Showing posts with label bats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bats. Show all posts
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Friday, July 18, 2008
Alone Again...
I drove Paul to the railway station yesterday afternoon. There is some dispute as to how long he is away. We are not in disagreement on the date of his return, just whether twelve days and a few hours is 'just over a week' (Paul) or nearly two weeks (me).
So I am now settling in to life with the dogs.
Paul always accuses me of picking the evenings it is raining to have a bath and miss the late night outing. Well, there was no avoiding it last night... come 11 p.m. and I could hear the rain pelting down outside. I got their coats and mine on. As expected Jen didn't care but I had to drag Poncho out the door. He was digging his paws in all the way to the road, then shuffling along in a state of misery refusing to do anything. We returned, drenched and unsuccessful.
At least the sound of the rain drowned out the noise of the bats in the eaves - at least I hope it is bats. They seem to be getting noisier and noisier, with their chittering. I may find them entrancing flying around outside but they are becoming a pain in the **** when I am trying to get to sleep. I am now imagining them as I lie awake in the dark flying around inside the loft, thousands of them. And then breaking out into our en-suite like something from a Stephen King novel...
I still have not got my new camera, although the extra memory for it (from somewhere else) arrived after a couple of days. I sent an email off on Wednesday to find out what was happening. I got a reply in the evening saying they had none currently in stock but were expecting a delivery in the coming week. I got another email last night telling me "Your order has been reviewed and processed and the warehouse is preparing the shipment". So, what would have happened if I'd paid for the express delivery? Or does this mean that someone else did and has got MY camera???
I got a letter today from new building society that I am trying to give some of my money to, telling me the proof of identity I sent was not adequate. So I wasted several hours today
(a) trying to find a suitable document from the Inland Revenue (P2 that was sent was not acceptable) or DVLC to avoid the need for a certified copy of my passport or driving license. I found a VLA from 2006 but apparently they will only accept the latest one.
(b) Failing (a) I then failed to get our Lexmark printer/scanner/photocopier to photocopy. I tracked down via Google that the laptop needed to be plugged in even to just photocopy but it made absolutely no difference.
It's all very well in these times of banks in trouble/credit crunch in trying to spread your assets around but it is not that easy!
So I am now settling in to life with the dogs.
Paul always accuses me of picking the evenings it is raining to have a bath and miss the late night outing. Well, there was no avoiding it last night... come 11 p.m. and I could hear the rain pelting down outside. I got their coats and mine on. As expected Jen didn't care but I had to drag Poncho out the door. He was digging his paws in all the way to the road, then shuffling along in a state of misery refusing to do anything. We returned, drenched and unsuccessful.
At least the sound of the rain drowned out the noise of the bats in the eaves - at least I hope it is bats. They seem to be getting noisier and noisier, with their chittering. I may find them entrancing flying around outside but they are becoming a pain in the **** when I am trying to get to sleep. I am now imagining them as I lie awake in the dark flying around inside the loft, thousands of them. And then breaking out into our en-suite like something from a Stephen King novel...
I still have not got my new camera, although the extra memory for it (from somewhere else) arrived after a couple of days. I sent an email off on Wednesday to find out what was happening. I got a reply in the evening saying they had none currently in stock but were expecting a delivery in the coming week. I got another email last night telling me "Your order has been reviewed and processed and the warehouse is preparing the shipment". So, what would have happened if I'd paid for the express delivery? Or does this mean that someone else did and has got MY camera???
I got a letter today from new building society that I am trying to give some of my money to, telling me the proof of identity I sent was not adequate. So I wasted several hours today
(a) trying to find a suitable document from the Inland Revenue (P2 that was sent was not acceptable) or DVLC to avoid the need for a certified copy of my passport or driving license. I found a VLA from 2006 but apparently they will only accept the latest one.
(b) Failing (a) I then failed to get our Lexmark printer/scanner/photocopier to photocopy. I tracked down via Google that the laptop needed to be plugged in even to just photocopy but it made absolutely no difference.
It's all very well in these times of banks in trouble/credit crunch in trying to spread your assets around but it is not that easy!
Monday, July 07, 2008
Bats at Todheugh
The bats are back. The first summer we were here we noticed them at this time of year. Last year less so because of the weather washout.
For the last few weeks when the weather has been warm/dry we have been bat-watching on our late night outings with the dogs. I have no idea what kind they are but they seem a reasonable size - it is hard to tell when all you really see is a black shape darting around. Saying that, I would still have no idea if one freeze-framed in front of me in broad daylight.
This year they seem numerous. One night a couple of weeks back I counted one going past the bedroom window every two to three seconds. Last night the sky seemed filled with them, so agile as they swoop and turn, flying just over our heads. The dogs seem unaware of them - they do not react at all.
I think they may well be roosting in the roof at the back of our bedroom. The hints are that it is that end of the house that we see them and there have been a lot of scratchy/squeaky noises at night since we have been spotting them.
I ventured into our loft earlier to try to see. I gave up as the slope of the roof was making it too difficult for me to pull back the insulation to get a good view. I had a brief moment of 'what am I doing up here' as I tried to work out how to get out again. After a few minutes of manoeuvring I managed to lower myself and stretch down to a solid footing.
For information on UK and Scottish bats see the Bat Conservation Trust
For the last few weeks when the weather has been warm/dry we have been bat-watching on our late night outings with the dogs. I have no idea what kind they are but they seem a reasonable size - it is hard to tell when all you really see is a black shape darting around. Saying that, I would still have no idea if one freeze-framed in front of me in broad daylight.
This year they seem numerous. One night a couple of weeks back I counted one going past the bedroom window every two to three seconds. Last night the sky seemed filled with them, so agile as they swoop and turn, flying just over our heads. The dogs seem unaware of them - they do not react at all.
I think they may well be roosting in the roof at the back of our bedroom. The hints are that it is that end of the house that we see them and there have been a lot of scratchy/squeaky noises at night since we have been spotting them.
I ventured into our loft earlier to try to see. I gave up as the slope of the roof was making it too difficult for me to pull back the insulation to get a good view. I had a brief moment of 'what am I doing up here' as I tried to work out how to get out again. After a few minutes of manoeuvring I managed to lower myself and stretch down to a solid footing.
For information on UK and Scottish bats see the Bat Conservation Trust
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