You'll never believe what we spotted on our trip....

a BAT! Now I'm not talking about a bat flying around overhead. I'm talkin' about a bat HANGING upside-down in a low shrub/small tree about 2 feet in front of me.

Here's what happened. Robbie and I were determined to catch of glimpse of the Painted Bunting so we went off the beaten path near the Nature Center at Santee Wildlife Refuge. We decided that if we went into an area where we heard lots of birds (and Rob thought she heard the bunting) and just waited that the little guy would show himself. Well, we stood in an area for about 15 minutes waiting and waiting. Finally, when were were we ready to leave, I glanced again at the thingI had noticed earlier in the shrub in front of me. Something about it just didn't look right - it looked a bit out of place. What in the world is it?? I looked at it through my binoculars and, holy crow, the thing had fur!!! Here's a bad shot of him.

Well, we had to hurry off to our class but figured we'd make it back for some better shots of the bat. We DID make it back and the bat was still hanging there. Unfortunately, the fellow who came back with us accidentally snapped the branch that the bat was hanging on and the bat acted like a bat outta you-know-where. Off he went. Oh well. I did manage to get one shot.

Ok, on to knitting news. I have a new dishcloth on my needles. The pattern is simply called Stripes.

My spinning wheel arrived while I was gone!!!

When I got home, I found that DH had already put it together and it was ready to spin! So, before I even changed outta my sticky, stinky, "been in the swamp" clothes, I sat and spun a bit of the alpaca that I bought at a show I went to several weeks ago. Oh, this baby (Ashford traditional) is schmooth. :)

Well, gotta get to work.
Happy Monday!
xoxoxo
PattyAnne
PS. Sadly, we didn't see the Painted Bunting.
For any birders out there we did see:
Osprey (and a huge nest), cormorant, anhinga, fish crow, bluejay, prothonatary warbler, parula warbler, red-headed woodpecker, pileated woodpecker, towhee, cardinal, turkey vulture, red-shouldered hawk, egret, downy woodpecker, nuthatch, chickadee, yellow-rumped warbler, chipping sparrow, cowbird, red-winged blackbird