A Perfect Summer Afternoon

After a nice time at the beach in Cape Vincent I picked a few tomatoes from our garden and enjoyed a Goose Island IPA

It was a perfect Summer afternoon here in Chaumont, NY. The temperature hit 86 degrees F, it was windy, plenty of shade in the back yard. We went swimming at Wilson's Bay in Cape Vincent. Came back home and The Better Half and grand son G splashed around in our pool while I drank a Goose Island IPA beer and played some guitar. Then  Better Halfs grand son went for a bike ride up and down our street and over to the school yard. He just learned to ride a bike this month. That was followed by grilled hamburgers and a cucumber salad for dinner. Then we sat on the front porch and sang songs. Among them were Billy Boy, The Ants Go Marching, She Will be Coming Around the Mountain, and more. Great, wonderful day.

Here is a video clip of the fire in our charcoal grill:

G after his bike ride.

I capture a bat that was flying in our in our bedroom August 16, 2015

I captured this bat in our upstairs bathroom of our home in Chaumot, NY

The other other night I went to bed and was asleep by 11:00.  At 12:30 the Better Half says she heard something in our room. I was really out like a light. She roused me. Then I see the form of a bat flying around. That is nothing but freaky. Eventually I get downstairs and open front door. The bat is downstairs too. He sweeps around the living room and comes so close to me I duck down. Then I don't see it anymore. I think it went out the door. Well, I want to stay up for awhile to see if it did indeed get out. At 2:30 we figure it must have left. We go upstairs to bed. I open the upper bathroom door and there it is flying. I slam the door. It is in there.
 So then we wonder what to do. Was it the same bat  that I thought exited the front door, or was it a second bat? We really do not know. Now we stay up until 4:30. We decide to sleep downstairs in the living room. But I never really sleep. I want to know if there are more bats. We have no idea how it got in. It was stressful. I finally fall asleep about 6:00 am. I am awake at 8:30 and must drive to Syracuse at 9:00 for a job.
I do my job. I do a lot of google searching about bats. I get home the next day at 4:00 and start searching the bathroom for the bat. I finally find him clinging to the back side of a clothes hamper. I tilt it back. It is day light. He does not flinch. I slowly lower a plastic food container over it. He seems unaware. Then I slide a piece of card board under the container and now have the creature confined. I tape the cardboard to the container.
Earlier in the day I talked with the Jefferson County Health Dept and they encouraged me to try and capture the bat alive and take it to the veternarian's in Limerick to have it tested for rabies. So, with the Better Half at the wheel and I holding the trapped bat we drove to the vets. While on our way I made a short video of it. The animal is quite frustrated, but after I set it on the floor it calmed down and appeared to be contented. We got it to the vets and now are waiting for the test results.

Check out this video of the trapped bat and listen to the Better Half as we drive the creature to the vets:

Photos from a North Country Garden

A Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean vine in my garden, Chaumont, NY

It was overcast and grey today, seeming as if it would rain, but that never happened. There are quite a few yellow leaves falling from the Black Walnut tree beside the garage and littering the outdoor work bench. It gives one the impression of Autumn, but that season is still a ways off.

The Better Half went to visit brother D's wife in Syracuse this afternoon. She will return tomorrow afternoon, God willing and the creek doesn't rise.

So I snapped a few shots of my garden with the iPhone 5 today. I present them here:

The garden at my home in Chaumont, NY