Hello October; Hello Fall

Well, here we are - mid-October already!! The days and months are going by way too fast!

This past week, Maddie has been on her fall break from school. That did not mean no studying as she has two mid-term exams as soon as she returns - tomorrow and Wednesday in addition to a load of other assignments! College is hard! But, we did manage to have a few outings and some fun!

We went to the Outlet shopping one day -- it's weird to shop on a weekday as the outlet is usually crowded and it was so empty! So, it was strange, but nice to have the stores to ourselves! Corn mazes are popular around here! Do you see me?

One day we went to the movie, Lyle Lyle Crocodile! :) I've seen those books but have never read one! The movie was so good. We both enjoyed it and laughed and laughed. It was very touching too. So glad that we didn't think - that's a kid movie and not go see it. Plus, Shawn Mendes singing -- awesome!! :)

We also went to our local pumpkin patch known as Roca Berry Farm. For Halloween, they call it Roca Scary Farm. Wow -- that place has expanded sooooo much! Going on a nice warm Saturday may not have been the best plan as it was very crowded, but still lots of fun! An oldie but a goodie from 2011 at the Pumpkin Patch

And, of course, the weather is changing around here. This week some mornings are expected to be in the 20's with highs only hitting 50! But, next weekend maybe 80s! That's the way it is in Nebraska and I'm hoping for more warm days than cold ones. A couple more photos from the Pumpkin Patch!

Enjoy your fall - we know what is coming next around here and kind of dreading it!

BAT ATTACK - OH MY!!!

I almost hated to write this post as I had such a scary experience, but I wanted to memorialize what was one of the most terrifying mornings of my life! Seriously!! You know that book and movie called "My Terrible Horrible Very Bad Day -- that was how my day started about a month ago.
After I came out of the shower, something suddenly swooped down at me!!! At first, I thought it was a bird - but NO - it was a freaking BAT!!!!!!! Oh my goodness -- I quickly grabbed some clothes and shut the doors and ran down the stairs! It had evidently sneaked in at some point overnight. True, I had heard some fluttering noises during the night, but thought the fan was blowing on a JCP bag that was sitting on the floor - I soon realized that the bat had been in the bedroom for some time! [I would have put in a real photo of a bat, but the photos I saw online were sooooo scary.]

Of course, I quickly called Animal Control. They informed me that I had to be in the room watching the stinking bat before they would send anyone out. I had a cup of coffee and got brave and went back upstairs. Meanwhile, Rickster went back to bed in another bedroom!!! I called Animal Control again once I was in the room and spotted Mr. Batty-Bat. While on the phone, it made a circle around the ceiling and swooped down at me! Of course, I screamed -- sorry to the lady on the other end of the phone call. She said she'd send someone out, but had no idea how long it would take and I had to stay in there to watch it. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Guess what friends -- it was over an hour and a half! I spent the entire time cowering in the corner with a raincoat on with the hood up watching Mr. Batty-Bat take off, fly around and swoop down towards me many, many times. I'm surprised I didn't pee my pants! How cow! I was shaking and it swooped at me often. Was it playing chicken with me??? We'll never know, will we? Generally, it flew over to one of the windows and either hung on the window ledge or the curtains. Finally, the animal control guy came, I pointed out the last place I saw the filthy critter, on a window sill. He walked over with his little tupperware container and pushed it right in. It was a little brown bat -- at least it was not the Big Brown Bat - but it was definitely big in my book. Since it had been in the room while I was sleeping, they had to send it in to see if it had rabies. As Mr. Animal Control officer told me, you can't even tell if you get bit by a bat as it is a tiny bite and doesn't hurt. So, the lesson is that if you're ever in a similar situation, don't kill and throw out the bat. It needs to be checked or you will end up having to have a bunch of painful and expensive rabies shots. Happy to report, Mr. Batty-Bat did not have rabies! However, it terrorized me so bad, that I slept in the living room downstairs for 2 weeks, afraid that Mr. Batty-Bat left an opening somewhere for his friends to visit. So far, none! And, I contacted a bat remediation company to come to the house and close up some spaces where it could have gotten in. Praying that it never happens again.

The whole experience has left me very jumpy! Like I'm scared of squirrels running up trees, birds flying in and around, butterflies, bees, the wind blowing. Seems like every critter imaginable is after me! Just last week, I saw some GIANT (I mean really, really BIG) black crows sitting in the trees at the office parking lot. Creepy and extra large. So, I figured I'd snap a quick photo with my iPhone. OMG -- as soon as I did the 3 turned into 6 and they swarmed me! I ran to the office like one of the poor old ladies in The Birds movie! Again, they came at me and swooped down at my head. Is it my hair?? It wasn't even frizzy and nest-like either of those times! My heart was pounding so hard!

My advice - be careful out there! Be very, very careful!