We Are Community 265
You may think the life of an older widow cannot be exciting.
Friday evening my hands were in a sink full of warm soapy water washing dishes but also trying to get the mud from under my fingernails and the grass stains off my hands from two bouts with weed pulling. I became aware of a slight moment of dimming of my kitchen light. I knew exactly what that meant! Though friends in Rushville told me that they had bats in their home but after buying a bat house had not had anymore. Bought two. Installed one on my garage eve. (the other is still in the box in my kitchen!) I knew there was a bat circling my kitchen ceiling. Now though this does not happen often, it has happened and I quickly sprang into “bat mode”. First thing put Sal in the bathroom and go get Puff and take her in too. May sound easy but when one picks up Puff to move her, she goes into pure Devil mode, screaming, hissing, biting etc. Have never figured this out. Anyway, got her into bathroom without losing a hand and locked door after checking to be sure bat was not in bathroom! This is necessary because last time I had a bat in the kitchen, every time the bat tried to land, Puff tried to land on it.
Step two. Go to fish pond and retrieve butterfly net. This is great for chasing bats around the ceiling and placing it over them if they decide to land. Then get small cookie sheet which is used to slide behind butterfly net to trap bat inside should one be successful in getting the bat into the net. Turned on all the lights in the downstairs rooms and checked for bat. Nothing. Checked closet as door was ajar. Nothing. Back to kitchen. Propped door open so bat could fly out. Ha. Told Smokey and Boots that the open door was not an invitation to come into the house and asked them to go back out. They agreed.
While checking kitchen windows etc. noticed bat in sink. That was wonderful news. A bat in the sink is easier to trap than a bat flying around the ceiling. Got butterfly net over bat-inserted small cookie sheet under bat and out the door we went. Aw sweet success without hurting bat and without spending great amounts of time bat chasing!
I live in a rather large house so have a number of smoke alarms on each floor. Buy the kind that last ten years and that are sealed so you do not have to change batteries. Put expiration date on each. Tuesday as I was coming down stairs one started going off up stairs so went to get it. There seemed to be no problem but it would not shut off. The only way to turn them off is to open them up and turn a switch which destroys the detector. It was dated 2028. Next day same thing. This one was dated 2029! Detectors must not like hot humid weather!
A reminder that the COIPS swap meet is this Saturday, Aug 2nd from 8 am to noon in Chandler Park. Hope to see some of you there.
Dr. John Hallwas spoke to the Colchester Historic Society on Monday and urged residents to write about their experiences mainly from the 40s to the 70s for publication in a book for the 200th anniversary of McDonough County happening in 2026. Plan to do this when I find time.
Have a good week. Hope you do not see any bats up close. Scatter Kindness and Love.