Theosophical Society and Flying Foxes

We have discovered a very large plot of land that is not more than 1/4 mile from us which is the headquarters for the Theosophical Society. It is open to visitors at certain times of the day and a wonderful retreat from the city. It's also CLEAN and well maintained, which is something we don't see very often.

This worldwide society was started in the late 1800's, and their basic philosophy is that at the core of all religions or beliefs is truth and they attempt to foster a universal brotherhood. They are also very interested in unexplained human phenomena and the occult. Their headquarters is a place to study and they have retreats here as well.

As I was strolling through the grounds I saw what I thought was a large vulture, but soon realized these "birds" had fingers on the leading edge of their wings. They were obviously enormous bats, which I have since learned are called fruit bats, or flying foxes. I understand they can have a wing span of 5 feet, which I can easily believe. I wasn't able to get a good photo of them flying, so I took this one off the Internet.

I would guess there were 75 to 100 bats in this colony that I easily discovered by all the racket they were creating.

There are also some very elaborate granite carvings spread throughout the grounds.

Butterflies were also abundant.