One big load of bat houses...

[harryball]

There are 115 loaded and we are heading to Bat Fest in the AM. These pictures sure don't illustrate just how much work went into them. We also realize we'll be touching up paint and doing minor repairs when we arrive too. I'm glad this work is a passion, the pay stinks and the work is hard but rewarding.

There are 5 racks double stacked with alternating house positions. Each rack accomodates about 20 to 24 houses. The racks were a quick project and just fit together.


785

786

787


Also, our new company logo!

788

Robert

[beacon14]

Best of luck, Robert, have a safe and rewarding trip...the bats will thank you even if you never get rich from this...you are an inspiration to us all.

[myxpykalix]

Harry,
Let us know how your sales go, i want to see an empty trailer and a big fat wad of cash sticking out of your pocket when you get back!

[olecrafty]

Jack,
You said money. No one ever told me we were supposed to make money. I thought we were just playing.

olecrafty

Jack hows the big sander doing

[myxpykalix]

My bot is basically a "time killer" for me but Harry makes money every time he turns his on. I have had one project where i used it to even out a rough glue up i was prepping for a boxlid. Shoot i was thinking about taking the sander inside to resand the hardwoord floors! lol.

[dmidkiff]

Where's the Bat Mobile. Got just a glimps of it's front tire. Good luck Robert.

[Brady Watson]

Nice pictures Robert! Now, just visualize the trailer completely empty & your cash box completely full!!!
Hey, it's possible, right?

-B

[handh]

Good luck Robert, who knew there was a bat fest, lol Great work.

[scott_smith]

That logo is going to look cool V-carved

[cookie]

Robert

It looks like you could have put a few more in the trailer and made more money. Good luck, Bruce

[jhicks]

Robert, That's an impressive load of houses. Hope the neighborhood doesn't get too crowded with door to door bat housing developments.
They might mistake their home for their neighbors and visa versa.
Nice effort and hope you sell every one with back orders for more.

[harryball]

Thanks for all the encouraging words! Driving for 10 hours (we are now in Lafayette LA) gives a person a good deal of quiet time to think. I'm wondering what the heck am I going to do if these don't sell. But, I shouldn't even think like that.

The extra room was consumed with cleat packs, manuals, paint supplies, tools, dolly, display stand etc... I'm towing with an F350 with the trusty 7.3L Turbo... I have to remember the trailer is behind me. I'll have to photo the entire rig for the curious. Yep... everything is black and grey. I can't wait to get some lettering on everything.

Maybe I should have brought an extra crate to hold all the cash!

Well, time for a good nights sleep and on to Austin in the morning.

Robert

[Brady Watson]

"Maybe I should have brought an extra crate to hold all the cash!"

Now you're talking! Breathe it, taste it, smell it, see it, do it! Just keep visualizing the trailer being empty and your pockets full of cash. It's just as much a possbilitiy as anything else, right? You decide...

I'd wish you luck, but you sure as heck don't need it! Just do it Bubba!

-B
PS - know what you mean about the PowerStroke...you forget the trailer is even there

[bcammack]

When I towed a trailer with my 1969 Thunderbird, with the 429 CID V-8 (365HP/500 ftlbs torque) I kept a sign atop the dashboard in front of the steering wheel: "REMEMBER, YOU ARE TOWING A TRAILER"


Robert, we're all looking forward to hearing how things go. If I was still in League City, TX, I'd mosey over this weekend with the wife to take it all in. Good luck with it all!

[paco]

Nice work Robert!

All the best! Keep us post.

[henrik_o]

Lookin' great Robert.

Your bat houses are awesome, I had a look at your site and then looked at what's available over here. The Northern European (Norden + Germany was what I looked at) holkar are pathetic compared to your designs. (Yes, this kind of structure is called a holk over here, a bat house is a fladdermusholk. Pronounce that, I dare ya
)

Maybe looking at the export market would be an idea, hmm?

[harryball]

We get questions from Canada and some overseas at times. I'm researching what it would take to ship international and might try it next year.

I'm sad to report that Bat Fest sales were disappointing, though informative. It has helped us continue to refine what does and does not work. One thing that slowed things down was all the rain.

Robert

[dubliner]

Sorry you had a bad weekend Robert, its unusually wet in Austin at this time of year. Raining like cats & dogs today too. Hope you had a good time & a safe trip home nonetheless. Neville

[bruce_clark]

Robert,

Sorry to hear about the rain. If it is any consolation, it rained down here a LOT as well.

If you will be in Austin for a few days, I will try to make it up and take y'all out to dinner--hopefully something better than franks and beans.

Hey, I might even take a few houses off your hands. I got your number, I will give you a call.

Bruce

[harryball]

It was great to meet Neville, Mike and Bruce while we where there. I appreciate the hospitality.

While Bat Fest was pretty much a bust we did get to meet with some folks at BCI about bat rehabilitation and learn what we need to do to obtain live bats for educational display. We found a potential dealer and had a reasonably good week of online sales.

In retrospect, there is very little I would have done differently. I think we did things mostly right and I concede control of the weather. However, this experience did change my list of questions to ask show organizers in the future.

If any of you are looking to do shows like this... I'm a wealth of information :-)

Robert