Bats and critters

A week or so ago, returning home from a meeting, as I opened the garage door I noticed something flying or gliding along the inside. I thought, "a small bird?" and "poor thing. How did it get stuck in here? Maybe it will fly out." It was dark and shouldn't it be in its nest somewhere asleep? But something said to me, "no, not a bird, a bat." A bat? I have never seen a real one in my life, only Halloween likenesses. I retrieved Jerry from relaxing in front of the tube to check out the garage. He immediately turned off the light and told me to go inside as he pronounced that it was a bat. Well I felt kind of smart. How did I know that?

He poked and prodded around among some empty boxes and cardboard piled up for the garbage pick up. No bat. He poked around crevices. No bat. So after a short time he gave up and returned inside. Bat either flew out or was hiding and not to be found. We've not seen it since. I wonder if they are good luck?

But yesterday morning I stepped out into the garage to set up my bike for my morning errands and workout. I noticed that my used to be large Christmas cactus that has a good spot near the window had been whacked--many fronds were knocked off. Oh, I thought, Jerry must have brushed up against it! Darn what a whack job and it did not need trimmed. Wonder why he didn't say something?

Actually I'd gotten a bit annoyed that he let that happen and ignored it. Well as I walked over to assemble my bike (it's collapsible) I reached down and let out the loudest scream as a small critter, brown, fat with beady eyes looked up at me! I thought it was a mouse but now who knows! I ran inside again, but Jerry was in the shower.

See, I really am a city girl at heart. Despite years in the hillside and orchard in CA I don't do critters! Well, be a big girl and get out there I say to myself. Besides it is probably gone now. I must have made an impression on it. But no, there it was clinging to my bike right near where I pull the lever to snap it all back into place! Yeach! It could have bit me when I reached in there. So there it was, fat and brown, same beady eyes, looking at me. I grabbed a handy garden shovel and began to poke at it. "Get out of here!" Like how brazen, why doesn't it leave?
Why is it just clinging to my bike? Back into the house to shudder.

Well I can't just stay in here so out again to the garage. There it still is. Finally with all my frustration and still shuddering, I gave it a good push and it fell from it's spot down into the area of the bike chain fender. What is wrong with this critter? Why is it just hunkering there shuddering? I know I screamed, maybe it's now deaf from my shrill scream? Why doesn't it just get going?

And then I saw it, tiny blood spots on my bike where I pull the lever to reassemble and lock the bike into rideable position. Critter blood spots! I finally realize that when I reached to set up the bike I must have caught part of its toes in there. That explains why it squeaked and would not move! Gross though! So I returned to the house to wait over another cup of tea until Jerry came out of the shower. He would have to deal with this. Which he did.

Of course when he went out the critter was gone. And he finds this very funny. I explain loudly that it is not funny! Not at all and there is critter blood on my bike! What I thought was a mouse may not have been. The dark brown color doesn't sound right to him, but it had a pointy nose , was fat and had that mouse type tail. I know it was not a rat. Jerry thinks it was something else, a mole, a gopher? I don't think so. Some weird MN critter. But now this explains the pruned Christmas cactus. Evidently this critter did that and so Jerry was not blamed for that. Looking closer I see where it chewed the fronds. How rude!

Well we hosed the blood off my bike and I pedaled off on my way. He never found the critter. Where ever it is, what ever it is it must be missing toes or part of a foot. Do I feel bad about that? No, it should have not been there and it should not have eaten my plant! Jerry thinks it might have been in the garage overnight and was hungry. Still no excuse! We live in a small town, in the city limits so what are all these critters doing in our garage? Maybe they will put the word out, stay away from that woman, she cuts off your toes with her bicycle not so unlike the farmers wife who cut off their tails with a carving knife!