Hip, hip Hooray!

Yes, spring has indeed sprung, and with it came all our barn swallows.  Many generations back they built nests under the porch eaves, and their offspring have used the same nests each year.  They come suddenly.  One morning we hear their cheerful cheeping and see their glossy, blue-black wings.  They swoop like Purple Martins, and we're told they can eat many times their weight in mosquitoes each day.  This is a great boon to first husband and me, since we have a lot of buckets filled with water for the dogs to drink.  We haven't had a mosquito around here for years.

We may also have bats.  They eat mosquitoes too, and with all our trees it seems logical that they would find refuge.  Ever since Bela Lugosi, people have given bats short shrift.  They're actually a good animal, very helpful with the mosquitoes and other swarmy bugs. 

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