Going Batty by Susan L.

 A little bit of this, a little bit of that was how my day went yesterday. Only a couple of things got done outside because the heat rolled in with a vengeance. It was in the thirties yesterday or nearly a hundred Fahrenheit. Coupled with high humidity and clouds of mosquitoes, it wasn't very conducive to labouring over gardens. I've got to brave another hot day and cut the grass. It's too long and therefore inviting to the biting pests. Mosquito repellant is the pass word for happy mowing.
  I spent more time inside tidying up my room and doing some much neglected house work. Closing the windows in the morning helps keep the house cool.
  The swarms of mosquitoes (they are bad this year) got me thinking about building a bat house. The one I have enough unpressurized wood for holds thirty to sixty bats. It's like a big bird house. Apparently, one little brown bat will eat a thousand mosquitoes in a night. That's my kind of mammal!
  The only question is where to put it. It needs to be installed fifteen to eighteen feet high and in the sun. I thought about putting it on the old hydro stack on the roof but, well, bats poop. Even though it is considered one of the richest forms of natural fertilizer, I don't think it would be good for the shingles.
  The websites say not to install it in a tree because of the shade and easy access for predators. So before building it I need to look around for a good installation place. It would be nice to put it on the new hydro pole out front. That would be perfect but I don't think it's allowed. Maybe one of the neighbours would be willing to have it put up in their yard if they have a place for it.
  Initially, I had concerns about rabies but came across the fact that the chances of getting the disease from bats is as slim as getting the disease from a cow. The Little Brown Bat is on the endangered species list. It's not just habitat destruction but due to the use of pesticides. This not only reduces their prey numbers but is also poisoning them.
  "Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Mat 12:11-12