6th Poker Run = Lazy Day

Today was the 6th Annual Poker Run at Back to Nature. It ended right as I got there, so I didn't really get to see it. But I did see a few people walking around and laughing at poker stations around the property. I don't know how they did it, but it involved cards. And it was nice to hear guests enjoying themselves. We're always laughing, but we're all silly geeks.

Look what I saw when I came in. A WHIP-POOR-WILL! It's a member of the Nightjar family. Nightjars are known for having very large mouths. This guy didn't open his mouth for you to see, but aren't his feathers beautiful?

Grumpy but beautiful.

Because of the Poker Run, it was a slow day. Most everyone was out at the second location after the breakfast at BTN. But we still had a lot of people and everything was divided up so that there wasn't much to do. So... I goofed around a lot. HEY, there were tons of free leftovers! You'd be insane not to grab a few Cinnabons! What my point is that there won't be as many pictures or stuff to write about as normal. Sorry guys!

I started off with - GUESS WHAT? - baby squirrel feeding. Yep. But hey, I'm happy to help Debbie. She was running around getting ready to go to the second location (Harley Davidson shop) and she needed someone to feed her baby squirrels. I'm glad she trusts me to do that for her. And the babies are the perfect age, in my opinion. They're not too wriggly but they're less likely to aspirate and they're adorable when they latch onto the syringe with their hands!

What a cutie!

Of course feeding 6 babies took a while. Next was a whole lot of goofing around. A group of us went to go eat the breakfast leftovers and we had fun talking and joking around and reminiscing about the old days when childrens' shows were good and teen celebs weren't insane. But then again, I guess we all prefer what we grow up with. Today's children will be saying the same thing to kids 10 years from now. Anyway, I had a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice with a guava pastry (YAY!) and a Cinnabon. Then a Dr Pepper to refresh me after. I had meant to grab a Coke, but the cans looked so similar that by the time I started drinking it and noticed, it was too late. Still tasty, but no soda is as good as a Coke.

Now, it was time to be productive and make a WHOLE lotta food for the animals I was assigned! It took a while because we were chatting, but it was fun. :)

Mmmm.... Squirrel buffet!

Today was my first day in the Backrow, meaning the animals not open to the public. They're kept apart because they have to get ready to be released. So they have to fear and avoid humans. Thankfully Christi was there to help me. We have a lot of fun together, us crazy gals. I of course didn't go in with any large-threat rabies animals. I just had 3 squirrel cages to do and the 3 flight cages. It was difficult to get into the squirrel cages because they kept running up to the door looking for hand-outs. These guys were clearly not ready to be released yet. They're much too used to humans. But the few in the cage in the very back were quite fearful of me. It's sad but encouraging at the same time. The less I can cuddle with them, the better chance of surviving they have in the wild.

He kept trying to eat the end of my rake!

Anyway, next was Tarot (Red-Tailed Hawk), Russel (Great Horned Owl) and a songbird flight cage, though there was only a Brown Thrasher and a White Dove in there. Took a while and I left late, but it looked nice and clean! :)

Sullen Russel in his igloo

"Stop staring darling, it's rude."

And then I went home. It was a very fun day. Unfortunately, I will not be going to BTN next week. It's time for me to go visit someone special up in Atlanta. If I take any fun pictures at 6 Flags Over Georgia, I'll post a few just to entertain you. But before I go, here are some fun random pictures I took today at BTN:

Momma squirrel eating some nuts

Hyper youngsters climbing all over their cage

Part of the tree next to Zema's cage grows horizontally!

I'm wishing everyone a wonderful week(s)! I will see you and the amazing people at Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge again on the first of October. See ya!

The Wild Dimes has Fainted!

Back to Work

Hey guys! Another week, another dollar. Or no dollar, rather. It's volunteer work. More like another week, another blog post. I hope this Saturday finds everyone well!

I started slow: Baby squirrel feeding. Oh joy of joys! There were 4 brownies (infants who got their fur), one of which didn't want to eat. The poor baby seemed so weak. I had to force-feed him some pedialyte, which is what we do to hydrate our sick animals; the electrolytes help. I hope he gets better, the poor little thing. But he and the others were so adorable while they snuggled on my shirt. They're so cute! And the others were good eaters, which helps a lot in the feeding.

Snuggling with a baby grey squirrel

Michy helped me feed the pinkies (infants without fur), which was great! Since there were 4 of them and 2 brownies. The pinkies are SO TINY! It's insane how small and adorable they are, these pink naked things. They stick their tongues out when they latch onto the ninny (syringe with nipple attached) and my heart melted. Absolutely adorable!

Itty bitty pinky!

After this, 2 women dropped off a brownie they named "Larry". They had fed him almond milk, goat's milk, puppy milk and then finally pedialyte after they had called BTN. Please everyone, do not listen to what you read on the internet. Do NOT feed baby wildlife any food. Give them unflavored pedialyte  and keep them warm with a rice sock (rice in a sock and heated in the microwave) until you can get them to a wildlife refuge, and do so ASAP. Any other kind of milk, even puppy/kitten milk can make the infant bloated and dehydrated.

I caught Cookie (Turkey Vulture) drying himself off. Leslie must have accidentally sprayed him while she was cleaning his cage. He doesn't like being wet at all.

Cookie the Turkey Vulture

And while I was passing Kenny and Mogua's (Barred Owls) cage I spotted Kenny with his feathers all fluffed up. In addition, he was hunched over and looked very much a grouchy old man. What a beautiful couple, the poised old woman and her grumpy old husband. HAHAHAHA!!!!!

Kenny the Barred Owl

My assignments today were Koko, Lemurs and produce side-work. There was supposed to be a new volunteer today doing barn yards (Jennifer the goat, Mocha the deer and Koko the emu) but she didn't show up. Still, then the assignments were given out we didn't know that, so I got Koko because she's been very stand-offish lately and we didn't want some inexperienced to go in with her. No problemo. Koko's poops are easy to spot and clean up. But by the time I got around to her, poor girl was so hungry. She's used to being fed first thing in the morning. I got to her around 11:30am. She was starving. But she still had the nerve to be picky! I had prepared a beautiful bowl of cracked corn, spinach, pineapple, celery, boiled corn kernels, blueberries, strawberries and figs. She only ate half and still went begging at the fence next to the kitchen. I'm insulted.

Kokomu the Emu

Afterward I did produce, which involves sorting through donated food from the Publix and putting them into their appropriate designated refrigerator: Vegetables, Meat and Fruit. Then I had to clean the fridges with a scrub bucket (bleach, soap and water) and a rag. That's not fun. No pictures for you.

Lemur time! I took my phone in with me, so today you get pictures. I made a beautiful plate of monkey biscuits, rodent block (both pellets for rodents/good teeth), pineapple, green pepper stuffed with peanut butter, blueberries, boiled corn on the cob and whole figs. They're picky eaters, so it's a toss-up whether or not they'll enjoy their daily meal. Big babies. When I got in, it seemed they liked the corn and the monkey biscuits. But I was surprised that they didn't rejoice at the figs. I guess it wasn't the right kind. Plus, they don't like having to open their food. Spoiled kids prefer their nibbles already sliced for them. No, children! You need the intellectual stimulation of whole foods! Lemurs are smart, so they need that kind of thing which is why when I prepared the green pepper I cut a hole in it, stuffed it with peanut butter and then plugged the hole with the pepper piece I had cut. Figure it out, lemurs.

Thumbelina turning her nose up at my fig

Honeybear digs in

Then it was time to go home. I cleaned by buckets/tools and did a few dishes and called it a day. This girl has a lot of studying and work to do! Next weekend is the Poker Run, so I'll have to be at work early (7/8am) to help out with the animal care. Joy of joys. I hope there is leftover food!

See you next week.

The Wild Dimes has fainted!

P.S. Look at wild momma squirrel carrying off a corn cob!

Cuteness Break

Sorry guys, no BTN update this week. I've been helping my parents out at home and joining them in the House Hunt. I haven't been able to go with them before, so hopefully I'll act as their Good Luck Charm. Mom's got her heart set on a house with a pool!!! So here's hoping. :)

In the interim, here are some cute pictures of Vash getting settled into living at his grandparents' house!

                                                

  Upon arrival. Poor baby was so confused!                                       Getting used to his new water bowl

                                            

      First night and he's ready to play!                                                   He loves attacking my shoes.

                                          

         Running around on the bed and desks.                           I found him sleeping in my overnight bag!

                                        

Ugh, he loves sitting on my laptop and watching the screen.                       "Hi momma! What ya doin'?"

                                      

                          Nap time!                                                 He's got a healthy appetite, and after a round of                     

                                                                                    "Revolution" medicine his belly is starting to go down.

                       

Playing with my toes!                                      Climbing on the couch

                                 

Cat nap by the back screen door                                     Playing on momma's bed!

As you can see, the baby is doing well. Little Vash is being his talkative hyper self and having a grand time at his abuelo's house. He's gonna go to the vet for the first time in a few weeks to get his shots and neutered. And we'll be moving to the new house (if all goes well) hopefully by the end of the month. How exciting!

We'll be back to our regular programming next week.

The Wild Dimes has fainted!