Today's Adventure

Today we had an adventure.  In our Explore class, we are supposed to reflect on our past adventures and I haven't had time because I've been helping Lenny install a bat box and take 3 showers in one day!

It is ironic because one of the reasons I'm taking this class is I feel my life has become so hum drum, spending too much time dwelling on a lack of work and the aches and pains that ironically started 1 year ago tomorrow.  For that was the day I got out of bed and didn't feel quite right and I haven't been able to fully turn back the clock yet.  Anyway, today I had little time to fuss over aches and pains and fortunately they left me alone.

We have bats.  They are in our chimney.  We don't want bats in our chimney; however we love, love having the bats around.  Why?  They eat mosquitos - apparently they feast on them as this is the first summer ever that I can pick flowers or even water my plants on the front porch without covering myself from head to toe. Last summer I couldn't even walk onto the porch barefoot without getting a bite on my foot.  So I'm delighted the little chirpy critters are gobbling up the mosquitos. Still I don't want them in my chimney forever.

The process as we understand it for evicting them is to make them a new home, put the home up in July so they can get used to it as they fly around and then run them out of the chimney come November when their young are ready to leave the nest.  Promptly we should cover the top of the chimney so they won't return.

So Saturday we began Phase 1 of this project by constructing the bat house - or Bat Palace as Lenny proclaimed it.  It was really simple, taking only about an hour to put together.  I then painted it black - black so it will keep the bats warm.  With the paint dry, we set out today to put up the house.  Lenny wanted to put it in this particular tree that he plans to kill and use as basically a pole for the bat house, ah Palace.  So he mowed around the tree and then cut off limbs.  My job was mostly to fetch and carry and to hold the ladder.  After a few sways and screams, he fussed that no one ever taught me how to hold a ladder.  Well, duh?  Why doesn't he teach me?  And really, is all that shaky ladder coming from my improperly anchoring it or that he outweighs me by nearly double?

Anyway, we went through two ladders, utilized a pulley system and a variety of screws but the bat house is up.  Oh and if you were wondering about the showers, I had dressed myself in my traditional working outdoor in summer gear of pants, long sleeve shirt and socks over the top of my pants to keep from being bitten - I figure even the bats can't eat everything.  It was miserably hot and when we were almost done I spotted it - poison ivy! I'd scanned the area earlier and didn't see a spot right under the tree!  Fortunately, it is my only allergy but the stuff just loves me.  So I've showered with dish detergent, put the clothes in a garbage bag and set my shoes aside not to be worn for a few days until I see whether today was a lucky as well as adventuresome day.

Now I'm not sure if figuring out how to lift a heavy handmade box up about 14 feet onto a tree and anchor it there constitutes an adventure for most people but it was definitely not an every day thing.  Thank goodness.