its a zoo

So apparently living in suburbia doesn't mean no wildlife interaction. In the year we have been here, we have dealt with foxes leaving fleas for us, skunks leaving their odor, cute bunnies, black widows IN THE HOUSE, a raccoon(?) waking us up b/c its stuck in our backyard, and bats. Yes bats.

Most recently (as in the past 48 hrs) its been the bat, the black widows and the animal that we think is a raccoon. I was leaving to see a friend Monday night and this thing 'wooshed' right past me. It literally brushed my arm and I screamed which was useless b/c I currently have lost my voice. At first I thought it was a giant black butterfly but as it flew away I realized it was a bat. We have been hearing this screeching the past few weeks late into the night so maybe this lovely colony of bats is what we are hearing. I was just on the phone w/ my grandma and I can't remember what she said exactly but it made me think that they are LIVING IN OUR ATTIC. I just called Garrett and let him know that he has a chore when he gets home: getting a flashlight and looking in the attic for said bats. We are pretty sure they are living across the street b/c that is where we think the noise is coming from but if they are in our attic I don't even want to know how much that's going to cost to take care of.

On to the black widows. We have seen one every now or then but only in the past few months. Monday night Garrett went out to the garage and found 6, yes six black widows on the back patio that basically is the thorough fare from the kitchen door to the garage door (a regular door, not the actually drive your car through door. So after killing those (w/ a fly swatter by the way that he was actually going to put back under the kitchen sink w/o wiping the dead spiders off) I was informed that they just stay outside. Well last night we discovered that is false b/c we found one in the corner of the family room. Yes they do come inside and yes they can kill little kids. So at this point I can't sleep b/c any sort of anything that makes you think is touching you must be a black widow. Finally I settle down and decide I am going to go to Home Depot to get some stuff to bomb the house.

After settling down for the night, we hear this screeching sound and panting underneath our bedroom window that is on the side of the house. The animal is trying to get out and is running up to the side gate and slamming into it. Garrett in all his wisdom :-) gets his gun out (its in safe up above where even I can't reach) and heads to the back of the house. I think he kind of hoped it was a coyote and somehow would have the excuse to shoot at it. Luckily for the animal it didn't appear on the back porch so we went back to our room and discovered it finally figuring out how to climb over the fence. I should take pictures of the claw marks to share but have decided I don't want to go over there since that area needs to be cleared of all the weeds and seeing the spider problem I am done w/ outside adventures for now. Garrett got a look at it, but since our street is poorly lit, we guess it was a raccoon.

At any rate, who knew San Diego could be such an adventure w/ the outdoor life? I will have to let you all know what happens when Garrett looks up in the attic.

I wish our bunny comes back.