Chillin' With the Wildlife

I don't like to be too hot, not one little bit. I love Western Washington for our mostly middle-of-the-road weather and temperatures. But occasionally the mercury does creep up a little too high on the thermometer for me, and when it does I love nothing better than to stay up late just so that I can go outside and sit in the cool night air. It's a practice which in the last month has brought not only the familiar feeling of "ahh, this is nice" but also unexpected sightings of two of my favorite nocturnal animals: owls and bats. Owls! and Bats! in my backyard! I can't even begin to explain how giddy this makes me. One hardly ever sees either of these amazing animals, so both in the same month, right in my own suburban backyard is pretty thrilling to me.

It makes me even glad for the blazing heat which pushes me outside at summertime dusk.

It also motivates me to go ahead and build that bat house we've been talking about for the last year or so. A bat house?! you ask. Why? Well, here's why; and how, too, for that matter! Bat Conservation, International is also a good place for general information on bats and why they're great.

If you live in a place where placing an owl nesting box would be appropriate (sadly, our backyard isn't good habitat for nesting owls, I think), here and here are some places for information and plans.

And if nothing else, go on outside some evening this summer to cool off from the heat of the day - from bats to owls to endless stars on clear-sky nights, you might discover something amazing!