Ugly lawn? I think not!

One persons dandelion infested lawn from hell.....

.....is someone else's heaven!!

I could never use weed killer on my dandelions! What ever would my little whistle pigs eat then?! LOL

My lawn is 100% wildlife friendly! It is totally untreated, as you can see. In fact, the only thing I do to it is mow it....and let the rest of the critters out there enjoy the fresh, organic grazing! It also comes in very handy when the rest of the gals need fresh greens for their bunny rehabs.

The trees are also groundhog approved! This is a new one on me...I was surprised to look out my window and see that! I enjoy my 2 groundhog neighbors here, but I don't specialize in them, Mary gets all the groundhog rehabs....so I had to call her once I realized one was climbing around in trees like a squirrel! It's not something you see every day (well.....it is now actually!) so I just wanted to see if maybe I had a prodigy here! Alas...though I think all the critters I share the area with are special, this ability makes my particular friend no more special than all the other groundhogs out there. This particular groundhog prefers to oversee "his" lawn from up high. One of the many holes to his underground lair is right below the tree.

I had to euthanize the poor coon Mary and I stopped to pick up on our way to JoAnn's the other day. He was not limping due to injury but rather due to neurologic problems. He declined rapidly while I had him and it was the kindest thing I could do for him. I suspect another case of rabies, however there being no exposure we are not sending it off to be tested.

Yesterday was a circus!!

Yesterday should have started with a call around 6am regarding the outcome of an attempted re-unite of 3 very young baby raccoons. Well I never got the call and when I woke around 8am I called them....having to leave a message and anxiously await a call back. When I heard back, the babies were still there. Long story short, instructions were not followed exactly and some were embellished upon leading to failure and some ice cold babies!

24 hours later, these tiny 100gram babies are stable and doing well, thank goodness! 

 I was scheduled to head out to Tufts to pick up the Waltham goose that had hit some power lines then flew into a truck, and to pick up 3 baby chippy's to bring to JoAnn around dinner time. Though my plan was to head out in the morning, stabilizing the baby coons took precedence...on top of working around the feedings for the other 7.

Then Laurie called me about a duckling that had been found possibly injured and we were going to arrange to bring it up to Tufts. So of course the people did not want to give it up. After a good job by one of Laurie's coworkers, Anne, convincing them if they wanted it to live they had to give it up, they finally called me to bring it over.  I finished my feedings and prepared to go to Tufts....just waiting on the duck.

Then I get a call from one of the Sgts. at work. 3 baby squirrels in Waltham. Perfect...keep them warm and secure and I'll grab them after I release the goose!

Then a call for a mangy fox..."Hello Tufts, will you take a mangy fox and a duckling too!"

Lisa handles the call, it was gone by the time she called back so not waiting for the fox.

An hour later, still waiting on the duck! I am now hours behind schedule to leave for Tufts! As I'm finally getting ready to leave, they show up.

One very adorable mallard duckling on board...we're outta here!

 Duckling appears OK...it's staying at Tufts to await some friends! Goose and 3 chippys loaded up, I'm outta there!

Drive to Waltham, perfect release for goose! He's out of the crate, hangs around by the tree long enough to realize this crew ain't his, then off he goes heading for his own home.

 Drive to station, pick up 3 very cute squirrels and add them to passengers in the truck. Heading home in rush hour traffic, not so bad....until there is an accident right at my exit of course! I knew I was screwed when all the emergency personnel went screaming by lights and sirens! Get home about the time Mary and I were planning on being at JoAnn's. I still have to take care of the outside crew, get another feeding in....Nancy pops by for fluids and supplies....Mary is at my place waiting for me. Finally we head out to JoAnn's shortly after 7pm.

En route...I'm driving along and see cars suddenly stopping up ahead....just in time to see an injured raccoon trying to cross the road! Really!! I swerve over onto the side of the road, jump out, grab the net and run over to scoop up the raccoon. Raccoon now added to the passengers in the truck, JoAnn calling...where the hell are you guys!...JoAnn you'll never believe what just happened! ( I guess we fell so far behind for a reason! 2 seconds earlier or later we would have totally missed the poor raccoon!) Mary watches her have a seizure in the carrier....for now she is isolated and comfortable at my place. She managed to climb into a hammock and then into the den box during the night so not sure the extent of her injuries/illness yet...will update on that later!

 Get to JoAnn's around 8pm and proceed to start feedings/re-hydrating etc on all the new animals and those already in our care. (Like this very cute bun JoAnn has!)

 JoAnn opens the cage with the chippy's, only to discover they are not chippy's but red squirrels! Holy crap! LOL At least JoAnn now has friends for her single red shown here!

 Some of her other babies, including the surviving little girl who fell so far from a tree in Belmont. That's her on the left and she's got new siblings and doing great!

We fed animals more than we fed ourselves! (as usual when we get together this time of year!)....finally home around midnight I think! Time to start feedings again! I went to bed around 5am hoping to get "a good night sleep" of about 4 hours. 7:45am....phone rings....almost 3hrs sleep...not bad actually this time of year!

Best wake up call of my life....my Lt. on the phone....congratulations! You're the new ACO! Oh and you start next Tuesday! And so it goes...........LOL

Five new additions.

Five adorable new additions are doing great.

Big thanks to Mark and his son for getting them here! Their den was in a bank owned property. The bank had mom trapped and killed, of course.  A terrible, very un-thorough company was used, because they obviously didn't even bother to check for the babies that were left there to die. (Or if they did, they didn't care!) Lucky for them though, Mark was one of the contractors sent in to work on the house the next day! Upon hearing a commotion, he located and rescue these cuties from the wall.  They were in perfect shape! It's obviously mom wasn't gone long. In fact, if I didn't know what actually happened, I would suspect a case of kidnapping, as most kidnap victims are often in great shape as well, having been taken from a mom that was doing her job. One night of trying to deal with the reality of taking care of "Oh such cute little babies, I want them!" and the kidnappers are quick to dump them on us!

If we knew the name of the pest control company used, I would spread the word to stay away from them, but unfortunately we don't.

At least these guys are safe and sound now!

Two girls and five boys have adjusted well and are taking their bottles great now. They are just at that stage where they love to play and wrestle a little instead of just falling asleep right after a meal, so of course I can't stop taking pictures of them! Enjoy!

Kitties!

Shame on me! I forgot to update on the domestic rescue side of things! The mom and kittens that Laurie is fostering for the MSPCA are doing great! Sadly, one little kitty did not make it, but the fact that the other 4 are thriving is a miracle in and of itself, considering none were expected to do well as a result of the meds Mom had to be on.

Mom is a wonderful doting mother....as is Dougie, their step-dog! ;)

Happy and not so happy updates.

Unfortunately, terrible news for one of the squirrels. JoAnn brought them up to Tuft's Friday morning and they took some x-rays. Her mandible was shattered and the molars were totally out of alignment. It was not something that could be fixed. On top of that there was a raging infection in her throat. They were totally amazed that she was even able to eat anything. A good example why some injuries, such as traumas, need to be checked a little more thoroughly on the inside. Externally there seemed to be improvement and she was eating, however the damage not seen was so bad she would only have lingered longer, suffering a great deal.  

Her sister, on the other hand is doing well. JoAnn already has 2 other squirrels close enough in size that she can go in with so she is not alone.

On a happier note....Mason and Cinder are thriving! They have more than doubled in weight.

Cinder's laceration has healed up nicely.

They are eating like little piglets...... 

....and just being darn cute.

And they are definitely enjoying their fur to cuddle in...so thanks to all who have donated furs!!

Meanwhile outside, the "wild" family is out and about and as active as ever. I have run into Gibby, Ringer, River and Belle for sure at night. I think maybe Red too, but it's been so long since I've seen her I'm not sure. Although she wouldn't come right up to me, she had no problem following me around from feeder to feeder as I checked on them like Red usually did. 

During the day I've had a few visitors as well. Everyone looks so different now though, that I'm not always sure who it is! Sometimes I only know it's one of mine because they'll come right down for a visit! 

I was thinking this was one of River's girls. Amazon or Nile were always friendly enough to come over to me, but not so friendly to let me scritch their chin like this time. Then again, that's the thing about these guys! Sometimes they can be friendly as hell and other times they can be grumpy or skittish depending on their mood and what's going on in their lives at the time. One day someone will hang all over you and the next, run at the sight of  you no matter how nice you call to them. Regardless, we had a lovely visit while this girl...possibly Amazon....sat back and told me about her day while having a little bite to eat.

The reds were released a week or so ago. They proceeded to vacate their cage and move into the large indoor pen! So much for going out on their own! Don't get too comfortable in there gang, when the new tenants are ready you're outta there!

Surviving a long fall...two unfortunate squirrels come in.

These 2 poor babies came in yesterday from John the Belmont ACO. They had quite a long fall from a tree onto someones deck. Both were quite bloody and have some pretty severe facial trauma. They are on Metacam for the pain and swelling.....of which there is a lot, especially inside the mouths and noses!

This girl has it the worst.

 

 After getting her cleaned up enough to help her breathing and check the injuries, I'm a little concerned about her mouth and damage to her teeth. The mouth is still quite swollen and painful, but after a long night of stabilizing and re hydrating her, I'm happy to report she finally ate willingly, without letting it dribble out of the side of her mouth. The jaw appears to be moving fine, but everything is still too swollen to see much.

 Her sister, on the other hand, seems to have fared a little better. Most of her swelling is around the sides of her face and her mouth seems fine. Again, once the blood was cleared from her nose, she was also a little more comfortable being able to breathe better. She very eagerly took her syringe this morning and ate very well! They will still have a little trouble due to the swelling and blood inside the nose, but that should clear up and not affect them long term. .

So for now,they are comfortable and prognosis is good on one girl and guarded on the other. But I am encouraged by the fact that they are bright and alert and willing to eat. JoAnn is going to take a look at the mouths. She is a pro with mouth and teeth issues in squirrels and can evaluate it better than I can! Barring anything major that requires a trip to Tufts, hopefully all these girls need is time and TLC!

Finally....the gang's all here!

The last of the regulars around here has finally checked in! I have to say I was getting a little nervous about little digger here.....but I looked up from my coffee the other day and there he was! Hole renovations and weed control are in progress at last.

The mom's are in daytime mode again too, out foraging early to beat the crowds. I ran into a couple of them the other day while taking care of the boys out in the woods. Though I'm not positive who this is, she looks a lot like Button. She was not friendly enough to want to come down and visit, but she wasn't so scared she didn't mind posing for the camera when I called to her! She was pretty relaxed with my presence. Mystery mom number 2 disappeared in a flash when she saw me, so I'm guessing not one of my girls.

This time of year is great for being able to photograph them out in the wild, thanks to their daylight travels.

The babies, now named Mason & Cinder, are doing great and growing like weeds. So far we have had a lot of calls about bunnies, most of which were just cases of re-nesting the babies. JoAnn has a few that needed to come in, but nothing crazy yet.......the explosion is imminent I'm sure!