I am back! And No Longer Nocturnal!!

Did you read the title?  Yes, it’s true. The Nocturnal Sparrow is no longer nocturnal!!

(Just in case you are new to this blog, the story of my being nocturnal is on the About the Sparrow page.)  In brief, for more than 30 years I have had to stay out of all sunlight, including through windows.

Now I am free!!  Out in the beautiful SUNLIGHT!!  I  now own SUNGLASSES. I went to the beach and got a SUNBURN!  I planted a garden.  I picked berries and apples.  I even have freckles, ha ha!

What happened?  That’s a story I’ll tell in another post. Stay tuned!

Share My Joy

Tonight I met a friend I feared was dead, and I am so happy I have to share the news!

His name is Splotches.  He is a giant slug.  Yes, you read that correctly — my friend is a slug.

Slugs are nocturnal, and they seem to love coming up onto our front walkway.  At first I just didn’t want to step on them when I went to get the mail after dark.  Believe me, stepping on a slug with bare feet is disgusting!  I doubt the slug likes it, either.

Last summer I put a chair outside so I could enjoy the warm summer nights.  That’s when I started paying more attention to the slugs.  They are actually very interesting little creatures.

When we have stale bread, I put it outside at night for the birds to eat in the morning.  One time I must have dropped a piece on the walkway.  The next night there was a slug munching that bread.  I had no idea slugs liked bread.  I’ve been feeding the slugs ever since.  My family thinks I am crazy.

One very large slug came right to the front door almost every night.  I named him Splotches.  Splotches is about 5 inches long, and has quite a sweet tooth.  He really likes pie!  After eating, he curls up around the food, puts his head on top like it’s his pillow, and takes a nap.  None of the other slugs do that.  They just much and run, if run is the right word for a slow slug.

We recently had a freak snowstorm with days of very low temperatures for our area.  For weeks I’ve looked for Splotches.  I’ve left treats in his favorite spots, but he never showed up.  I thought he probably didn’t make it through the cold weather.

Tonight I looked down, and there was Splotches!  I was so happy I could have kissed him.  (Don’t worry, I’m not that crazy.)  I did bring him inside to show my mom.  She was thrilled, ha ha!  Actually, she called him disgusting and told me to take him outside.  I took Splotches outside and gave him a graham cracker and a piece of banana.  He happily started munching.

I wondered if it were really Splotches or another look-a-like slug.  A while later I looked outside again.   He was still there.  He was all curled up, with his head on the banana taking his nap.  That’s when I knew for sure it was my friend, Splotches.

Why am I the Nocturnal Sparrow?

I have a medical condition that has remained a mystery in spite of years of specialists and tests.  I am unable to be in any sunlight, including through windows.  When the symptoms are very mild I get dizzy, I can’t think clearly, and my skin prickles and itches.  I sometimes break out in welts, kind of like mosquito bites that leave bruises behind when they disappear.  In the more severe reactions these welts can become extremely large, 4-5 inches or larger.  In the worst reactions I can go into a kind of stupor and lose my ability to move.  One time I actually stopped breathing.

For some reason the frequency of my exposure seems to intensify the reactions.  The only way to stop this is to stay out of all sunlight most of the time.  Then I can handle the occasional trip to the doctor or dentist, etc.  As long as I’m not the one driving!

The most practical solution we have found is for me to sleep in the daytime.  My bedroom has several light blocking layers on the window.  During the summer it isn’t dark when I get up in the evening, but we have very good shades and heavy curtains in the main part of the house.  It isn’t as light proof as my bedroom, but I’m fine for a few hours.  I just stay out of the rest of the house until it is dark.  Then I am free to go wherever I want!

Every morning before I go to bed, I let myself have one good look out the window in spite of the sunlight.  That is when I see the little sparrows hopping and chirping in the trees outside.  They always make me smile.