Communion Of Dreams

This post prompted several questions via email, so I thought I’d post a follow-up. From another email to a friend:

Well, further investigation this morning, and there’s still critters. But this time I listened closely to the noise and came to the conclusion that it is probably a roost of bats, with new-born pups (hence the more aggressive growling noises). So, after doing a bit of research, it looks like the best thing to do is just protect the area from weather problems but allow the bats to come and go freely until the fall, when the new bats will be able to relocate without trauma. Then we’ll put up some one-way netting to allow them to leave but not return, and after a week of that then seal up the roosting area. A bit of a pain, but I like bats and what they do to control insects. I may build a couple of bat houses to put up this fall when we close up the current roost.

Yeah, I never realized that bats would make that much of a low rumble growl, but I can’t think of another occasion when I was threatening them during the maternity season. After letting them calm down, I heard the more typical chatter I usually associate with bats. So, that’s a good result, though means that we don’t get to do the minor repairs until this fall.

Now, the damned squirrels are another matter . . .

Jim Downey

Bit of an email exchange with a friend this afternoon:

Have a good Sunday.

Not bad so far, though it had potential to be otherwise.  We had planned on doing some rehabbing of the landscape blocks along the driveway, up near the kitchen – several had been knocked out of place by people with big vehicles – as part of the ongoing year of “let’s get stuff done outside”.  But last night while watching a vid we heard the sound of some critter chewing on the wall, up at the top of the window on the little side porch on the west side of the house.  So, got a ladder, went to investigate this morning . . .

There’s a small roof with some ironwork on the top of that porch.  The thin facing/trim along one side of the roof had been pulled away – that much you could see from the ground.  I positioned the ladder so that it was more-or-less stable, climbed up it to the side of the roof to see what had happened more closely.  And there I was, about 20 feet off the ground, looking in under the roof (where the rafters are).  And something starts growling at me . . .

Charming.  The ladder had settled some into the soft ground (due to all the rain we’d had), and was caught on about the last quarter-inch of the lip of the porch roof.  Meaning that any sudden movements on my part, and it’d break free, thereby flipping me off forward and through the window on the porch.  Or back, through the nasty nasty thorn vine that Alix was trying to cut down below me.  For a moment I hung there, waiting for some rabid raccoon momma to come charging out between the rafters and onto my face. This being a rather unpleasant picture, I decided to get down – carefully, but with some deliberate speed.

Got down, told Alix what I had found.  Went and got some mothballs, heavy gloves, and a flashlight.

Put on the gloves.  Re-positioned the ladder so that it was more secure.  Back up it.

Using the flashlight, looked into the rafter space again.  Couldn’t see anything, but again the low growling in response to the light.  Great – an invisible rabid raccoon momma that was going to charge out and eat my face.

I tossed a few mothballs into the space (they’ll drive out critters).  Louder growling.  I got down again.

Will let the mothballs do their work overnight.  Tomorrow, provided that the invisible rabid raccoon momma has found new quarters, I’ll put up a new structural strip of plywood, then attach the trim back to it.

Just thought I’d share.

Jim Downey