July 24, 2020
Social Distancing – blah blah blah
Ten days ago I told you my amazing news about the bat award. Voting is now open – it has been since Monday and I can’t work out if I’m excited or petrified about it. To win would be an absolute honour – to be nominated is blinking fabulous enough. I’d like to win, wouldn’t anyone who is nominated? I’d like to not come last in this bat-world popularity contest, that’s for sure. I don’t know that we learn numbers actually. The other people nominated are amazing bat workers too, we all deserve this, we all work hard at what we do in our respective groups.
Other than fretting about the award, life is just same old really. Bats everywhere, work crazy, garden producing and I’m just exhausted. Each night I’ll go to sit down and it’ll be close on eleven pm, where are the evenings going?! Time is disappearing and I have no clue where.
Work is busy which is reassuring. I know four months ago, we were a bit worried as to whether the family business would survive this crazy time – no one has been furloughed and we all work from home where we can. I miss chatting about normal stuff though with my colleague – the boss only wants to talk work or steam trains, yawn. Everyone has realised they like their house but need more space and the enquiries are pouring in. I could do with having a clone.
I’m temping this week and it’s odd, they only want me for as little time as possible (lots of reasons) and so I’ll do a few hours here, then go to the office and work there for the afternoon and then evenings are bat feeds or test flying or surveys. The other night we had to rescue a hedgehog out the courgette patch as it wasn’t far after 8pm so not at all dark.
Working three jobs used to be a standard thing in the summer, it just was what it was. This week it’s killing me though, I’m just exhausted from concentrating and rushing from one place to the other. I cannot afford to make mistakes though – for any employer – so my brain most definitely hurts!
The good thing about where I temp is that they have amazing blackberry bushes here, the fruit is enormous! As today is my last day/morning I’ve brought in some tubs and I’m gonna fill them up! I’ve also found a recipe for blackberry clafoutis which I’m excited to make this afternoon.
I finally finished the puffin that someone asked me to make for them for actual cash and now they’ve asked me to design and make a pheasant! Whilst I like the challenge and the creative-ness it is a new level of pressure I’m not sure I’m comfortable with – I don’t know this person and they’re trusting me with this request. Eeek. And before you ask: No. This is not a new business outlet for me, it takes too long to sew each felt bird, it kills my fingers and there isn’t any money in it. Fun to sew, yes but not a new income source.
Bat care is also filling my hours, the pups are at that tricky teenager stage, they don’t want milk but don’t want to have to feed themselves. They’ve worked out what wings are and like stretching and tapping but stick them in a flex so they have space to jump and try flying and they sulk. Argh. Some tough love this weekend methinks and a period of time in the outdoor flight cage too. They will learn and they will be released! They’ve got to be, I’ve a waiting list of peeps wanting to bring pups to the flight cage! It has been a crazy, crazy, busy year. We are two bats away from exceeding last years entire total of critters. People ask ‘why has it been so busy?’ and none of us can identify why. The weather hasn’t been too extreme and roosts aren’t being disturbed more than usual. We just all seem to have had constant levels of bat residents for the last four/five months! No one has been quiet, everyone has had lots we’ve all shared the load this season.
Health wise I’m managing. The headaches are coming back but I’m reasonably sure that’s because I’m not sleeping particularly well. I’m taking my pills and trying to rest when I can. My Mandatory Reconsideration was rejected so I have to decide if I want to appeal the decision but I don’t have long in which to do that. It’s stressful enough a situation as it is, do I really want to add to that stress? But the DWP have lied and ignored me and I’m struggling so yes, the appeal needs to be done, I just don’t know where to start or what to say just yet.
The garden is going well, we’ve harvested broad beans and peas which are now in the freezer. I’ve been eating raspberries off the bush which is heaven. The rhubarb is still going great guns and our plum and damson trees are laden. We’ve been gathering cucumbers and courgettes and spring onions for what feels like forever. Our climbing beans are now at the top of the sticks, the onions are ready to pull, the parsnips are growing well as are the leeks and squashes. I also have managed to grow FOUR aubergines which is super exciting. Our tomato plants are now starting to fruit as are the second lot of cauliflowers. I know we have only been able to manage all this because the weather during lockdown was lovely and so jobs could be done of an evening or weekend.
None of the list of lockdown jobs around the house have been finished (or started!) as yet of course. I decided to strip the window ledges about six weeks ago but timed it badly with baby bat pups arriving. Thankfully there are only ledges on the front of the house and therefore only three to strip. They each seem to have about nine layers of paint on them though, each more garish and awful than the last – who paints window ledges orange or baby blue for heaven’s sake?!!? One is totally done, one is almost done and the third hasn’t even been thought about yet haha. But I do have the paint finally, physically in the house so the incentive to get it done is absolutely there. Another thing to add to the Friday afternoon plans!
I’m desperate for gooseberries though, not just a few plants for my own gluttony but I want to purchase some and make gooseberry fool. Can’t find them anywhere though, I’m so disappointed.
July 14, 2020
Some stonkingly amazing news
Today is Tuesday 14th July 2020
At 07.57 I got an email – and yes I was up because I was feeding bat pups!
This email came from Bat Towers, the central office of the Bat Conservation Trust.
The contents informed me I have been nominated for the Pete Guest Award 2020. This award is given to bat workers who have made a major contribution to bat conservation. It is an absolute amazing honour to even be considered worthy of a nomination let alone hope for anything more. It goes to public vote next Monday. Bat group members, BCT members, bat workers, bat carers and enthusiasts can vote.
https://www.bats.org.uk/our-work/awards/pete-guest-award
It has been a horrible three weeks. I’ve been inundated with bat pups. This weekend I hit 28 bats in my kitchen and even though I was off call, the phone kept ringing. My little gang of carers are up to 121 bats in six months and two days. We are beyond exhausted – physically, emotionally and mentally. I have cried and thrown tantrums and set alarms for every three hours. I have sent cake by courier to my gang of gorgeous human beings, I have tried to check in with them all and make sure they’re all okay. I’ve begged peeps to take certain bats, I’ve wondered how on earth we’ll cope if the phone rings again. I’ve lost bats, in the euphemistic sense of the word and the real sense of the word. I’ve filled the kitchen and living room and spare bedroom with bats in various set-ups. I borrowed next-door-but-one’s teenagers to help me with cleaning and feeding.
Above all this, even at my most emotional, I knew I had a marvellous team beside me. We can’t hug each other but we can do midnight phone chats for advice and reassurance. We have messenger check ins at 3am when we know we’re all feeding. We send texts and jiffy bags of goodies. My team is amazeballs. I’d like to believe in a splash of ego here that it’s down to me that we’re all okay. That I’ve gathered this group of humans and they’ve not run away yet. Somehow I keep them all in a state of okay-ness and they know they have a support system in me even if it’s mostly in pyjamas.
Yesterday I was on site doing a building survey, I was chatting to the householder about bats and bat care and casually showed her cute bat feet photos and some of my latest residents. Socially distanced of course. When I got to the office I had an email saying they’d bought a pile of stuff off the bats Amazon wishlist. The power of #BatToes and the SLgang
Each year at Bat Conference I sit and watch the Pete Guest Award being given out and I’ve always been in awe of those nominated. And now I’m one of them. Gosh.
viewfromthisdesk 