killed a third bat

Hopefully this is close to the last blog on this issue. Otherwise folks are gonna think all I do is blog about things that farm boys deal with daily and city boys get all excited about. I hired myself to venture into the attic this morning to do some extermination if necessary. Sure enough, there was a third bat friend waiting for the stake to go through his heart. My small philips head screwdriver went through the two wire mesh coverings and into the poor guy. I hope that's the last of them. You don't want to see any pictures of this guy, trust me.

Belaboring the Bat Incident

Sorry to belabor this bat incident but this evening Maris and I were napping in the living room when Maris noticed another bat. This li'l guy was just hanging around waiting to meet with his buddy from this morning. I had Paxton from down the street come over to make sure we didn't lose him. The following is a picture of both of our bat friends. The big one was from this morning (read below for that story) and the small one was from this morning. We need to get this problem fixed. By the way, we can't wait to see the new Batman feature.

bat in the bedroom

We have a faithful dog, two parakeets and we're gecko-sitting for a friend for the summer. We don't want a pet bat and I made that clear to our visitor last night. About a week and a half ago we were first visited by our bat friend in our bedroom. He made circle upon circle as I stumbled out of bed to put on clothes and glasses. Jambo was jumping up and down chomping her teeth together and Maris was nestled safely under the blanket. Our bat friend seemed to disappear that night. I reckon he made his temporary housing in our soon-to-be baby room as we opened that door last night to air out some staining I had done. About 5:00 am Maris wakes me as something is in our room. She also thought she heard someone playing the didgeridoo. That sound was our little bat friend circling over head once again. I stumbled out of bed again but this time I would prove to be a bit more hospitable to our little friend. Jambo and I were like Batman and Robin (of course I was Batman and she was Robin).

We invited our bat friend into the baby room and I assembled an assortment of tools for the task. I had a Maglite, broom, shop-vac extension, glove, small trash can, air soft gun and trash bag. After a few shots with the air soft gun to get our friend flying I smacked him with the frisbee and captured him with the trash can. Tomorrow he'll take a trip to the local health department to be tested for rabies. I won't even go into the fatality rate of rabies and the fact that you can't even tell if you've been bitten. At any rate, our adventures continue. Check out the picture above and the following video. The video is brief and to the point but you definitely get the picture. As a side note, "I am Legend" is a great movie...

Take a stroll through our neighborhood.

View Larger Map
Ours is the yellow house. If you turn left and head east down the street for three blocks you can find our dear friends, the LeMoines, on the left hand side. Theirs is the blue house east of the white house on the corner. The addresses don't quite match up but it gives you a great visual. No one should get lost trying to find our place anymore.

The Bathroom Project

You are welcome to come use our restroom anytime...almost.
But you have to call first!

Miss Kansas Continued

from the 6/9 Pratt Tribune:

When Miss Augusta Emily Deaver woke up Saturday morning, she “had this feeling.”
The feeling might have come from figuring the odds. She had won three preliminay competitions — talent, swimsuit and evening gown. But no. The feeling was more than probabilities.

An excitement.

“I felt I really showed myself (to the judges),” she said later. “I think that’s what they were looking for.”

And when the judges agreed Saturday night at PCC’s Dennis Lesh Sports Arena, Emily Deaver, a 19-year-old jazz major at Wichita State University, became the first contestant since Angelea Busby in 2003 to be crowned Miss Kansas at her first appearance in the state pageant.

The judges threw her a curve early in the final competition, however. Deaver watched as contestant after contestant was called forward for the top 12.

“Everyone up there was amazing, just amazing,” she said. “And then they waited to the very end to call me and I just about died.”

Her confidence was restored after competing in swimsuit and making the Top 10. Following evening gown in her simple, black dress with its high collar, the field was narrowed to eight, and her name was again called last.

Then came talent, the event where her “soulful, smooth, deep chest” voice came into play along with her fingers as she accompanied herself on the piano.

Her selection, “What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life” was a song that she thought was “cheesey” at first. But it grew on her and on the judges — and the crowd.
“People keep talking about my singing. I don’t consider myself a singer,” she said. Nor does she consider herself a pianist. “I consider myself an artist. Singing and playing the piano are just tools to let out what’s inside.”

She breezed through the onstage question, noting that college students — if they were female — could enter a scholarship pageant to help ease the cost of their education.
The Top 8 lined up again when master of ceremonies Matt Mauro opened the judges’ final ballot. For the third time, Deaver listened to Mauro other contestants first. Once the four runners-up were named, she was left standing with three other contestants anyone of whom could have been the new Miss Kansas.

“I think in my heart I might have known, but I was nervous,” she remembered. “I was trying to stay in the moment and not just let it run away.”

As Miss Kansas, Deaver receives a $7,500 scholarship from the Peoples Bank and Miss Kansas Scholarship Foundation. She will spend the next year taking her platform — promoting the arts — to schools and public appearances across the state. She will also, of course, compete for the Miss America title.

(Read more about Deaver in the Tribune’s special Miss Kansas Wrap Up section.)
Next year’s Miss Kansas Pageant will likely feature all of this year’s runners-up. In post-pageant interviews each of young women said they planned to pursue the title again.

First Runner-up Miss Sedgwick County Danielle Coffman has competed three times at the state pageant, each time improving her peformance from the year before. She attributed her strong finish to the support of family and friends, and the extra steps the Miss Kansas organization took this year to prepare the contestants for achieving the crown.

“I said this in my interview (with the judges),” she said. “Last year, I wanted to be Miss Kansas. This year, I worked to be Miss Kansas.”

A 21-year-old Topeka resident, Coffman is a student at Washburn University. Her critical issue is advocating reading for life.

“Absolutely,” says Second Runner-up Miss Cheney Lake Alex Miller. “I absolutely will be back. You’re addicted (to competing). You can’t really not come back. The 18-year-old from Derby finished in the same spot last year — her first time at the Miss Kansas Pageant, collecting swimsuit and evening gown awards then. This year, she again won the evening gown preliminary. She is a sophomore at the University of Kansas.

Miss Wheat Capital Becki Ronen was a first-timer this year but nevertheless is steeped in pageant tradition. Five relatives have competed in the Miss Kansas Pageant in recent decades. Only her aunt Marilee Southworth has done better, finishing in the first runner-up position compared with Ronen’s third runner-up.

“Of all of them (family members) now I’m in second place,” she said.

A former Greensburg resident, the 19-year-old now calls Hutchinson home and is a student at Kansas State University.

Fellow newcomer Lauren Werhan will also be returning. The 18-year-old Miss Sunflower just graduated from Trinity Academy in Wichita.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” she said when asked if she were surprised by her finish. “I just tried to do my best. I’m very happy right now.”

Saturday night’s finale was punctuated by rousing peformances by Miss Kansas 2007 Alyssa George, Miss Mississippi Kimberly Morgan, Miss Kansas 2006 Michelle Walthers Loss who reprised her comedic character Patty Pageant and J.C. Fisher who earned a standing ovation when he sang the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” to longtime pageant supporter Bobbe Stanion.

Miss Kansas 2008!

Maris and I drove over to Pratt, KS yesterday with Abe and Ashley to join Mom, Dad, both Grandma's, Gary, Aunt Marilyn, Zelka, Diane, and Kerry at the parade. Emily cruised confidently through Main Street in the new pink Mary Kay drop-top caddy. Li'l bro Daniel along with Casey and Tyler joined the expectant crew in the evening. We were quite the entourage as usual. The final festivities moved forward as the competition dwindled until one was left standing. The one left standing was none other than my sister, Emily Deaver, with the smooth jazz vocals and tasteful tinkling of the ivory. That's right, my sister, Emily Deaver, is the new Miss Kansas. Click here to verify. The Deaver clan feels like royalty. Now we're off to Vegas...no kidding!

Miss Kansas Pageant

We're off to Pratt, KS to watch my sister, Emily, claim the Miss Kansas crown. If she wins then we're headed to Vegas in January for the Miss America title race. Fun stuff!

When life throws you lemons...

...make lemonade; or so they tell me. I bought this lemon the other day at Dillons. Maris picked up this piece of ice the other day from our yard. The hail was much larger some parts of town. Kansas keeps you on your toes. As long as you enjoy making lemonade it's a great place to live.

On a Journey with Jurnee!

No, this is not our child. This precious one belongs to Paxton and Judy LeMoine. They are our good friends and neighbors just three blocks down Pierre Street. Jurnee is her name. Speaking of journeys, we are definitely on an exciting journey as we are expecting our first child! I practice holding Jurnee as much as possible so when December rolls around I'll be more than ready. We are excited for many of you to be a part of this journey with us.