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Teeny Bat Rescue Story

Alright, this isn't a craft, but I've had some serious crafter's block for the last week or so, and I've got nothin' crafty to share. I thought perhaps you guys would enjoy hearing about my good day yesterday.

After having experienced what felt like 3,000 mosquito bites in the past couple weeks (actually 10 bites total, but I react terribly to them) I've been bugging Bobby to finish draining the disgusting stagnant water/mosquito breeding ground from our above ground pool. Yesterday was the day, so I went out in the 95 degree Alabama heat protected with long sleeves and long pants to scoop out the crap on the surface of the pool to prepare for pumping! I saw a gross little dead something stuck to one of the floaties, so I fished out the floaty, and was surprised to see it was still alive! A little brown bat, about 2 inches long, nose to bum.

Awww, poor little fella. Doesn't he look sad? It's like seeing a wet cat... Kinda bizarre and not cute. I moved him off of the gross floaty into a box with a towel so he could hang out upside down and dry off.

POOF! A couple hours later and he dried off and was Fluffy McPuffington! I had NO IDEA he had this much fuzz on him, and I had to laugh out loud. Seriously, check out the fluff!!

I moved him to a ledge where he would be able to drop off and fly away come nightfall... I kept checking him thoughout the day and he was just really sleepy and didn't move much. I was really worried that maybe he had inhaled water or exhausted himself swimming and wouldn't actually make it.

I watched him out my window at dusk. He started moving around a bit at 7:50 PM, then flew off into the night at 8:08! AWESOME!

I was so happy he lived and had the strength to fly away! Fun fact: This tiny species of bat can eat 500-1000 mosquitoes in ONE HOUR. I'm pretty sure I'm going to eventually put up some bat houses on our property :) I hope you enjoyed hearing about my good day! oh and wish me some crafty mojo, I need some!
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10 comments:

Tina said...

Super cute!! I keep thinking about putting up a bat house, but I don't even know if we have bats in our area.

Good luck with the crafting!

Julia @ That Hapa Chick said...

Awww what a little cutie!!!! :D

artymess said...

wow good for you doing a fantastic good turn for that little fellow......perhaps you could make a little mcFluffington bat to get your craft self back.....I'm sure your mojo will return.... .you are obviously just needing some down time ...xx

Jaclyn Trecartin said...

Ahhh...sweet animal rescue story! This makes me so happy! His little face is so adorable!!!

AlwaysInspired said...

I followed this process on faceboook and was happy to hear he flew off into the night!

Carmen said...

As a fellow mozzy bite sufferer I feel your irritation. I swell up so bad with them.

However, lucky you to have such a gorgeous mozzy chomping critter near by and lucky him that it was your pool he dropped into. Fabulous story and even better pictures, thank you for sharing :)

thekathrynwheel said...

Love this story :-)

LaurelsArt said...

I'm located in Olympia, WA and we have a ton of bats in our back yard. I've been looking for some decent priced bat houses and finally found some. Here's to fingers crossed that they like them!
Great pics by the way.
--Laurel--
www.laurelsart.org

Suzannah Ashley said...

Awww, so awesome! When I was growing up we had an in-ground pool. Since we lived in the forest, it meant that these little guys would swoop down on us when we went swimming at night. Luckily they always just skimmed the water and safely flew back into the air.

Jessica - Magical Mundane said...

That is a wonderful story. I am so glad there are other people out there that love and will help care for animals in trouble, especially bats.