TALKIN’ TURKEY

Turk Mahal

In the bird care room at WildCare, you don’t ever have to wait long these days to hear a timer go off. Baby birds are set on 30- to 45- minute, or 1-hour feeding intervals from dawn to dusk, 24/7, and I’m always certain to do at least a quick walk through the bird room, if not a feeding or two, on my Wednesday volunteer shift.

I’m a sucker for those gaping, yellow mouths, and the insistent peeping that says, “Hey, it’s me…over here! Hurry up!” This past Wednesday, I peeked into a small pet carrier to find one of WildcCare’s less common avian orphans: a small wild turkey. I don’t know what came over me, but less than a minute later, I was tracking down our animal technician, Amelia, to see if I could beg her into letting me take the lonely little guy/girl home.  A few phone calls to the Department of Natural Resources later, and I had myself a turkey.

 

TURTLES, CHICKENS, AND SPIDERS-OH MY!

Christmas and his small exterminator crew work the grounds.

I’m told that Bloomington got three times its normal rainfall this June. It must be true. The ground squishes beneath my feet with every step. I don’t think we’ve gone more than three days without a rip-roaring thunderstorm. The skies have been heavy with fat, black clouds. This kind of weather—when it seems endless—can set up an army of black clouds in my mood, and I find myself struggling to keep some sunshine in my inner world.

I’ve learned that focusing on nature and my animal family and taking time to settle more deeply into their daily lives is the best medicine—the best mood enhancement—I have for such sodden times. Blessedly, I’ve been surrounded by an unlikely array of “light bearers” these past few cloudy weeks, and had more than enough sunshine moments to get me by.