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!