Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Bats and other Nocturnal Musings

Scott is working nights these days. Sometimes, after he leaves, I go and sit on our porch and watch the world go by.
I am a "night person", and enjoy the night-time. Tonight, I was just sitting and watching. Bats were clicking and flitting by. Crickets were chirping. One lone cloud in the shape of a heart drifted by. It is humid out, so I didn't stay long, but a few people walked by, either going to or coming home from work. A few teens on their bikes were chatting down by the corner. Our neighbour two doors up from us was out for his late night stroll with his dog Jack.
All of these things were so familiar to me: the humidity, the night creatures and the sky. I was wondering what things in my life were going to be like a year from now. Do they have bats and crickets in Alberta? They probably do, and I am hoping they will be similar enough to feel comforting.
I remember the first time I saw a bat. I was just a kid, and out for a walk in the neighbourhood. Other kids saw this bat and had told some adults. It was flapping and fluttering in a panic. An animal control man was trying to catch it because it might have rabies. It wasn't until I moved here to London that I saw bats again. They are always out in the summer here, and curiously, I was not scared of them. They fly like those little white butterflies that seem to have no sense of direction and cannot fly in a straight line. The bats here fly that way too, and I wonder how they get their prey or whatever else when they are flying like that.
Tonight I just feel wistful and content knowing that for right now, things are still comforting and the same. I just wonder what the future will bring.

1 comment:

knitty_kat said...

Wow! There's a whole lot going on in your life. Alberta hu? Good-luck! The people are friendly and down to earth, I'm sure you will feel at home quickly.

As for the bats, they are everywhere in Southern Ontario. And Northern as well. Not many people notice them. The strange flight patterns are their feedings - the fly around and catch bugs!