A Boy and His Camera

  Notice the shadow of an insect on the underside of this flower.

  A bunny and a squirrel sharing what drops from the bird feeder.

 He's thrilled (we all are) at how many insects are attracted to his zinnias--an idea he gathered from his garden books.

 A rare people picture. Peter and my husband rarely take any people pictures. Nature steals the show. I believe Paul is behind the camera here.

 A cicada, "the first healthy one of the season", says Peter excitedly, shoving it in my face.

Mary lifted the slip n' slide off the porch and found this bat. Yes, a brown bat  On. my. porch.

A hole in its wing, the poor thing can't fly. Husband made ten calls yesterday, trying to find it a home. "Sorry, we don't take bats" they all said, giving him another agency to call.

The bat spent the night in the master bedroom closet, in a container. This was after Paul tried yesterday to hand feed it a fly, without asking Daddy. Oh, the horror. The sweet bat? It did not bite my boy, thank the Lord. But until we get to a state park today and ask a ranger for advice as to letting it go (a bat box in the nature park, maybe?), it stays up in the closet, away from curious hands.

Did I sleep soundly, hearing it nocturnally move the best it could in its injured state? Not exactly. I told husband if it moves too heavily and the container falls to the floor (the lid wasn't fastened as to allow air), we could make a run for it out of the master bedroom, closing the door behind us. Then, safe from rabies, we would come up with a plan about getting our room back. He laughed at me.

 The sweet bat--I call it that because it refused to bite my Paul--with its fangs teeth showing. 

Brandon Klug holds a little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) captured from an attic in Montana. Little brown bats often inhabit attics of buildings, both used and abandoned, in the summers because the warmth makes it easier to raise young. (Credit: Erin Baerwald, University of Calgary)

According to this article, (the above photo accompanied the article) less than 1 percent of bats actually have rabies. Previously, it was thought that ten percent of bats carry the disease. They are kind of cute, yes? I had no idea they were so little!

Your turn now. What's shown up in your yard lately?