The most magical thing happened in my backyard tonight.  I was sitting at my displaced bistro table looking at my deck and picturing the fabulous new rain cover that will soon come to fruition.  The light was quickly fading.  Much faster than I’d have liked.  I know the darkness in Washington is coming.  The short gray days and long rainy nights.  I was just enjoying the clear night and picturing future ones beneath a protective cover.  Despite whatever weather Western Washington will deliver.  And then my peripheral vision caught it.

Erratic fluttering of wings.  Darker against a darkening sky.  Not the smooth, swooping fashion of a swallow.  Nope.  The effort of a helicopter compared to a winged Jet.  Magnificent in its ability to maneuver on whim.  Perhaps it caught the winged termite that dive bombed me and left a wing on my chest.  I hope so.  I hope the rest of it lies in the belly of a skilled hunter and not somewhere in the dress I am currently wearing.

My little heroes.  Bats.  Small ones.  Swift and agile.  I do not have large trees in my yard to attach a bat house to.  Perhaps a neighbor did and I am just benefitting.  I had wanted a bat house since the first house I had owned.  This little blue house with a crazy yard that was perfect to me.  But maybe not to the bats, because I never saw them.

I saw them in the Mexican Riviera though.  Batting overhead while floating an underground  river and again while swimming in a pristine cenote.  A bit scary, but magical.  And much later, in Eastern Washington, I saw a huge bat flying almost too low over my head near the Wenatchee River.  Exciting.  And a bit scary.

Tonight though, as I was sitting alone in my backyard, I felt safe and in awe.  I giggled/laughed out loud as I saw a few of those winged heroes flit above me and move crazy fast between houses.  Hunting.  Avenging me for the nasty mosquito bites I have endured this year. My little heroes.

As the fall approaches, I hope I have more nights with these dark delights before they hibernate or head off for warmer climates.