Once I fell into an old well and was attacked by bats. Later in life, after personal tragedy struck, those same bats inspired me into a life of vigilante crimefighting. My point? You just never know how bats will influence your life.

I feel better now.

I think the Orioles have been using your Google query for years.

Hey, I'm supposed to be the funniest one here. :-)

This is one of the reasons I like this blog. Even when you are at your gloomiest, someone presents something that makes you laugh.

You should have shared how the bat wound up in a towel. And, what happened to the little devil after he was caught? Inquiring minds want to know.

Finally, our new friend Brian is a very witty guy.

My husband threw the towel over it when it was hanging upside down on my curtains, caught it and put it outside. It was not happy with him.

Was he tasty?

The worst part of winter here for me is the schizophrenic approach this area has for "winter." Snowstorm one day, sixty degrees the next. A couple of weeks of near sixty weather and then more snow. Then rain. Snow melts. Things look haphazard again.

If we must endure winter, then I wish for a proper winter. Cold, lots of snow, more cold. And more snow. No melting.

To solve this dilemma, I'm heading off to Moscow on Thursday for caviar and vodka.

If there isn't already, you should post a blog on Top Ten Winter Foods. In the summer it's all about fresh fruits and veggies and crabs. What about the winter??

Try these (not quite the same, but...):
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/reviews/blog/2007/12/top_ten_restaurants_for_winter.html#more

Not much meat on a bat.

Winter tomatoes do indeed (your choice of perjorative verb here). As do spring tomatoes, for that matter. For applications where they'll work, grape tomatoes and the like are a better choice.

A few years ago we came home from a movie to find an old lacrosse stick in the front hall. I was puzzled by this since it had been years since either of our sons played lacrosse at all. The next morning we learned that our younger son had decided the lax stick made a perfect bat catcher.

Hope you feel better soon, Elizabeth!

There is nothing redeeming about winter. I hate it. And it increases aches and pains now that I'm over 40. I thought bats hibernated as I don't see them in the winter. Learn something on this blog every day!

We have tasteful off-white walls and tastefully neutral curtains, and there is nothing like having a bat hanging upside down on them to make you think about your living room decor differently.

Wait. I have had the crude cold for six weeks (Dec. 26)(ok 4) and I am a doctor. The advantage to #5 is you get to really snuggle close with your sweetie.

My grandmother has a cottage down at Smith Mountain Lake, and I used to go there with my family for two weeks every summer.

One year, we noticed something black that was just hanging on the wall. Eventually, we came to the realization that it was a bad. Our solution? My mom and aunt took one of those plastic ice cream containers (back when all ice cream came like that), slid a piece of cardboard underneath, and let it outside. Fortunately, this was the summer.

And I agree - I hate winter. Is it spring yet?

I grew up in a drafty old house in Roland Park... used to have bats all of the time. Squash raquets work wonderfully for chasing bats...except near chandeliers.

You caught the Count from Sesame Street?

Did he sing you a song?

One, two three ... batty batty bat.

I don't hate winter. I grew up in California where we thought it was really frigid if the temperature dropped into the 40s. But I am not very fond of ice ...

Science note for Desiree -- Bats are mammals, just like humans [except for the flying thing]. They use sonar to navigate, hence the squeaking sound.

My wife still talks about her father stalking bats in the house armed with a tennis racquet and a coffee can. When we had bats in Mt. Washington, the cat caught them and stood guard until we dropped it in the storm drain to keep the raccoons company.

There is an organization called Bat Conservation International (BCI) and their web site has a video with live demonstration of how to capture a bat in your home. It's pretty funny, the bat is very cooperative and the woman very calm. (unlike how I would be).

This is fabulous. Thank you so much. Here's the url:
http://www.batcon.org/home/index.asp?idPage=51&idSubPage=147
It's like when they told me how much fun natural childbirth would be.

Here's a recipe for fruit bat soup.

http://bertc.com/fruitbat.htm

from the New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook" by Jean Hewitt (c) 1971. Bon appetit!

I love winter (actually, all four seasons for distinct reasons); a chance to enjoy stews and other comfort foods. Plus, it makes those days of spring that much more wonderful! Having said that, I prefer a much more consistent cold, rather than this up and down pattern.

My grandmother still tells a story about a dinner party she gave sometime in the 60's or 70's. She's not much of a cook (more of a reservation-maker), but she'd made chocolate mousse for dessert.

As she carried the tray of mousse - arranged in 8 Waterford dessert bowls - down her basement stairs to put them in the fridge until dinnertime, a bat flew up the stairs, freaking her out and upending everything in her hands. The crystal shattered and chocolate mousse went everywhere. I think it was about 3 hours until guests were arriving.

She got it together, though, and made another batch. My grandfather, amazing husband that he was, went out and bought her a whole new set of Waterford dishes, just like the broken ones.

Let's not forget that bats may be rabid. Don't eat anything that foams at the mouth. ;-

Winter isn't all that bad - at least daylight keeps getting longer each day. And sometimes the snow can even be pretty. And fireplaces can help reduce the heating bill. And winter can give you many many things about which to complain. And the longest, darkest, most depressing month (metaphorically speaking) - albeit the month with the fewest days - is about to begin ... and it has an EXTRA DAY!!!

Keep the faith, fellow bloggers - we'll help each other stay warm with our shared humor and talks of food.

Elizabeth, I was very surprised to see you in the weather report of the Sun this morning. You are becoming ubiquitous! On the bright side (no pun intended), I guess your comment means you are finally feeling better!

Hey, 50 degrees and sunny is my kind of winter.