FEAR OF FLYING--THINGS part 4

It was a dark and stormy night. DH was out of town and I was the only grown up (I was The Mom. I had to act like one occasionally) in the house. It was late and the kids were asleep when I saw the bat. It was flying its way through the rooms like a movie vampire. After chasing the creature for a while with a broom (no—no--not riding the broom, swinging it.  Sheesh!) I went to the fishing supplies and found the big net. A few swoops and I had the spooky little guy collected and released back to the rest of the children of the night.

Not our visitor, but one like it.

This whole process was repeated a few years later except the kids were older and awake at the time. DH missed out on this one too. Our youngest son yelled and called for backup when the bat buzzed him. This time I knew to run for the fishing net. We followed the creature as it flew up the stairway to the attic room where Middle Son was deep into computer game-- headphones on; eyes focused on the monitor. He didn’t even look up when Youngest Son and I scooped up the bat as it fluttered overhead. Middle Son finally took note when we held the net full of winged blackness under his nose. Aaaaggghhh!!! Then we liberated the bat outside where he could continue his duty on mosquito control.


Chiroptophobia is the fear of bats

FEAR OF FLYING--THINGS part 3

The evening was cold and the house had been empty all day. I helped the guys bring in firewood for the stove in our basement. DH gathered up some newspaper and prepared to start a fire. When he bent over and opened the door he was hit in the face by a flutter of feathers and soot. It startled him enough that he fell over backward.

I was across the room and could see that a creature had flown out of the opened stove and was now circling the room. When it came my way I captured it with my hands. It was all tarnished with ashes and soot; and it wasn’t Santa Claus. It was a house sparrow. It was so frightened I could feel its heart beating. Still, it made a show of bravado by opening its beak at me. Even its tongue was black.

The kids came near to examine our visitor. It was amazing for us to see the small free spirit up close. DH kept his distance. It had already scared the daylights out of him and birds were not his favorite animal.

Not the bird that came to visit, but one like it.

We guessed it had been warming its tail feathers over our chimney and had fallen down the long cinder brick tunnel. Flying straight up from a dead stop would be an impossible escape. Fortunately for the sparrow the fire was out at the time. Instead it went around the corner to the stove pipe and past the damper into the fire box.

I took the sparrow to the door and released it.

And ornithophobia is the word for the fear of birds.

FEAR OF FLYING--THINGS part 2

It’s been a lot of years since I saw that tornado eat Dorothy’s house. The nightmares still surface occasionally. And I spend a lot of time scanning the sky. Now when I step outside (note the same evergreen tree on the right and left of the photos) and see clouds like this…

The answer to why some thunder clouds are green here—

And this…

Mammatus clouds (aka breast clouds) “indicative of a particularly strong storm or maybe even a tornadic storm.” This system created havoc just south of us.

I take pictures--since photography now trumps phobia. Then I hurry to the basement and watch The Weather Channel.

DH has a different take on phobias. As he tells the story; his daily trip to first grade involved a short walk down a lane to the school bus stop. Along the way there was a home where a flock of chickens and a rooster lived. The rooster was a bully and delighted in flying out at DH and his sister as they walked by. He would flap and squawk with all his might which, of course terrified DH. His older sister decided the best defense was a good offence and proceeded to carry a worn-out broom on the way to and from the bus. When the rooster made his attack, Big Sis would haul back and whack him into his yard. This continued until the owner of the rooster invited the bird in for dinner. But by then the trauma of flapping wings had left its mark. DH developed a deep down fear/hatred for birds.

And alektrorophobia is the fear of chickens. That info thanks to Krista at Shades of Blonde .