(Pre-Script: Our original blog, posted on Thanksgiving eve, was lost in some cyberspace blackhole. Luckily, we saved this one to disk and have re-posted)
B: Good evening, dear readers. While we do have some exciting news to tell you, things have been slowing down, as they do every winter. This fall season, we were able to release all but 44 of our fall season baby squirrels, a huge improvement over last year’s 136. Even though we were able to release all 136 over-wintered squirrels (something that started this past March), over-wintering such a large amount of non-hibernating rodents took quite a toll on our grocery bill. At Second Chance Wildlife Center, we feed each squirrel apple, berries, sweet potato, kale, grapes, green beans, zucchini, broccoli, peanuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, acorns, chestnuts, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds. That can really add up when you have multiple cages of four squirrels each.
A: This season Britt and I instituted a new schedule for squirrel “upgrading” that increased efficiency and the rate at which squirrels were moved outside. We must also acknowledge the invaluable help from out fellow staff people (who helped us with the actual moving of the heavy cages and the setting up of our outdoor pre-release cages) and Frank, our Squirrel Enthusiast, who helped us with the release of now countless squirrels. Without everyone working together tirelessly, we would never have achieved such a blissful state of peace at the center. Without last year’s multitude of squirrels to feed/clean and care for, our daily workload has been dramatically reduced. Thank goodness!
B: Without Frank, we would definitely be lost among a sea of squirrels.
A: Drowning in a tide of pee-stained sheets, net shells, rodent chow dust and gray fur. I shudder at the prospect.
B: But Frank, whenever beckoned, would show up in his “Freedom Bus” and load all six squirrel nest boxes at a time before venturing off to the wilds of the Rachel Carson Conservational Park in Maryland, returning the following day with the empty squirrel nest boxes from the previous release, allowing us to put out the next batch of squirrels that much more quickly.
A: We love Frank…
B: …and our empty Side Porch.
A: Winter allows us to shift our focus to things like deep cleaning and education. Yesterday I was honored to attend a Girl Scout Troop meeting to help them attain the enviable Wildlife Badge. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job has always been the opportunity to influence young minds and help them to be better stewards of their environment.
B: That is one of the nice things about checking in a patient in with fall and winter months. If the client has the time, we can spend up to twenty minutes chatting about how to live in harmony with our wild neighbors, or about the natural history of the animal they found, something we cannot do to such an extent in the spring and summer months. In May, we can admit over 50 new patients each day (sometimes over 100!), whereas in December, that is our total for the month. The “slow” season allows us time to reach out to the community more, especially through our educational talks. During the months of November through February, we reach out to local schools, church groups, social clubs and scout groups, bringing posters and pictures of our journeys as wildlife rehabilitators.
A: We feel so fortunate to be able to get paid while talking about our passions. And hopefully, we get to do a little good too. Other than fun educational programs and squirrel progress, we’ve also been busy with turtle wound management (chugging along nicely), cleaning our cellars (kind of scary) and caring for our over-wintered senior citizen opossums (kind of chugging along). To be frank (another plug for you-know-who), we have also been enjoying the chance to catch up on our studying of new wildlife information, organizing our inventory and building new furniture. Though many of us hate the cold, we do love how winter allows us to relax a bit.
B: As new drugs and treatment methods are found each year, Alicia and I are looking forward to next year’s National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA) annual symposium, though we can wait a little longer, and catch up on more much-needed rest. TTFN!
