I made it home last night just ahead of the rain. The wind whipped and the sky grew darker as I made a few stops en route. As I sat in a drive-thru, a wind gust rocked the car, nearly ripping a few dollar bills from my hand. Just give me a five-minute headstart, I thought as I waited.
Fortunately, I got everything inside and had just changed clothes when the rain started. I’d only beaten it by a few minutes. Then the rain just stopped. For the remainder of the evening, the sky shook and lit up, going a wild color at sunset. Because the lightning was so close, I didn’t attempt to go out and capture it with the camera. (I did get these shots last year, but I’m hoping to get a really good one, especially now that I have a tripod.) I held my breath, awaiting a power outage, but it didn't come. (At least for us. I heard this morning thousands of others weren't as lucky this time.)
So when the storm moved east and I didn’t feel endangered by the lightning anymore, I trudged outside, camera in hand. The lightning became more infrequent and my chances limited. I was just about to go inside when swoosh! Something had just flown by me at a good clip, nearly grazing me. Swoosh! There it was again! About that time, a huge bolt of lightning lit up the entire sky, making it possible to see that there was A BAT flying right at me. And not one out of Louisville, either!
I sidestepped it and it landed briefly on the shed before taking off again at top speed. Wish I’d gotten a picture of THAT!
It flew past me a few more times, but then it started to spit rain so I went in. From the backdoor, through the glare of the streetlight, I watched that creature fly erratically through the yard, looking something like a sparrow on crack. When the lightning made things a little brighter, I could actually see its gray/brown body. I watched for a little while and then didn’t see it anymore.
The mother had been napping on the sofa or I’d have gone to get her to see it. When I did get to tell her about it, she said that she used to see them all the time years ago at our old house (the grandparent’s). Said she hadn’t seen one for years, and definitely not since we moved. I know bats can be found pretty much anywhere. I just hope they’re not setting up camp at This D*mn House.
Or maybe it was just Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee trying to get in out of the rain …
5 comments:
Lightning and bats. Yikes! My mom took some kind of class once and learned how good bats are for the ecology. She actually got a bat house to put up in the backyard. I did not go back there.
Imagine seeing thousands of bats flying out from under a bridge. Kind of cool but a little creepy. And the dumbest part, we walked a really long way in the heat of Austin, Tx just to watch the bats!
Better AT the house, than IN the house!! Bats eat lots and lots of mosquitoes. But still, I wouldn't want a bat flapping around my head.
Put on a scarf, eat lots of garlic and get a bat house. They're good for the environment and really suffer from habitat loss and a bad rep. I wish I had bats around here. Instead, we just have batty.
Vicki -- I certainly appreciate them. I just don't like to be dive-bombed by one! Made me nervous.
MG -- As long as I see it on a screen, in a picture, through a glass ... PERFECT!
Jayne -- You are SO right. And yes, I really like that they eat those d*mn things!
Why -- Tee hee. A crucifix might not be too helpful. I would never hurt him -- unless he got up in my hair. Then all bets -- and bats -- are off.
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