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Where We Left Off:
The cat detectives studied the evidence from the trailcams after the mouse’s murder. They saw a new theory form when The Grumpy Old Man ran over the body with a lawn mower.
The Voice in the Fire:
During the most humid days of summer, I was fortunate to wake up early. Before sunrise, I got dressed and had Gus ready to go for pre-dawn critter watch. The morning of August 7, 2024, I tried taking photos of the bats again since the previous day, the pictures came out Not Terrible® (for me).
One bat colony will use the same roosts year after year wich is why it’s important not to relocation a bat house unless you know it hasn’t been inhabited for years.
We have not seen other species which were devastated by white nose fungus like the Big Brown Bats. However, we are lucky that the first bat house installed, I believe 2009, is serving the Big Brown Bats well again. The second bat house still has only a few bat residents. New Jersey has nine different species of bats; six of those are year-round residents.
Big brown bats rank among America’s most beneficial animals. As they are forced out of traditional forest habitats due to encroaching human populations, logging, and habitat modification, the bats increasingly move into close human contact and take up residence in buildings and other man-made structures. Bats and humans can coexist peacefully. Sometimes, designing and installing bat-specific artificial roosts is the best option to keep bats out of our homes, yet near enough so that we can continue to benefit from their insect-eating capabilities. Though many species like the big brown bat rank among our most abundant and widespread bats, they nevertheless deserve attention from conservation and education initiatives to assure healthy environments. — batcon.org
Bats are incredibly beneficial to mankind and the environment. I love to hold onto vampiric folklore like anyone else with an appreciation of the multi-cultural winged demon legends. Nonetheless, recognizing that if bats were paid for their insect eating work, estimates range from $3.7B–$53 Billion a year that should be invoiced to our fellow mammals.
During our pre-sunrise patrols, I made sure Gus and I were wearing highly visible accessories. His orange harness and leash were pretty good, but he has a wildly bright neon yellow leash that he never used. I got out his neon yellow harness with the reflective tape. Oh, boy. It is snug on this husky panther now. I might need to get him another one. It was too hot for me to wear my hunter orange vest, but I had a hunter orange baseball hat that I’ve never worn. It was a gift from my friend Caith Donovan, a kinfolk, who passed away a few years ago. The cap came in a set with the vest which I’ve gotten a ton of use out of. I actually have two of the warm vests now. Plus I have the original one that belongs to The Grumpy Old Man’s, a simple nylon style that doesn’t have pockets (wth?).
I’m writing this case file on August 8th. Eight-Eight. In Astrology, this is called the Lion’s Gate, specifically the peak of the portal being open.
“On August 8 (8/8), the Sun, Sirius (the brightest star in the sky), Orion, and Earth completely align with each other. The Lion’s Gate Portal refers to a period of days before and after—from July 28 until August 12—when the power of Sirius is believed to be activated by the Sun.” —The Farmers’ Almanac
- On Monday, August 5th, we entered the Celtic Tree Month of Hazel.
- The Sun is in Leo.
- The Moon, Mercury, and Venus are in Virgo.
- This data is using the Placidus House System. There are many Astrological systems. The 8th House is related to transformations among other things. At this time, the constellation of Pisces was in the 8th House.
- Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto are retrograde which means they appear to be moving backwards.
Our Mystery
I had the Canon EOS Rebel T7 set to “sports” shooting which is a continuous shutter action to take photos until the button is released. Other settings: f/5.6; exposure 1/6 sec.; ISO-3200; focal length 260mm; Pattern metering; no flash.
The photos that came out Not Terrible® where taken when I was closer to the bat houses. Clearly, that was one thing that contributed to the difference in photo quality. The rest is on me with some possibility having to do with the planetary alignments. The thing about that is: the two days of taking bat photos would have had basically the same astro-chart with changes most noticeable in the Moon’s phase. It was only 24 hours difference.
I did not notice anything unusual until Gus and I were back home and reviewing the photos. I suspected the Aug 7th photos would be terrible. It was still disappointing.
Shocking Evidence
I’m sure you’ve experienced accidentally taking photos with your phone’s camera or butt-dialing someone. I guess I accidentally snapped a photo at 05:53AM on August 7th. The image was completely blurry except for one peculiar object about one-third from the bottom of the image.
What is that figure that looks like it has arms and legs spread out? Could it be a bat in a bad photo or something else?I’ll refer to this peculiar object as The Subject since it is what stands out in the photo’s composition even if unintentional. The Subject reminded me instantly of how Hieronymus Bosch painted some human figures—lanky, exaggerated, pale, questionable features. In the case of this Subject, there doesn’t appear to be a head. The “arms” and “legs” (if that’s what they are) are spread out like someone falling through the sky.
“I prefer the other Hieronymus Bosch.” Oliver had been hiding under furniture while I researched for this case.
“I prefer Titus Welliver too.” I’m not sure if Ollie expected me to reply or even hear him speak from a void. In case you’re unaware, famed author Michael Connolly named his most popular protagonist after the painter with the creepy style.
Gus hopped off his favorite antique rattan chair (Granny’s chair), stuck his behind in the air and stretched out his arms as his claws snapped at the twenty-year-old carpet. “Sure,” he said, “You like when that detective ignores all the rules in order to get mysteries solved.”
“He’s fictional, Gus,” I said. “You’re not.”
Intersection of Science and New Age Spiritualism
Take a gander at this Forbes article that explains how there’s no question that science and spiritualism intersect despite an appearance of being polar opposites:
Does the Lion’s Gate exist? What can cross through? If it’s a portal, do things only come here or can is it a node of a multiverse, different realms, or the afterlife?Paradoxically, however, psychological healing often intersects with spirituality in the realm of practice. “Manifestation” exercises such as meditation and chanting, positive visualization, journaling and affirmations are prescribed in both spaces regularly and are often rooted in gaining more knowledge of and control over the subconscious and unconscious mind.
My nerd imagination takes me to comic books and movies like Hellboy, Constantine/Hellblazer, and Doctor Strange. Ollie, Gus, and I talked over some of the geeky stories and what they have in common when it comes to banishing demons (the bady ones anyway—not good crime fighters like Etrigan, who is not the leader of Turkiye, but an old comic book character).
“I’ll make a call,” Oliver said. I didn’t know who he was calling.
Gus licked his paw and cleaned his face and behind his ears. I asked if he knew what Ollie was planning.
“It’ll only make you uncomfortable,” Gus said without explanation.
Help Arrived
Gus and Ollie were right. I wasn’t sure this plan was the right way to go. I’d rather call in Constantine! (I can’t believe Keanu made another one instead of Matt Ryan. Who wouldn’t want a full motion picture of Matt Ryan and Tom Ellis?).
I went out to greet our guests. Gus was inside and unhappy about it. He climbed on the air conditioner in the window, cried, and clawed at the window. I told him, he had to wear his harness if he wanted to be on the porch for the ceremony. He was doing great–except for the obnoxiously LOUD, Noise-Polluting trucks and modded cars! One tow truck driver felt the need to pull over and play with his damn tow hook only to turn around and drive by again—twice! If not for that, Gus would been 100% fine observing the Polish Catholic pilgrims. One thing I can get behind is that they accept donations for victims in Ukraine through the Pauline Fathers located there. The website is some outdated links and I was not able to find any information about the Sisters.
I didn’t want to mention Catholics of any kind without addressing their harmful history.
Case Findings:
With a tremendous amount of help from friends like John Constantine and his associates, Oliver Winchester, Guster Nabu, and Amber banished a demon out of this realm of New Jersey. The ritual was arduous and took days leaving everyone exhausted.
Case Status: Closed
Resources:
Conserve Wildlife Foundation NJ
Travers, Mark. “A Psychologist Explains How The ‘Lion’s Gate Portal’ Can Benefit You,” Forbes.com, pub. Aug 8, 2024, 09:34am EDT, accessed
Thomas, Kyle. “What Is the Lion’s Gate Portal?” Farmers’ Almanac – Plan Your Day. Grow Your Life., Almanac Publishing Co., 7 Aug. 2024, www.farmersalmanac.com/what-is-the-lions-gate-portal.
Constantine first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 (June 1985), and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben. Copyright© DC Comics. Movie attribution: Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, DC Comics/Vertigo, Lonely Film Productions GmbH & Co. KG., Donners’ Company, et al.