The problem may not be as bad as we thought though, as the bats are not roosting there, which is where they stay in the daytime, and are only feeding off the temporary supply of berries. So when that supply dries up, hopefully they will leave.
One neat thing we discovered though is that shining our veranda light out into the garden makes it look really nice! Well, it looks nicer than my photo shows, but you get the idea.
While I was out there taking photos I thought I'd go on bat patrol. I used the flash in my camera to flush out any bats in the dark corner they've moved to (there was one). The resulting photo shows the blue berries (at the right, click to enlarge) they are attracted to. I have no idea what the name of the tree is, and unfortunately it is right near my clothes hoist, which can be seen at the bottom of the photo. So far no horrid purple stains have landed on any washing.
12 comments:
Your ingenuity once again triumphs!
I ran across your website today, Val, and I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for the years you taught me. If it weren't for you, I'd never have gone to Berkeley, and never have become a teacher, and I would have settled for much less in life.
Thanks for your influence, and thanks for sharing your interests with others.
Val!
Robert Hamner sent me a link to your webpage. I have thought about you ever since Mt. Diablo High School and wanted to get in touch with you but didn't have a way. Thank goodness for the internet! I am married, have a 16 year old, and live in Washington state. The blackberries are nearly ready to pick! Val, you were the source of so much inspiration to me. Thanks.
Annette Lessmann
Wow Val...I was going to comment on the bats, but the two comments above are very nice. You really made an impression on these two individuals...You must be so proud to hear what they had to say about you. That was quite a tribute. Way to go Val.
I am SO touched to hear from students I taught in the early 70s, and who also attended my wedding in the Berkeley Hills in 1971. I will be contacting you, Robert and Annette - thank goodness for the internet indeed! Those years of teaching have left me rich with fond memories, and I've often wondered how you all turned out. I must admit to feeling a bit weepy when I read what you wrote. I am so happy!
Thanks AIP for your kind comments too. I am indeed feeling a bit proud at the moment!
Val,
I was also going to comment on your bat situation, but I am so impressed by the comments from your former students. I didn't remember hearing that you were married in the Berkeley Hills nor that you had taught at Mt. Diablo High School. (although, I of course knew you were from the bay area)
Goodness, it truly is such a small world.
And you should have seen the wedding! In the hills, everyone dressed in their version of hippie best and brightest. I was astonished to be invited to an adult affair. Their wedding was the beginning for me of thinking I could actually do adult things. Val was gloriously beautiful and Mel devastatingly handsome.
Annette
Blessedly, the popular song "We've Only Just Begun" was not played. It was the only wedding held in Northern California in 1971 that excluded this Carpenter's classic.
I am just so amazed, happy and overwhelmed by those two having got in touch with me, and writing what they did. They also sent me emails to my work address in which they wrote even nicer things, in more detail. I just started to cry, to think I’ve been so fondly remembered for such a long time – it’s been over 30 years!
I must do a post about my wedding – it was very Berkeley, flowers in my hair even! I hadn’t written about that before, nor that I had taught at that particular school. Who would have guessed that one of my readers would have heard of it! I’ve got photos of those kids at the wedding, but I guess I should ask their permission before I post them to my blog. Now I don’t know what to do first, one on my grandma or the wedding. In any case, I’ll have to start scanning!
You'll be able to judge for yourselves about the "beautiful" and "handsome" bit. Oh Robert, you reminded me of that song, it was rather cliched, wasn't it? Do you remember our friend who played classical violin at the wedding? We googled his name a few months ago and got in touch with him through his website.
This has been such a fantastic day!
Hi Val:-) Glad to hear the light shining on the bats is helping in some ways!! See, even blondes can have good ideas! Ha! What a lovely surprise for you to receive these comments from two of your former students, it's no wonder you got all weepy:-) When a teacher is a good one, students don't forget how they touched their lives...you were certainly one of those teachers:-) Well done!! Hugs xoxo
Wow Val, I have goose bumps after reading these comments. I can imagine your happiness! How absolutely wonderful to hear from your former students of yesteryear and relive those fond memories. And to have touched lives like that....truly fantastic.
I'll look forward to those future posts, you flower child, you :)
Oh, and hope those bats go away soon. That's an interesting picture with the blue berries on the tree. What kind of tree is it?
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