Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Meet Peg

Peg is short for Peg Leg.


I found Peg Saturday evening, caught by one leg, in a large rodent snap trap in our pasture.

I released her, scooped her up, and brought her into the house.

Her leg was a mess; a bloody compound fracture with her foot dangling by a long, skinny piece of skin.

I had to amputate her leg with toenail clippers.
 (I had big dreams of being a vet when I was a kid.)

While I was bandaging her stub (with cotton and antibiotic gel wrapped with first aid tape - and duct tape for good measure),  her eyes closed and I thought she was dying.

I said, "Don't you die on me little birdy!  I haven't lost a patient on the kitchen counter operating table yet!"

She rallied.  
I think she was just in shock.

I was surprised to find Peg still alive Sunday morning.  I fed her a mix of wild finch seed and millet pieces.  ????  Just guessing on what might be right.  She hung on and was a feisty little dish, escaping once to fly madly around my laundry room.

I dropped Peg off at an avian vet's office Tuesday.  I knew she needed to be on antibiotics and might need her boney stub cauterized and I wasn't sure what to do next. 

I thought Peg might be some kind of finch.  The vet said she's definitely not a finch but wasn't sure what kind of bird she is.  (The vet deals mostly with parrots, but kindheartedly treats wild birds that find their way to her office.)  I emailed Peg's picture to  a friend who said she looks like an immature meadowlark, and said she really should have some bugs to eat.

Do you think Peg is a young meadowlark?

The vet doesn't keep live food on hand, so I took some mealworms to the office today.  Good timing too.  They just got a flicker in that had been caught in a volleyball net and injured its wings.

So Peg - the alleged meadowlark - and the flicker will be eating good tonight.

Yum! Yum! Deeeelicious!



Gosh!  I dropped 100 mealworms off at the vet's office.  That might not feed two hungry birds for very long.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Misty's Monday Muse - High Line

MyLady and I  like to camp together.
We're not very experienced.
We're still learning.

Recently we learned how to high line.
  
MyLady had the hard part.
She had to learn to tie knots.

The Clove Hitch
The Bowline Knot
The Taut Line Hitch

Then she strung a high line between two trees.
She had trouble getting the line high enough for me,
cuz I'm kinda tall.
When we camp for real, it'll have to be much higher,
so I don't get my head caught on the line.
And I'll need a different halter...not a rope halter.
But this was just our first attempt.

Tying knots and hitches with the tree saver straps was awkward.
She needs more practice.
 
Be kind to trees.
(But I confess, I like to chew on them.)

I had the easy part.
I just hung out on the high line.
I took to it right away.

I like it.

I can relax.
I can move around.
I can put my head down and eat.

Now, that's my idea of camping.




 

Have you ever gone camping with your peoples and spent the whole dark night on a high-line?  Did you see any bears?



Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy 4th - Have Fun - Be Wise

Happy 4th of July!

Have Fun!

Please Be Fire Wise!

Black Forest Fire Station*

2012 Waldo Canyon Fire
  • 347 homes destroyed
  • 2 people killed
  • Human caused - no other details released to the public

2013 Black Forest Fire
  • 512 homes destroyed
  • 2 people killed
  • Human caused - likely accidental - no other details released to the public

Please be careful.  
 Be wise;  Be safe. 
 Enjoy this great holiday!

* Somebody is missing next to the fire danger sign.  There is usually a bear on the sign.  But some dude from out of state, after viewing national news of the fire, called the firehouse and complained about the bear.  He spewed a bunch of legalese claiming the bear looked too much like the licensed image of "Smokey the Bear".   So the bear was taken down.  Letters have been written to Washington, and the Black Forest bear is expected to return to his place on the sign.  

Monday, July 1, 2013

Aftermath of the Fire

"We Heart Black Forest"
The Enduring Spirit of Forest Dwellers

 Hundreds of Chimneys
Stand Sentinel Over Charred Homesites
 



Toasted and Totaled


One of My Favorite Riding Trails
Intact, But Not So Pretty
 
Trail Closed
Hot Spots Still Burning
Fire Secretly Smolders in Roots and Tree Trunks
Until it is Blanketed in Snow

Ironic
Fire Mitigation Completed in 2012 Too

Recovery Has Started
 
Cleanup Has Begun
 
Forest Forever Changed

 
Life Goes On