Tag Archives: cute

Patient of the Year and Giveaway

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

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.

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.

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

Wildlife 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… 😀

This, That, and The Other

31 Replies

The flu bug in my house is thankfully all gone now. James got lucky… he was not affected. He thinks it has something to do with having gotten the flu shot. I don’t believe that for an instant. I think he avoided the flu because he’s meticulous about washing his hands and using hand sanitizer (inside joke because I don’t believe in getting the flu shot). Regardless, we are once again a healthy and happy family! I’ll be spending the next week bleaching and sanitizing everything we’ve ever touched. Yay.

Tuesday was Jamesy’s birthday! Even though AJ and I had some resemblance of an illness, we still managed to give James a nice, happy evening! I actually made some home-made cupcakes… with frosting! And I even made some type of chicken parmesan dinner for him that he really enjoyed. The secret was in the frying of the chicken pieces… I went full fat and full flavor for this baby!! Bread crumbs, egg, and milk for dipping, and good old fashioned vegetable oil for frying!! No oven baking… no boring panko crumbs… full flavor all the way! (I am such a rebellious soul, hehe) No worries… we went back to healthy on Wednesday (well, at least until Friday Happy Hour, :D).

Speaking of healthy, we got a new little toy… the Nutribullet by Magic Bullet! We’ve always made our shakes and smoothies in the Magic Bullet, but the motor started to die, so enter the Nutribullet! Much bigger than a Magic Bullet… kind of like a full size blender and super powerful. You can make 2 servings in one go, and not near as klunky to wash as a blender. We just love our little gadgets.

Can’t leave out the recipe book it came with, with lots of healthy smoothies to create!

As for work, it’s been a week! Fawns being born, ducklings losing their mothers, bunny nests being uncovered, fledgling birds that really don’t need to be rescued… it’s just crazy. Some of you may not be aware, but I work at a rescue and rehab for wild animals. A couple of tips if you run across a wild baby animal:

Geese will foster orphaned goslings. Ducks will kill ducklings that are not their own.

Birds: Parents will still take care of their young while they’re on the ground learning to fly. If you see parents in the area, leave the bird alone. It’s also okay to re-nest the bird. That thing where birds won’t accept their young after a person has touched it is just a myth.
Fawns: You will never see the mother. The mother will sometimes leave the baby for up to 12 hours to forage for food; however, she is still in the area. Fawns are programmed to sit as still as possible until mom returns. Unless you see obvious signs of it being hurt, leave the baby alone!
Bunnies: If your dog or cat brings you a bunny, get it to a licensed rehabber as soon as possible. Never, ever, ever feed a bunny milk, kitten replacement milk, or puppy replacement milk, or milk of any kind for that matter. They will develop bloat and die. If a nest has been uncovered, cover it back up in such a manner that the mother will have to disturb the covered area to get to her babies, that way you can tell if she’s returned to the nest or not. If she doesn’t return after 12 hours, take them to a licensed rehabber. (If a bunny is the size of an apple, it’s big enough to be on its own).
Squirrels: Put them back in the nest if you don’t see any obvious signs of injury. If the nest is too high, gently pinch their little toes until they cry out then leave the area. Mom will come down to get her baby and take it back up to the nest, but not while you’re still around.

As for this guy below, he was afraid to come down out of a tree because of a nearby barking dog. A citizen thought he was stuck. He was “freed” from this position and still wouldn’t come down. But once the dog was quieted and no one was around, he came down on his own accord. (If you’re unable to make out what it is… it’s a raccoon, and a very healthy one at that!)

I am now about to attempt my first 3-mile run after a 2-week break. As long as I don’t cough up a lung in the process, I’ll be good to go. After all, my next half is only a month away. Holy crap.

Have a great week!!

Leavenworth

21 Replies

Leavenworth is a charming little Bavarian town that sits in the midst of the Cascade Mountains, about 2 hours from where I live. I am childless this weekend because AJ went up there to play in the snow for a few days with his “brother from another mother” for the 4-day holiday weekend (Presidents Day).

Sledding before breakfast…

Exploring Lake Wenatchee State Park…

Silly hat store…

Dinner at a local pub…

I’m going to guess the boys will be sleeping well tonight, especially with all that mountain air.

However, before AJ left, he made a very special video for a very special little girl. Esmé, this is for you! (Her mom is the author of A Run A Day, pop on over to see how cute she is, especially dressed as a Care Bear!!)

Science is Fabulous!

12 Replies

In case there ever was a question!

(via AppScience)

Happy Holidays!

18 Replies

Our 16th Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Paula at Never A Dull Bling and James at 50 in 50 Marathon Quest! We wish you much love during this blessed season!

–Paula and James

Halloween from days gone by…

20 Replies

2007

2009

The first year of starting a life-long tradition with his BFFFFFF….

2012

2013

2014

2015

Evil ventriloquist dummy; Ezio from Assassin’s Creed; and Darth Vader

My little boy is nearly too old for trick-or-treating. He stands close to 5’3″ and is 11 years old now. My, my, my, how the time does fly. When he’s too old for it, I’ll have to figure out another way to restock my goody supply for free…

Hope you had a wonderfully prosperous Halloween!

My Four-Legged Furry Children

34 Replies

Obviously I’m a huge animal lover as I work at the animal rehab and rescue facility, but I believe I’ve failed to mention my own animal family. We have 3 loving cats that I’d like to introduce to you.

NERO

He’s our oldest at almost 15 years. He’s kind of a rescue, sort of. A couple had him as a kitten, gave him baths and everything, then the woman found out she was pregnant and didn’t want to risk owning a cat while being pregnant. James was the softy and brought him home. He came to us when he was about 4 months old. He used to lay on James’ chest when he was little, and I warned him, “One day Nero is going to be a great big kitty and will still want to lay on your chest when he weighs 15 to 20 pounds.” Guess what?! I was right (I love being right). Unfortunately he’s starting his downhill slide with some endocrine issues, but he’s still a joy to have around. His favorite toy: Nerf gun darts.

MEEP

Back in 2011, a friend of mine had a litter of kittens, and I picked him out when he was about 3 weeks old. Tuxedo cats are my absolute favorites. He’s part Siamese, so he’s a talker. Never shuts up, but can be a great conversationalist. And with him being a boy, he really, really likes to cause trouble. He loves to chew on white phone chargers or ear buds. He also loves to floss his teeth with me… I’ll use one end of the string, he’ll use the other.

He’s actually our son’s cat. Back when Meep was a kitten, before he gained all his weight and muscle, AJ thought it’d be cool to teach him to… fly. Meep could jump 4 feet straight into the air when they were playing. It was amazing. He couldn’t do that now to save his life. He’s a fat and happy 4-year-old, who still thinks I’m his surrogate mom… he comes to me for the hugs and the love and the suckling. I used to let him curl up onto my shoulder when he was a kitten… guess where his favorite place still is. Yep… I didn’t take my own advice to which I gave out 10 years before. Meep follows AJ everywhere at his heels, just like a little puppy. It’s the cutest thing.

His favorite toy is a fish net.

SHEBA

She’s the only girl of the group. Sheba came to us about 2 years ago, I thought she had been abandoned. It was in the middle of winter and the temperature was due to get down to 19 degrees F, and she was hanging out on our porch. I made her a box on the porch to keep her warm, but I thought surely she had a home. Three nights later, she was still hanging around, and it was about to get colder. We brought her inside and she’s been with us ever since. I actually found out who owned her, and the “owner” and I exchanged some words (I’d like to say it was pleasant, but it wasn’t). However, since then, Sheba has never left. She’s an outside kitty, which I absolutely don’t believe in for many reasons, but I can’t change how she was raised. She still comes inside every single night to sleep with James and I, either between our heads or she will completely take over my pillow. She gets along with Nero, but her and Meep have to stay separated. I don’t know why, but even after 2 years, Meep will not accept her as his sister.

Sheba and I have races to the neighborhood mailbox. She’ll give me a nice head start, but then I say, “I’m gonna beat you.” That’s all she needs to hear… she puts it in high speed and wins every time. She’s actually about 13. Her favorite toy: Anything that’s outside, from grass, to bugs, to… well, sadly, everything.

The other members of our family include 3 angelfish and 1 otocinclus (a 5-year-old sucker fish who has survived Armageddon)… I’m not as good with fish as I am with 4-legged creatures… but that’s another story…

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” — Anatole France

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” — Anatole France

Share this:

Like this: