Category Archives: Wildlife

And The Winner Is…

15 Replies

We have returned from warm San Antonio back to the freezing cold of the Pacific Northwest!  I kid you not… 85 degrees in San Antonio the day we left and 39 degrees in Seattle when we landed!  But I’ll write more on that later…

In the meantime… we have a winner from the #GivingTuesday drawing!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and to everyone who entered.  I wish all of you could win… but unfortunately… there can be only one! (Wildlife calendar goes to anyone who knows what movie that is from, but please email me at neveradullbling(at)gmail, don’t answer it below.  You have until December 12th.)

And now for the results…

He’s grown since last year, hasn’t he!

There you have it!  Again, thank you all for your support and encouragement!  Stay tuned as Rock ‘N’ Roll San Antonio adventures will be posted soon!!

#GivingTuesday

33 Replies

Hoping all my American friends enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday!  Also hoping everyone survived Black Friday, gave some love on Small Business Saturday, and got some gonga deals on Cyber Monday!

We had a very quiet Thanksgiving with just the 3 of us, but it was wonderful family time.  I cooked (close your mouth)… and the only thing that could have been potentially disastrous was I forgot to put the ham in the oven.  About an hour after putting the chicken in, James looked at me and asked, “How long is the ham supposed to take?”  Oops.

I chose not to partake in the madness of Black Friday and went to the gym instead.  James opted outside as well.  We are headed to San Antonio this coming weekend for the Rock ‘N’ Roll race and he will be attempting the half-marathon (by my side? behind me? in front of me? lol).  He has come a long way from 2 months ago when he couldn’t even walk to the end of the block without excruciating pain.

Anyway… today is #GivingTuesday.  It is the Global Day of Giving Back.  It is time to help out those nonprofits who selflessly try to help make the world a better place with so little funding.  Please consider giving just a little bit to your favorite charity… even $5 makes a difference.

And in honor of #GivingTuesday, I am doing a fun little giveaway to support MY favorite charity and to say a big Thank You to You for all your support of me and my blog.  One lucky winner will receive 1 eco-friendly tote bag, 1 holiday ornament with card featuring our Patient of the Year (the cutest little porcupine you’ve ever seen who looks fluffy, not prickly), 1 set of 8 blank wildlife cards featuring 4 patients from our center, and 1 wildlife calendar featuring our patients which has all kinds of fun animal facts on the inside.

If you are interested, please leave me a comment below.  I’ll leave it open until next Tuesday, December 5th, whereby AJ will draw a name out of his Happy New Year hat to announce the winner.

Until then… I hope you have a great week!

Life on the Wild Side

29 Replies

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared an update about the goings-on where I work.  For those who are new to my blog and are not aware, I work at a wildlife rescue and rehab center where we take care of orphaned and injured wildlife, with the hopes of ultimately releasing the animals back into the wild.

It has been a crazy year.  We are close to hitting 2000 admits already, and we still have 2 more months to go.  Of course, a thousand of those admits were squirrels in September… okay, kidding. I’m just kidding!  We only had a couple hundred squirrels come to us this year, not a thousand.  (I tried to keep a running count on squirrel admits last year during squirrel apocalypse, otherwise known as September, and eventually had to give up as I started to lose track).  September is just a really bad month for squirrels.

Me with a baby squirrel

There are some physical changes happening at the center.  We have been working with a new nonprofit who rescues marine mammals. They needed a site to build pools for rehabilitation, so we’re in the midst of clearing land on the center’s property to make room for the pools in the hopes that their rescue will take off.  Living near the Puget Sound, we are in desperate need of marine mammal rescues.  Too many seals are left to die on the beach.

And of course, I still get my share of assholes who call (sorry… there is no other way to describe them).  Just yesterday I was yelled at by a man who couldn’t get a hummingbird out of his garage.  I informed him I wasn’t a government agency nor associated with the police (who, rightly so, couldn’t help him), so there was no reason for him to yell at me.  I suggested he go buy a net if all other efforts of directing the hummingbird outside failed.  He said, “Why the f—- would I go buy a f—ing net when I’m never going to use the f—ing thing again!  I’ll just let the bird die right here in my garage!”  See… asshole.  He was trying to emotionally manipulate me, which I do not tolerate.  Long story short, 20 minutes later he did manage to get the hummingbird out of his garage without having to buy a net.  For the animals, my friends… I do it for the animals.

Me with an injured red-tailed hawk

We have our holiday merchandise in and I plan to do another giveaway this year. The patient of the year (hence, the holiday ornament) is an adorable little porcupine who had to stay with us last year over winter when he was separated from his mother after a dog attack.  Stay tuned right here for details coming soon.

“If you talk to the animals, they will talk to you, and you will know each other.

If you do not talk to them, you will not know them.  And what you do not know, you will fear.

What one fears, one destroys.” — Chief Dan George

Busy Much?

27 Replies

The last couple of weeks have been an absolute blur and I think my brain is fried.  It’s only been 3 weeks since I ran my last race, 2 weeks since my mother-in-law Janet went back to the UK, 1 week since AJ began summer break, and yet all events seem like forever ago.  In that time, I’ve had a huge fundraiser gala to contend with, a hubby with a hurt back (who is thankfully on the mend… see here), and I’m trying really hard to wrap my head around marathon training 6 days a week.  This will now be my life for the next 4 months… work and training.  I’ve come to the conclusion that something has to give, so I won’t be doing the cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, etc., anymore.  Besides, I’d much rather keep in touch with my blogging friends than do all that other mindless nonsense… and now that James is healing, he can clean and do laundry and…  lol, sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me back up…

Fundraiser Gala:  One week after Janet left, the rescue and rehab center where I work held a huge fundraiser gala with dinner, entertainment, and a silent auction.  The director and I were working like mad the week before to get everything together for the event, and now I’m still quite busy tracking donors and silent auction winners and all the stuff that follows an event such as this.  No matter… we had a great time, and I’m happy to say it was a great success.

This was actually supposed to be an adults-only evening, but I was able to sneak AJ in to watch the raptor presentation.  He hung out in our room afterwards for the rest of the night.

All the tables were decorated with cute little stuffed animals that anyone could adopt (raccoons, opossums, coyotes, owls, eagles, squirrels, etc.).  They even came with their own adoption certificates.  Below are the two we adopted.  All of them were dressed up with little tulle “bow ties” for their gala evening.

Below is a video that was made in 2015.  Back then, we needed help with refurbishing the hospital area.  We were able to raise all the funds for that; however we are now in need of new eagle flights.  While the video that was shown last Saturday night is not available publicly yet, I thought you might enjoy seeing where I spend a lot of my days.  When the other video becomes available, I’ll show that one to you as well, then you can see the difference in the hospital… a little inside look of a rescue center, so to speak.  (By the way… the raccoons at the beginning really are just hanging upside down.  They were babies when they came to us and learned how to climb the chain links… all were happily released back into the wild).

Training:  Yeah, I’ve been doing that too.  I’ve had to start getting up before the sun to avoid the heat and mugginess of the season, but we all do what we gotta do.  I’m just thankful I don’t have mom duties first thing anymore (you know… making lunches, giving rides, and the biggie of waking up a child).  I won’t go much into detail about the runs right now (only because this post is getting too long), but I am hitting them as scheduled… not so much on the cross training yet… but the runs are extremely important. You can’t fake your way through a marathon if you want to beat the sweeper, haha.

Up next:  Queen with Adam Lambert!  This Saturday!  I cannot wait!

Have a great week, my friends!

Just Another Day

31 Replies

Baby season is in full swing at the rescue and rehab center.  Things are kicking off a bit late this year because of our cold winter and cold spring.  But the cold ain’t gonna stop Mother Nature now, is it!  We currently have abandoned baby squirrels, abandoned baby bunnies, baby opossums who’ve lost their mom, even 2 little owlets being raised by our resident foster owl mama… and I just received my very first fawn call of the season today.  (“There is a fawn sitting in my yard that has been abandoned.” “No, it hasn’t been abandoned.  Please leave it alone.”)

That being said, I also received a call today that sent my blood pressure to stroke level.  If I could’ve gone through the phone to slap some sense into this a-hole, I would have:

HIM:  My dogs were in a fight with a raccoon a couple of days ago and they chased it up a tree. It’s been up there for 2 days and I would like it removed before it dies.

ME:  The raccoon is in the tree because he’s afraid of your dogs.  Where are the dogs now?

HIM:  Barking at the raccoon in the tree.

ME:  Can you place the dogs in their kennel?

HIM:  The kennel is right underneath the tree.  Should I put them in there?

ME:  No.  Can you bring the dogs inside for a few hours?

HIM:  No.  They’re outside dogs.

ME:  Can you put them in the garage to give this raccoon a chance to come down out of the tree?

HIM:  No.  I’m not willing to do that.

I had to put him on hold after that answer.

“No.  I’m not willing to do that.”  

Are you f’n kidding me?!  I was so not prepared for that response.  You can’t lock up your dogs?? To let another living being, one of God’s creatures, who is scared to death, come down out of a tree and have a chance at survival?? Then why the f*** did you call me?!!  Do you really think I’m going to track all the way out to your drug-infested meth-lab ‘home’ and remove a raccoon from a tree when you won’t even put your hell hounds up?? 

I was now done with this phone call.  I had to pass it off to my director as the veins in my head were frantically pulsating.

The director then proceeded to calmly explain the risk of diseases that a dead raccoon would pass onto his beloved outside dogs who were never allowed inside, if he didn’t remove his dogs from the area to let the raccoon down.

Alas… we will never know what happened to this poor raccoon, whether the above idiot decided to put his dogs up for a couple of hours or not.

I guess I’ll chalk it all up to another “day in the life of…”

Baby season is upon us.  Time for me to step up my game and get ahead of all that’s about to come…

 

 

I Died Today

46 Replies

I was found by a kind, sweet woman who does wildlife rescue.

I was so sick, I could barely open my eyes.

She took me inside, cradling me in her arms and made me warm and comfortable.

I opened my eyes and looked at her and thanked her for making my last few minutes as comfortable as possible.

But I was too sick to keep fighting.

I had eaten a mouse that was poisoned, and it made me very sick.

I closed my yellow eyes for the last time and went somewhere else.

Please, all I ask is never to use poison to kill the mice.

Poison kills owls, like me.

All I wanted was a mouse for dinner.

I died today…

Poison is a very real problem for our wildlife.  Last year, our center received an owl just like the one above who had eaten a poisoned mouse.  It was nursed for months.  It couldn’t be saved.  It eventually died too.

This past week, we received a raccoon who also was the victim of poison.

If your beloved dog or cat caught a poisoned mouse, vole, or mole, it would die as well.

Please don’t use poison to kill mice and rats.  The fallout is tragic.

(Note:  I read the story above for the first time in a newsletter from another wildlife rehab center in the Sequim area.  I do not know who wrote it or where it originated.  Image is from nwraptorcenter.com)

 

And The Winner Is…

32 Replies

Thank you so much to everyone for reading and commenting on my post about beavers and entering my little giveaway!  I received such a great response!  My hope is one day we can all understand how important beavers are to our ecosystem (not to mention they’re cute as all get out)!

20161204_173349.jpg

So on to the important stuff… the winner!  I truly wish I could send everyone a beaver ornament, but unfortunately, there can be only one (I’ll send a wildlife calendar to the first one who can tell me what movie that line is from… no googling)!  The Child did the drawing, see the video below (which is only about a minute).  It’s amazing how much he’s grown up from last year (you can see that video here).

So if the winner could kindly contact me, I’ll get the package off to you posthaste.

20161209_170630.jpg

Just to prove the drawing was legit, haha!

As well, a big thank you to my readers/my friends for following my blog, my running, and my life!  You are much appreciated!  (And yes, this song is on one of my running playlists, ;D)

By the way, James has posted his race recap on Tulsa… he did a great job!  You can read about that here.

Patient of the Year and Giveaway

60 Replies

I work at Sarvey Wildlife Care Center, a rescue and rehab facility for wildlife.

11119676_10153301634259293_1346073887250321429_o.jpg

In May 2015, this baby beaver was discovered by some campers.  He was without his mother and too young to survive on his own, so the campers brought him to us.  We actually already had a female beaver with us who was rehabbing from an animal attack, and the two beavers were eventually put together.  The older female became a surrogate to the baby male.

11337005_10153327528319293_4239730359304809782_o.jpg

The two beavers spent a year with us.  This past spring they were both released, together, in a secluded area with lots of access to trees, water, and natural habitat.

Beavers play a crucial role in biodiversity.  Many species rely on beaver-created habitat, and a lot of these species who rely on beavers are threatened or endangered.  This year, the baby American beaver was made Patient of the Year at Sarvey. Ornaments and cards were made to celebrate this particular animal.

In honor of this little guy and with the hope of bringing awareness to the importance of beavers, I am holding a giveaway.  One person will win an ornament featuring the baby beaver, a blank holiday card to coincide with the ornament, a Sarvey Wildlife Calendar which has lots of fun tidbits on the inside, and a Sarvey tote bag.  All you have to do is write “Go Hawks” in the comment section!!  Okay, just kidding… let me know if you’re interested with a comment and I’ll put your name in the drawing.  Or send an email to neveradullbling(at)gmail.com.  The drawing will be held this Friday (12/11) around 5 p.m., and I might even get AJ to participate by drawing the name while I’m recording it (gasp!).

BENEFITS OF BEAVER PONDS

  • Decrease damaging floods
  • Recharge drinking water aquifers
  • Remove pollutants from surface and ground water
  • Drought protection
  • Decreased erosion

For more information on Sarvey Wildlife, please visit their website at sarveywildlife.org, or follow them on Facebook.  Sarvey is a nonprofit organization that relies solely on donations.  If you’re interested in purchasing an ornament, calendar, or tote bag for yourself, please visit Sarvey’s website… and make sure to say Paula sent you.  🙂

All photos used with permission from Sarvey Wildlife.

20161204_173349.jpg

 

Thursday’s Happenings

59 Replies

It was a gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest today… unseasonably sunny and warm.  I hope this isn’t the warm before the storm, BUT, I’ll bask in it for the short time we have it.

And when it’s sunny, this usually happens at the center:

All kinds of animals were released into the beautiful sunshine today (yes, even some squirrels), but the above red-tail hawk was especially happy to be sprung.  He was none too pleased to be in a hospital for the short time he was there.  Fly and be free, little guy!

Also, James and I were contacted by the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa coming up.  We have been chosen to be on the blogging panel at the expo for the marathon as their first ever “couple” bloggers.  We will be at the expo on Saturday, November 19th, from 3 to 4 p.m.  If you happen to be running Route 66, please stop by and say hi!  We would love to meet you!  This will be the next-to-the-last race for us for the year, with the Mukilteo Turkey Trot the following week being the last and final race for 2016 (phew!).

fb_img_1478210127017.jpg

James’s site is still having problems showing up in the reader, so if you follow him, he’s just posted about his October goals.  You can see his latest post here.  He can be quite funny at times you know, 🙂

That’s it, that’s all I’ve got.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

  • Will you be in Tulsa on the 20th?
  • If you run, is a Turkey Trot on your schedule?
  • Do you prefer hamburgers or hot dogs?  😉

 

 

Squirrel Apocalypse

31 Replies

Baby season at the rescue center is finally starting to wind down, with most orphaned or injured spring babies getting ready to be released.  Fawns will be released in October, raccoons and raptors in September, coyotes around the end of September/beginning of October… but now is the season of the 2nd generation of squirrels.  We lovingly refer to this as squirrel apocalypse.  By the end of the month, our baby mammal room will be filled to the brim with baby squirrels, each incubator filled with 5 or 6 squirrels each (they love to cuddle with each other).  I wrote about this last year close to this time.  It’s important enough that I think it deserves a repeat.

Squirrel Talk

wpid-68747470733a2f2f776562746f6f6c666565642e66696c65732e776f726470726573732e636f6d2f323031322f30342f637574652d737175697272656c2d6c312e6a7067.jpgWildlife rescue and rehab centers are coming up on a very busy season… squirrel season. By the middle of August, we will be inundated with baby squirrels who have fallen out of their nest or who have been chucked out by their mom for one reason or another.  Most squirrels have two breeding periods, December to February and May to June.  I don’t know what it is about the summer babies, but they are constantly falling out of their nests and landing on the ground for kind-hearted people or predators to find.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU COME ACROSS A BABY SQUIRREL:

If you can reach the nest, put the baby back in it.

If you don’t know where the nest is, leave him on the ground and gently press on the baby’s foot to make him call for his mom.  Then leave the area.  If the mom knows where her baby is, she’ll come down the tree and carry it back to the nest, but she will never come around if people are nearby.  You are a predator to her.  Check on the baby later to make sure mom found him.

If the above two options don’t work, gently place the baby in a box or container in which it can breathe and take it to your closest wildlife rescue center.  NEVER EVER try to raise or feed squirrels if you’re not a licensed rehabber.  Babies require very specific formula in order to keep them strong and healthy.  If not properly nourished, they will develop metabolic bone disease, a very painful condition that causes their bones to break which is extremely cruel and inhumane (I can’t stress this enough), and there’s nothing that can be done to save them.

To locate your nearest wildlife rescue, visit your state’s Fish and Wildlife website.  They will have resources to help you.  Or you can contact me and I can help you find your nearest rescue.

*****

Just for fun, I thought I’d do a running tally on squirrels this month to give you an idea of what squirrel apocalypse is all about. Since August 1st, we have admitted 10 squirrels.  While 10 may not sound like all that many right now… think about it… that’s 10 little mouths that need to be hand fed multiple times per day.  Stay tuned… 😀