We have a table umbrella on our patio that we usually keep rolled up, so the wind doesn’t scoop down and blow it away. That happens.
The other day, Nancy decided to crank the handle and spread the umbrella for company and her first guest was none other than a sleeping bat, and he was most upset. He had worked his way up into the nice, dark folds of the umbrella and had been sound asleep.
“Why are you waking me? Its broad day light,” he grumbled.
Bats are, of course, nocturnal, even Count Dracula. They don’t like light, but they use their incredible sonar powers to steer them around at night and alert them of nearby insects.
There are a bunch of different types of bats in Virginia – Big-eared Bats, Evening Bats, Northern Yellow Bats, Brazilian Free-tailed Bats, Little Brown Bats, Southeastern Bats, and many others.
We asked our guest what kind of bat he was, and he said, “I was a sleeping bat until you woke me.”
Bats, of course, are harmless and they eat their weight in harmful insects, like mosquitoes, every evening.
We left our grumpy little bat alone and he finally flew off into a nearby tree. In the meantime, he’s welcomed to use our umbrella for a bed most anytime. Except maybe when company is coming.