Yesterday evening, around 7:30, I was weeding the garden, got tired, and lay down on a path on my back for a minute. The sky was still clear blue from the lack of humidity, with a few low "cotton-candy" clouds glowing pink and gold from the setting sun. It was so peaceful to be gazing up at the big sky, back against the earth. Suddenly I saw one, then two, then three, then a dozen bats fluttering, swooping and chirping overhead. They looked like they were dancing against that beautiful sky. I was struck by the contrast of this scene to the general idea we have of bats as menacing creatures of the night - rats with wings (oh joy). These looked playful and kind of lovely and, for me, welcome little visitors whose "dancing" is partially due to the fact that they're chasing down mosquitoes.
I'm quite sure they're residents of the University of Florida's famous bat house a few miles down the road. I have visited this amazing site several times at dusk to watch the thousands of bats emerge and swarm like giant bees before dissipating to make their rounds around the city. It's a great place to visit if you live nearby. Or just stop what you're doing and be still around 7:30. Look up.
Comments