Chapter 98: Memorial Day

As Memorial Day came into view, I was reeeally looking forward to a few days away after the week we've had around here. So Friday morning we loaded Bear,

Nitro,

...and our stuff and headed out. We traded Bear for some of our load with Chris 'n Roo so Bear could get to the B-E-A-C-H during the day rather than sit home alone. This also gave Chris 'n Roo a more peaceful drive during peak traffic hours since Bear's inner fire engine siren comes out whenever he is in a car. Erik & Darla also met us at the cabin for a bit of R & R.

 

 As soon as we arrived at the cabin, I open the blinds to see what's going on. Guess what I found? We don't really have a belfry to have bats in, but here it was anyway. We immediately went into "How do you deal with THIS?" mode. Armed with a Zip-Lock bag with a pot-holder for padding, I advanced on the prehistoric beast. Bob opened the closest window, removed the screen for an easy exit and closed the doors to the room so it couldn't get out. We were ready. I stalked my 2" prey with utmost concentration, pounced on it with the bag making sure to form an escape-proof gasket around the bat, and Bob was poised to do his part. Disappointly (mostly for the bat) it was dead. No wild animal rescue for us. It didn't even count in our Wildlife Trifecta (spotting three kinds of wildlife per trip) since roadkill doesn't count. Since roadkill doesn't count, it follows that a dead bat on the window shouldn't count either. (Ryan, does that sound ok?)



Immediately after the Big Bat Routing, Bob, being Bob, got right to work putting little beam details on the porch ceiling so it carried the look of the open beam ceiling of the rest of the cabin. Here's a picture of it as seen from the living room...

...and the kitchen.

Funny how there were six people having a great time and all I took pictures of were a bat, cat, and dog. Sorry.

Bear was so exhausted from his three trips to the B-E-A-C-H that he tried to get as far away from us under the kitchen table, far back in the corner as he could so he could get some sleep. 

Our return trip traffic apprehension was unfounded and we had a better than non-holiday commute back from the cabin. Nitro was glad to be home and anxious to get out of the car. Did you ever think you'd see Bob letting a cat walk on the dashboard of his car?

On a more somber note, last Memorial Day Mom was at the cabin with us. We had a great time. She was so excited when we excavated an unexpected sidewalk from the cabin to the shed. Although not her most flattering pictures, the fun Mom had was obvious. I'll repost so we can all enjoy them again.

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend as well.