Bats in the Belfry

Eli is crawling like a madman. He tears across the baby superhighway in our family room; he cruises around our bedroom looking for cords. He will be an absolute terror when he can walk. Already he is pulling himself up without assistance. It is probably only a few more weeks/months until he starts standing and taking his first wobbly steps.

He is also using his newfound freedom of movement to express himself. He now crawls over to books he wants us to read to him. When rolling balls back and forth, he will fetch balls that are out of reach if he wants to continue playing, otherwise he will meander to a new toy. It really does seem like he is learning something new every day.

Today we had an interesting visitor. A bat crashed into our back door before dinner. The bat was down, but not out. After the surreality of having a bat laying on our porch passed, we tried to figure out what to do. Our next door neighbor who is a vet was not home. Our other neighbor suggested we try to put it in a bucket until we could figure out the best strategy. I managed to slide a garden bucket over the bat, though he hissed throughout the process. I called Animal Control and learned that bats can't fly from the ground and that this one's lack of movement could just be a matter of his being confused. She suggested I move it closer to a tree so it could fly away later in the night. With the help of our friends Sue and Joe, I bravely shoveled the bat away from the house and towards a tree on the side of the house. The bat then did its part and moved all the way to the bottom of the tree. Because it is rainy tonight, I don't know if it is still in the tree or whether it flew away. Needless to say, having a bat around the house is unexpected!