Slow Day

So of course the first thing I did when I walked in was see if my little Vash was there. Thankfully he was! And he remembered mommy! :D His eyes are finally changing color. They look grey, but I'm hoping they go green. And his belly is SO BIG!!! I'm concerned he might still have worms, but he's not otherwise thin. So it's probably just that he's a huge eater. Just like a boy.

Vash

When we first met

And guess what? ANOTHER baby was found last week! It's a girl, only about 2 weeks old. And sooooo sweet! My heart was breaking while I was holding and feeding her, because I knew I couldn't take her too. But thankfully Stacey found a home for her today and she has a mommy that's happy to have her. And she's a little spitfire too! I put Vash in to play with her (keeping an eye on them, since Vash is so much bigger) and he, of course, got a little rough. But she hissed and pawed and nipped at him right back! You go girl!

Nameless

She was moving around so much!

Stacey's popcorns (her word for infant raccoons) were there and they were adorable! After their feeding they were running around and having fun and wrestling with each other. There was a much younger one; his eyes weren't even open yet! He... She? .... It was a darling! So adorable and fuzzy and a good eater. It's always great when they're good eaters. *sigh*

Twinkle and her brother

My assignments today were the Screech Owls, Whizzer, Wheems, turtles and tortoises. It might sound like a lot, but I got them all done in the 4 hours I was there without rushing. A nice easy day. So the Screechies (as we call them) were first. Pirate, Squinty and Tobias (Eastern Screech Owls) seemed to remember me. They greeted me with their usual trills, like all of our Screechies seem to do. They watched me with half-open annoyed eyes. I'm sorry boys, I have to clean. Don't you want me to pick up all of the scraps you left from last night's dinner? Sheesh, stop with the attitude! Hehehe! They all think they're huge Great Horned Owls or something.

Squinty and Tobias

Next was Whizzer (Red-Tailed Hawk). I'm always nervous in his cage because he doesn't like accidentally being sprayed either, but he might actually do something about it. I'm not afraid of being attacked. At least not by talons, anyway. No... Red-Taileds have a much more unique and mortifying way of showing how annoyed they are... They projectile poop at you. So while I was cleaning his perch, I accidentally sprayed Whizzer. It's inevitable. He was sitting on the perch I was cleaning. And when he turned around I BOOKED IT to safety out of his cage and into the perimeter. Thankfully, he was just moving around to get his wings dry. But boy did I have a scare!

Whizzer

False alarm!

I kept taking short breaks in between cages to visit with Vash and the little nameless girl in the Baby Room. During one of these, Alissa had to run out to train a new girl and she asked me to feed some Pinkies (newborn baby squirrels). Of course you know how much I love this... But Pinkies are relatively quick because they only eat 1 CC and there were only 4 of them to feed. Easy. And one of them was so squirmy and adorable! Cute little naked things.

A Pinky Squirrel

"Put me back in the warmth with my siblings!"

Speaking of squirrels, I found where the stash of nuts had been moved and I grabbed a few walnuts for Nigel (Sherman's Fox Squirrel). I went in with him and petted him while he ate his walnuts. None for Roc (Sherman's Fox Squirrel). Roc gets too excited and he'd climb all over me to look for more walnuts. I couldn't spend all that time playing with him. I had to get back to work. Don't worry Roc-O, I'll spoil you next week.

Nigel

Om nom nom nom!!!

NEXT! It was time for Wheems (Eastern Screech Owl). He's a special little owl; Wheems has a crossbeak. The poor little guy was born with a deformed beak, so he needs his food cut up into little bitty pieces. Hacking a chick into bite-sized pieces isn't as fun as it look, but thankfully Saturday is a fasting day for the birds of prey so I was spared from that. Little Wheems gave me his warning trills (I think of them as "Hello") like always. I swear, they think they're Great Horneds! But he was kind enough to let me rub his belly. After I approached him slowly from the front, of course. He knows I come in peace.

Wheems

"What you lookin' at?"

The tortoises and turtles are nothing exciting to write about. New food, fresh water and raked sand. But they did get some blueberries in their food today. I grabbed a few to munch on myself. Don't tell anyone! And they were gooooooooooooood.

Hercules, Athenos, and a gopher tortoise

Bon appetit!

Poor little Jasper (toddler Nubian Goat) seems to have been having trouble peeing lately. Stacey took him to the vet this morning and they found a urinary blockage. That was cleared out, and while he was there he was neutered. Two birds with one stone! Obviously he came back very loopy, poor guy. He had to be carried into the Baby Room to wait out the anesthesia wearing off. Fun fact I learned today: Goats are not meant to lay on their side, it affects their lungs. So Stacey had to flip Jasper from one side to the other every half hour. But he was a trooper!

Jasper

So out of it

And then it was time to clean my dishes/buckets/rakes/cleaning tools and home I went! And to meet my parents for lunch after. It was a lovely slow day. Not a lot of animals came in, and there weren't a lot of guests walking around. I didn't feel rushed or hassled, and everyone else seemed to be feeling the same way. Even the animals. It made me almost forget about the 106 degree heat index.

Almost.

The Wild Dimes has fainted!

P.S. Pretty butterfly!

First Day Back!

Let me tell you how excited I was to get up at 7am again.

...............

What an exhausting first day back! I did the usual dragging of my feet while I walked in, but this time I had Vash with me at least. My little baby Vash! He went back to his auntie Stacey today. I was supposed to have a new roomie move in today, so I didn't want her risk her freaking out over an illegal cat. Not that anyone could hate that adorable face. Still, I'm always uber careful. But I miss him!

So. My day. A list was made (per usual) and I got assigned the Flight Cages and the Lemurs. Yay lemurs! I've only done them once before. How exciting!

Nothing new about the kids in the flight cages. I took a moment to admire Cookie's (Turkey Vulture) feathers. I love the depth of the purples on the black. It's very beautiful. I think Colombo (Great Horned Owl) missed me. His hissing was extra tsundere today. It was like, "Where have you been, baka? I thought you got yourself killed. Feh." My Colombo loves me. Especially when I give him a bath.

In Kenny and Mogua's (Barred Owls) cage I noticed that branch below their usual perch had been lowered. I figured it was so that Mogua could use it like a ramp in case she fell. She's a very old bird. But beautiful! She was perched at the front of the cage all day long so she could be admired. Even old ladies are allowed their vanity. Except she was quite peeved at me when I accidentally misted her with the hose while I was trying to clean the perch she was on. This is what she looked like pre-hissy fit.

Winnie (Bald Eagle) and I did our usual dance today. I go left and she moves right, I move right and she goes left. Around and around we go! Where we stop: When I'm done cleaning. She seemed huffy when I left after raking. Kind of like, "Where's mah chicken necks, biach?!" Yes, that's what I imagine she's like. Lots of attitude and sauce.

Afterwards, I realized it was only 10:30am. UGH. I had only been there for an hour and a half! This day seemed to last forever. So I took an early lunch break to enjoy my greek yogurt and sandwich. And of course a bottle of water. Aaahhh water, the sweet mana of life. You have never tasted more delicious than after hours of work in a sweltering summer. Just as I was about to go back to work, Stacey asked me to train the new guy (Scott) in how to do the Squirrels. 5 minutes into his training, I was roped into feeding baby squirrels. Please, put me back on training. PLEASE!!!!! No? Drat. Here ensued 2 hours of feeding baby squirrels at a painfully slow rate. At least this guy (a newbie) ate pretty adorably. I couldn't get him to lay like the normal babies do.

Cue torrential downpour. True to Florida weather, the skies opened up with hardly any warning and unloaded a big bucket of water on us. Cue scrambling to get all of the babies inside. Of course I ran to Vash first to get his cage inside. The squirrels can handle a little water, but my baby acts like he's being tortured to death with every bath!

And continuing in typical Florida fashion, the downpour ended a mere 10 minutes later. Nothing but blue skies. Thanks, Sunshine State.

LOOK! AN EMU EGG!!! I thought it was an avocado. Thanks to Javier for showing it to me!

I made a quick pit-stop at the bathroom, and on my way I overheard Gary, Christie and Jeannie talking in Zema's perimeter cage. Apparently, I really gotta get my butt on down to Ikea! The prices are low and the food is great! Thanks for the advice guys! As soon as my mom gives me the go-ahead, I'll go get some stuff for the new house. :D

Bad news, though. Zema isn't doing too well. His back legs seem to be really bothering him (arthritis) and he didn't touch his fresh deer haunch. He loves deer! But we figured he was worked up because Gary was using some  power machine to clean nearby. Hopefully the big man gets better!!

Now it was time for the Lemurs. And I didn't have to get locked into their enclosure this time! Stacey let me borrow her keys. Well, I still locked myself in. But I had keys to get myself out! No more waiting for someone to let me out. (The Lemurs are smart enough to escape if we don't lock the door behind us) I feel so responsible and trusted! T___T Anyway, there are no pictures because I left everything (phone, car keys, sunglasses) by the Baby Room because the Lemurs have supple hands and they can grab stuff very easy. I wouldn't want Lemur teeth marks on my phone screen. So sorry guys. But I will post an old one of Honeybear!

 And then I was DONE! Time for a hot shower and some tylenol! Or so I thought.

Once more I was shanghaied into feeding baby squirrels. Curse my patience and my steady hand! At least the little bitty babies are cute (and easy to handle.)

On my way home at 4:30pm. It was a long but entertaining day, as always.

See you next week!

The Wild Dimes has fainted!

P.S. Ew Vash. EW.