Just a little batty!

Every evening as of late, I have been on the end of the pier trying to catch one of an elusive bunch of redfish, I can see the fish as they run the shallows near the marsh edge but for the life of me, I cannot get one of them to bite my hook. I am using fresh menhaden as bait but they seem to be on the hunt for shrimp. Tonight was no different..the fish did not like my bait and would nose around it and then mosey on down the shoreline. Still, it was nice just to be on the pier. I was away from the telephone, chores and confines of the little Bayou House. I get a sense of freedom when I am on the pier and I always hate to relinquish that feeling. I want to stay on the water..maybe I should have been a sailor! Or a pirate!! Or simply live on the Bayou as I do now..who knows.

Since the fish were not biting, I had plenty of time just to sit and observe my surroundings. Things were quiet tonight. For some unseen reason, there were no egrets, ducks, herons wading or paddling about the shallows. There were no raccoons, otters or rails working the mudflats. There were no gators swimming about the Bayou. Nothing..quiet..too quiet. It always gives me a bit of an uneasy feeling when my Bayou friends are not out getting supper. Too quiet, indeed. Looking up, I did see one bit of wildlife. Just about dark, the sky was teeming with bats. They were swooping about after the mosquitoes and deer flies. Some would come perilously close to my head as they chased the dragonflies but not once did one smack me! I thought about bats and the bad rap that they get from the uninformed. I have heard warnings from people that tell me how dangerous the bats are and how some day I will get attacked. I have been warned about everything from them being vampires, to them getting caught in my hair, and even that they cause head lice! I snicker each time I hear these well-meaning folks dish out their dire alerts! I love my bats!

Speaking of bats, my daughter and son-in-law bought me a bat house! I am tickled with this gift! It makes me happy to know that perhaps this will encourage more bats to make the place their home. What would make me even happier is if said bat house was hanging somewhere outside instead of sitting in the livingroom! Not many bats enter the door to my livingroom! The house has been here for a year now and is still waiting to be hung. It says that it needs to be relatively close to our house on the south side and about fifteen to twenty feet above the ground. I cannot imagine me being on a ladder twenty feet above ground! Nope..not happening..I do not like heights! Someone else will have to install my bat house! In the meantime, though, I do love watching the bats swoop and dart about in the evening sky. I tried to photograph some..my goodness! Those little fellows fly far too fast for me to catch with the camera! (But I did get a great shot of the sunset!)