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| Charlotte, decorating for the season. |
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| Hawaiian Hoary Bat |
In the meantime, Charlotte can continue to enjoy the view from her place on my balcony. Gives a whole new meaning to hanging out and enjoying the sunset.
9 years ago
Monday, October 22, 2012
Week 3 of Batty Observations
For more than three weeks I've been watching Charlotte in her web. I concluded that it is "Charlotte" because the Wizard observed, "It's probably female...males are tiny, and she's probably eaten her mate by now."
The seemingly fragile rigging she inhabits is still well intact. I knew the silk was strong, but it really does have a tensile strength equal to steel. When I searched for this info, of course I found all manner of Halloween costume ideas based on spiders and their webs. So in a way, I consider my lanai decorated for the holiday. If I add a real pumpkin, I can consider it a totally natural decor. All I need is a bat to complete the look. I wasn't sure there were bats in Hawaii, but indeed there are. This one looks like a leaf.
More than 30 years ago, my son's first Halloween costume request was to "be a bat." It was a cute costume, created with wicker ribs and the black plastic you use in gardens. (Next year, he wanted to be a flying squirrel. It seemed unimaginative and repetitive, if inspired, and I expected him to grow up to be a glider pilot. Which he didn't.) It was with some delight that I enjoyed a humanoid bat flying around in the upper reaches of the stage at Die Fledermaus, which we went to see a couple Fridays ago. The Wizard thought it was tacky, but it took me back to a time when helping a small child pretend to be a bat was the greatest joy of my life.
In the meantime, Charlotte can continue to enjoy the view from her place on my balcony. Gives a whole new meaning to hanging out and enjoying the sunset.
In the meantime, Charlotte can continue to enjoy the view from her place on my balcony. Gives a whole new meaning to hanging out and enjoying the sunset.
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2 comments:
Hi baroness radon --
Thanks for introducing us (me) to Charlotte. And if the Golden Orb Weavers I've seen in Hong Kong are any indication, than yes, your husband is right -- Charlotte's a female alright! ;b
My wife grew up to be a glider pilot :)
Well, not really. But I did persuade her, twice, to go up in one, piloted by a real glider pilot, for an elevated and airy view of England.
While I, fool that I am, opted for some hair-raising aerobatics, at the hand of the aerobatic champion of the UK.
She remained aloft for some twenty minutes, each time, soaring about, losing three thousand feet, over that time.
While I lost the same amount of altitude in under two minutes, being almost forced through the canopy by negative Gs, while the psychotic pilot tried, unsuccessfully to make me yield.
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