Over a million bats

well not exactly in this picture but there are about one and a half million allegedly living under Congress Bridge in Austin, Texas. Best viewed large if you have that option. It has been my third day on the run of bat watching and I have decided I will never get a great shot of them so yesterday I videoed them instead and the result was what I wanted. This picture was taken towards the end of their emergence and if you look carefully you can see blobs of them in the distance near the tower block, not a fab shot but still..... I wanted to share the experience. There is a deaf man who walks along the bridge each night wearing a bat hat and T-shirt advising people where to stand and hinting at what time they may come out from under the bridge. A couple of days ago I walked under the bridge and the sound was really cool. When they come out there is this amazing smell (it must be bat poo maybe) not offensive in any way just unlike anything I have smelled before. Bat smell!

Yesterday was a slow day, I'm tired and ready to go home now. Mr H isn't keen on the heat intensity here (100 degrees F) whilst I love it this means he walks in the shade and I walk in the sun, it also means having to do lots of things inside. Yesterday was interesting though in terms of going to the State Capitol building which was free and where you could self-guide yourself in a tour. It was actually fascinating and once you are past security you can wander around much of the building unsupervised at your own pace. It looks a little like St Paul's cathedral on the outside and a bit like Stormont inside and you get to go in the sentate debating/voting rooms and the represenatives rooms too. Some amazing historical detailing like huge and I mean huge decorative hinges on the doors, it also felt calm and cooling inside....not what I was expecting from a place essentially used for admin.

Last night I ate a fab salad made up of lots of large sunflower seedlings (about 10cm long) it was delicious but I actually felt pangs of guilt eating it because I was depriving them of a chance to bloom!!! (I love sunflowers). I had one of those days yesterday when I was thinking far too much and for the first time wasn't in the mood to blip...I have decided I am going to be a bit more upbeat today ;-)