Mike in the Wild

After more than three decades of living in the city, I've recently discovered that Phoenix has its very own bat cave.  But unlike the Batcave of comic book fame, our desert city's subterranean den is populated by real live bats rather than a duo of superheroes.  In fact, it's a seasonal home to thousands of the flying mammals whose nightly departure is as spectacular as any summer fireworks display. As the days recently lengthened and warmed, I started my morning jogs quite early, even in the breaking light of dawn.  During the golf course portion of my run, I noticed several bats overhead, flitting and fluttering as they hunted insects.  Intrigued by the critters, I soon learned that a large colony of bats roost just two miles away from my home. These Mexican free-tailed bats started arriving in the area in the spring, migrating from as far away as South America.  In the 1990's they decided that a tunnel in a Maricopa County flood control project was an ideal location

Fighting late day traffic through north Phoenix in order to reach Prescott has its rewards.  Most notable is knocking 25 degrees off the thermometer's record  temperatures. (Yes, it was 110 when I left the desert last Thursday but was not even 85 in the pines less than two hours away.)  There are sometimes even surprises waiting for me up there in the form of rain, thunder, hail, and, last week, a bat.   Of course bats are common across Arizona's night skies.  Mostly visible at dusk, they zigzag overhead as they hunt insects.  However where I never see them is in my deck furniture.   I use a shade umbrella to block the morning sunlight and to keep my Prescott porch cool throughout the day. During the wettest periods of the summer I'll even sit under the wide cover and enjoy the cool raindrops enveloping me. Tall ponderosa pines add to the refreshing atmosphere but the bird activity in the trees contributes to accumulations of twigs, bark, and pinecones, among other things.