Wildlife Wednesday!

The day started earlier than usual with the Mr. screaming in horror as a bat crawled over his foot.  Yeah, apparently we have a hole in the house somewhere and the little flying rodent found his way in.  Hopefully, there isn't a colony in the attic and his presence was just a fluke.  Anyway, it was no way to wake up after a fitful night's sleep.  Cat 1 managed to chase the bat into our dining room which is thankfully the only room on the first floor we can close off.  So there we were, watching the bat fly around and around the room as we formulated our plan to catch it.  Cat 1 thought we should let him go back in and allow him to practice his masterful hunting skills.  Cat 2 thought it was the end of the world.  The dog had no idea what was going on.  The bat, however, wore himself out and as luck would have it, fell into a candle holder that he couldn't escape from.  So, all we had to do was plop a plate over it and carry him out, much to his relief and ours.  We also got this video:

All's well that ends well.  On the plus side, all this had me up and awake in plenty of time to organize my stuff for a bike commute.

It was a beautiful, cool ride this morning.  With school having started at Our Lady of the Elms on Market St., it was a bit more congested, but everyone behaved themselves.  Everyone, that is, except my tail light which decided to jump ship halfway to work.  It was nice to ride again, especially since the weather is far more cooperative than it has been all summer.  I just wish my time off the bike hadn't been such a detriment to my fitness.  My ride was a little longer than it was supposed to be as I huffed and puffed my way to the office.  All summer, I've been struggling to get exercise time in while work has taken over my life.  I can't help but miss my part-time days when I had time and energy for other interests.  Its high time to get my priorities straight!

When I finally arrived at work this little fellow greeted me at the door!

Katydid exhibiting leaf camouflage.

It has certainly been the day of interesting creatures.  Since I'm riding downtown this evening, I'm sure I'll encounter a few more...