Batwoman's Learning Log

Very special, very well done… :heart_eyes: :sunglasses:
With a deep bow ,Rogier

@tony that’s so generous of you Tony, thankyou. I look forward to the day we can jam again.

@Endureth Unfortunately she was one of 10,000+ who died that day, and that was in our local area.

@roger_holland thankyou for reading and thankyou for your humbling comments.

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Maggie! Just read your comment in my introduction post as well as your own introduction (if I recall correct) and thought “What a great name and already good experience even though she might be a young gal - with the name and everything”.

Coming here and reading about your awesome story, your progress and performances, seeing how thoroughly you documented your journey and how much effort you spent to illustrate it, I am actually blown away.

Thank you very much for sharing it with us.
I am sure this motivates many people, young and not-so-young-anymore in various aspects of life, not just learning guitar. Looking forward to seeing more of your progress as well as seeing you in an virtual OM here in the community.
Martin

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@Kutzsche Gosh Martin you’re so nice. I hope it wasn’t too much of a shock when you learned that batwoman is an old bat :bat: :grinning:

We need young gals and guys to train as wildlife rescuers and carers because we old ones will die out, taking our skills with us.

I’m glad my story has perhaps encouraged you to dive in, live without regret and realise your dreams.

I can’t resist sharing this photo. My first season as a carer. Zig Man, Sylvie, Freckles, getting their sunshine. I must state clearly that I’m a registered, vaccinated (for rabies) carer and as such am allowed to handle them. Bats are not the be handled otherwise.

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Wonderful picture, thanks for sharing, Maggie Batmama

You are precious Maggie. I was watching an old recording of Attenborough Perfect Planet Sunday evening and the Zambian fruit bats cropped up and I immediately thought of you. Lets hope this year is not so intense temp wise ! :bat: :bat::bat::bat::bat::bat: :bat:

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Maggie! I didn’t realise the significance of your username. If you’ve mentioned it before somewhere I’ve clearly missed it. I always assumed you saw yourself as a caped crusader or perhaps had a son called Robin! :smiley:

Fascinating stuff indeed. Bats are a protected species over here too. So much so that if you have them in your roof space you keep quiet about it as you’re not allowed to do house renovations etc. while they’re there.

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@sairfingers Sadly our bats are persecuted rather than protected. Some species are on the critically endangered list.

The bats that roost in roof cavities are more likely to be micro-bats, most weighing no more than 7 grams. They feast on insects and they echo locate their prey.

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I love our bats; they eat the mosquitoes, which is desperately needed most of the year (Houston isn’t called “Bayou City” for no reason).

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Just came upon your learning log, Maggie. What an inspiring read! Your collaboration with Roman on Chocolate Jesus was superb!
I love bats too. Unfortunately, in our neck of the woods (Southern Indiana, USA) the bat populations are being devastated by ‘White Nose Syndrome’. I do all I can to preserve the bat habitat in our woods. Love watching them in the evening as they swoop around snaring moths. :bat:

@J.W.C Jason the amount of mosquitoes they eat in a night is staggering. Unfortunately the ultrasonic insect zappers that some folk use mess up the microbats ability to echo locate.

@ChasetheDream Robert it’s a beautiful sight watching them come out at dusk, they’re rather like large butterflies flitting around. WNS is wreaking havoc in your country that’s for sure. I’m so glad you’re taking care of the woods, you are a Wood-ling well named. I think I read a while back that you’ve worked in forestry?

Our flying foxes are being wiped out by tick paralysis. In the north of Australia we have a species on the critically endangered list, the Spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) which is severely affected by ticks. I was going to spend 2 months volunteering at Tolga Bat Hospital during baby season late last year. They get 100’s of pups orphaned because their mother died of tick paralysis. The border was closed so I couldn’t go.

Thankyou fellow Choc J performer for your lovely comments about CJ. I didn’t acknowledge the real guitarist, Cagn on the Rocks/Kevin who was an active member of the community for a number of years.

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I have always had a passion for the forest ecology but not in a professional capacity. We own 100+ acres of hardwood forest that I have managed most of my life. I own a portable sawmill and a kiln so nothing goes to waste if some trees need to be removed to improve the overall forest health. All the wood you see in my videos came off the property. Our bats form matriarchal communities in the exfoliated bark of the oak and hickory trees during the summer. Don’t want to hijack your log, so I will not go into further detail here. I may include some of my forestry management in my own Learning Log.

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@ChasetheDream I celebrate you and your custodianship of this important habitat :clap:

I’d love to hear more about your 100+ acres of hardwood forest Robert - your management of it and the critters who live there especially the bats.

That’s a great story Maggie! You are an inspiration to us all.

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@RadekSiechowicz that’s so kind of you to say. I am inspired by you. I dream of the day I can play with such tone, precision and clarity.

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Awww I loved reading this so much. I’m so proud of you and how far you’ve come

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You are too kind :blush:. With your level of dedication I believe you can achieve all you want.

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I loved going through your Learning Log. I remember several of the highlights. I especially loved your “Blue Sky Tea Store”.

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Interesting to get the Batwoman back story after all these years. This is what happens when I stick to guitar talk and don’t really pry into personal matters. Who knew that Maggie was catching actual bats falling from trees? Pretty cool. Bat nurse, nana nana nana nana Bat Nurse! POW!!

Dig it. :slight_smile:

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@pkboo3 thanks Pam for reading through the highlights and thankyou for your comment about Blue-Sky Tea Store.

@CT Now you’ve given me another chance to bat bomb the community. This is Maisie. She is a grey headed flying fox.

She came in severely underweight, dehydrated and starving. There was no food around so mum bats had no milk. She was so desperate for food she’d almost rip the teat off the bottle as I fed her. As she gained health her batitude became increasingly evident. I learned not to feed any of the others before her, after she climbed out of her wraps, down my arm to my hand to try to drag the bottle away from the pup I was feeding. As she grew older she knew what time the bottles would arrive. One of their feeds was 3.30pm. At 3.15 every day, she’d climb to the front of the outdoor cage (where they got their daily sunshine) to wait for me. She would hang onto the door, right beside the latch so that as it swung open she could climb onto me first. Here she is waiting for me and her bottle. As she saw me walking towards the cage her eyes didn’t leave me. The nose pressed between the bars made me laugh every time.

She was the first one to fly. I loved her fierce spirit so very much.

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