The two noteworthy tales from the week of June 19th:

First one being I got sick. Really sick. For 3 days I had a fever that kept getting worse, was dizzy every time I moved, nauseated, and had super sore and achy neck, back, and shoulders. So on Monday I wound up taking my self to the ER; considering I work 10 -13 hour days I can't really afford to be sick. Turns out my fever was at 101.4 F (not terrible, but I still felt like crap), so the doctor started me on doxycycline and mega dose of tylenol. By the next morning I felt about 80 percent better. So apparently it wasn't the flu... my theory is rocky mountain spotted fever, considering how much time I spend around deer and their ticks. So that said, I'm feeling better today, still not 100%, but well enough to trudge through a 9 hour work day.

Second one being much more cheerful. I worked the hotline shift yesterday and got to coordinate a pretty wonderful rescue :) A woman called around noon and told me the story of how they have yellow crowned night herons nesting in the trees around their house, and they have been for 2 years now. But there was a certain nest, 35 feet up in a tree, whose parent birds hadn't come back in 4 days. So I started calling around to our rescue volunteers to see if someone might have an extension ladder. I got an answer from a lady whose son had a ladder so they went out to check out the situation. I thought the problem was solved. Yeah... nope. Turns out the ladder couldn't reach, and the nest was out on a limb too far out to reach.

Round 2:

I talked to Noelle (my boss) and she suggested trying the fire department, tree companies, or maybe a power company. The fire department's ladder truck was in the shop (really?!), so I started calling tree companies. I got several "We don't have the equipment" and one "Sure, but it'll cost 250 bucks". Finally I got a lady who said "You do realize we're a tree company?" And she just laughed when I said yes, and said she'd talk to her manager. Little bit later the guy called and said he'd go check it out. So he drove a half hour to the caller's house, used his climbing gear to make it up to the nest, then used a pulley to lower the babies down. All for free. And he said he'd be willing to help us out in the future if we need it.

:)

Sometimes complete strangers make me really happy.

And the babies are doing great now that they're rehydrated.

A good day.

Look! An update!

Why, hello!

I went another month without blogging.

Dangit.

How does time go so fast around here!

Day after tomorrow is my 6th month anniversary at WRR.

And I'm still finding things that I haven't learned.

I'm finding more and more that my life and my job are interchangeable terms this summer. (p.s. it's already June. What?!)

We have two kittens right now (William and Kate :P) and I kind of love William. He really likes to be cuddled, and he purrs up a storm every time you pick him up. Would it be too much harder to travel with 2 cats, as opposed to 1?

Having Alana come down here for 2 weeks was amazing. She got to meet all my cool Texas people, and go swimming in cool places, and explore Austin a bit, and work looong hours with me, and she can now go home and vouch for why I rarely return texts/e-mails/phone calls!

This bitty guy was found in someone's backyard with a plastic flower hotglued to his back... Really people? Really?

I reallllly want Sunday's off. I'm slipping, and I don't want that. I need people to remind me that even though I'm working 60-70 hour weeks, 'pray without ceasing' 'do not worry' 'judge not, lest you be judged' 'love your neighbor as yourself' and all of those basic, yet so difficult teachings, still apply. I love Jesus! I want that to show more in my day to day life.

I finally started working on my corset, I've got the front sewn together now, and the busk is now set in place. And then I discovered that I need an iron... it was a duh kind of moment, but one that sadly did not happen until after I'd sewn 8 pieces together. Figures.

Why did I volunteer to be the fawn coordinator? It's chaos. I mean, I still love my babies dearly (haha, no pun intended), but we already have almost 80 fawns, and it's only June 3rd. And we've been deflecting as many calls as we possibly can, yet people still kidnap those poor babies whose mom was just doing her best to hide them! Gah!

People can be kind of frustrating when it comes to wildlife.

Nighthawks who beg for their food, while hovering in the middle of the room are just about as adorable as it gets.

Look! I can still make art! ('Muscovy on a Scapula', as per Laura's commission).

My body does weird things when it's stressed. Last week I wasn't hungry, could barely force breakfast down my throat. And now this week I can't stop eating. I ate an entire pint of Cherry Garcia last night (delicious, by the way).

I'm making a video of my time here at WRR. The first part is set to the music "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Any suggestions on another good song or two for the rest of the movie?

I miss my Washington/California/Oregon peoples. I know it's expensive, but if you want to come visit me, food and lodging will be covered. Just sayin. (Consider the cat hair on the couch to be an added bonus).