . . . removed . . .