Thursday, February 3, 2022

Thursday Art Date With Rain ... Kindness


 Kindness

I have a hard time passing a homeless person without dropping something into their cup.  Some people tell me  "oh no, you are only feeding their drug habit", but I don't know that and nobody really knows their story.  I would rather err on the side of assuming that they are leading a tragic life and need help.


Kittens were dumped in our unincorporated area by the lake all of the time.  My neighbor and I must have rescued over 20 kittens, took them to the vet, had them fixed and given their shots and then found them homes ... some, of course, we kept in our own homes.  The top picture is Latte' a beautiful female that I caught up and took to Spay and Stay ... they said, sorry, she's about to pop out some babies, we can't spay her.  So home she came and into our guest bedroom on the loft.  Within 24 hours we had 3 baby boys ... Latte' and Teddy were taken home (after 10 weeks) by my friend Diane and the two boys (we called them Da Boyz) stayed with us.  Chachi and Fonzi were wonderful pets ... sadly we lost Fonzi last year, but Chachi is still hanging in and we give him as much care and loving as we can.

The second picture is Bailey.  She was kept by my neighbor and is still a sassy little girl that everyone loves.  We (my neighbor and I) are so grateful to have these little fur babies in our lives.  I also have two more rescued kitties, Diva (the devil child) who lives up to her name every chance she gets and Buffy the dragon slayer who was dumped as a baby and learned to survive ... it took me all summer to gain her confidence and now she is a bouncy, playful female and nurtures Chachi in place of his brother.  

Diva

Buffy

This little Budgie was found by my other neighbor in the bushes at her work.  She bought him home to me and he now lives with my friend Barb, who is a bird person like me :)

After retiring from nursing, I volunteered at a Raptor Rescue facility.  This place was built on kindness and commitment.
 Birds were brought to us or we were called out to catch up       an injured raptor.  We had to take a 5 week course and then spend several weeks with an experienced handler before we were allowed to handle the birds on our own.  

When we brought a new bird in, we would hydrate them then place them in a dark comfortable cage until our veterinarian came in to fix what ever needed fixing.  They would stay with us until they could demonstrate flight and hunting skills in our flight cage.  If they were able to fly and hunt they were released back into the wild, if not, they stayed with us our another facility and were cared for and used in education programs.




We had a pair of Barn Owls  who served as surrogate parents to the baby barn owls we raised (from egg to adult) and released with telemetry so the scientists we worked with could determine where they would go.  The Barn Owl population in our area was almost extinct and it was their hope that we could boost the population ... but as nature would have it, most of the barn owls left the area (very few farms with barns to provide shelter). 



Our birds learned to sit and sometimes feed on the glove.  They were walked on the glove every day, fed, cleaned, watered and when they were comfortable on the glove they were taught to fly to the glove from a distance.  This allowed them to maintain their normal body strength and hunting skills.




This beautiful lady was found down in a field with a serious viral infection.  She spent several months with us and was a delight to work with.  We released her in the same field that we found her in. 


Kindness can take many forms and can sometimes seem cruel. Those of you who have had to put down a loved pet can understand the need for that kind of kindness.  The reason I have been gone is we have had to put my daughter in a nursing home because we can no longer provide her with the care she needs.  She feels abandoned and is fighting us and the whole situation , making it harder and harder to do ... and believe me it is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.  I am trying to get back into the swing of things, but I am struggling ... I have missed all of you because you are all important to me in my life ... Be safe and be kind :)

Andrea @ From the Sol










9 comments:

Cathy Kennedy said...

Andrea,

Kindness definitely comes in many forms and it's nice to hear about it given to all of God's creatures, the two legged, four legged, and feathered variety. Your kitties are so pretty!

Elephant's Child said...

Heartfelt hugs and oceans of caring are flowing your way dear friend.

DVArtist said...

Wow this is a wonderful post. I enjoyed it very much.

Christine said...

You are a role model for kindness Andrea such a beautiful person.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I am so impressed and so grateful for all the work you have done with rehab birds, Andrea. For this you have my undying gratitude and appreciation. As for giving a little money to the homeless, I applaud your kindness. I never try to figure out their status or whether I am supporting their drug habit or not, I know they are out on the street and I will go to my comfortable home where the hardest decision of the day is what to have for dinner. They need a helping hand and a little kindness goes a long way.

Gillena Cox said...

Yes kind can have different faces. Happy Thursday

Much love...

Tom said...

...it is so cold and snowy here that being homeless is beyond belief. Fill your days with kindness, take care and stay warm and well.

EricaSta said...

Wow ... I enjoyed this Post so much. Wonderful to read and lovely captures from the owls.

Thank you for sharing.

Many hugs

NatureFootstep said...

How wonderful to see you back in blogland. I have missed you and wondered what happened. I hope you were not too sick??

What a wonderful post yu share today. It is great to see how you work with the injured birds. I know ow a group in Stockholm area that does pretty much the same. I see psots from them now and then in FB.

The kittens are adorable. :)

Take are. :)

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