Saturday, June 30, 2012

what a week.

Celebrity tomatoes ripening on the vine.

See those tomatoes? They've since been turned into salsa and consumed in about 15 seconds flat. My husband has become The Salsa Master...he made our first batch of delicious salsa the other day with our own tomatoes and peppers. Seriously...it doesn't last. We say we're going to "taste test" it and before we know it, it's almost gone! Apparently, it's passing the test.

Last week we caught an injured bird in the backyard. It had an injured leg and wasn't able to fly very well and if it did fly it couldn't land or perch properly. We were able to catch it after seeing it in the yard for about a week...it found itself caught in the chicken pen and the chickens were not happy about it, at all. Matter of fact I had to run out there in my pj's, cage in hand, to scoop up the poor little bird and get it the heck out of there!

We ended up keeping it overnight in the cage with a little bird seed and a bowl of water. It slept and slept and slept. We made the decision to take it to the local wildlife rescue the next day. They took it in and promptly gave it antibiotics and some hydration. Sadly, the leg was too far gone and infection had taken its toll...the bird perished the following day. We tried. And at least it perished in a safe environment rather than being attacked by chickens or a certain cat...that shall remain nameless.

Then on Wednesday I was getting ready to take a friend to the airport. She called me a couple hours before we had to leave and told me she had just found two tiny kittens in her shed. The mama was nowhere to be found so I told her to put the kittens in a box outside so the mama could hear them cry and come to them if she was around. Well, after a couple of hours the mama never showed up so I told my friend I'd handle the kitten situation so she could get ready and travel in peace.

In the meantime I called another friend who does feline foster care, just knowing she'd take them in without hesitation. And she would have, for sure, except for the fact that she already had 17 fosters in her home and garage at the time...five of them being nursing kittens. She asked if I'd be able to give it a try and I agreed. She brought me food, showed me how to care for them and assured me that if it was too much for me to handle she would definitely take them. She warned me that whatever I did, please do not take them to the pound as they would be euthanized for sure. She fosters through an establishment that always adopts out, never euthanizes.

Well...that was last Wednesday. And here it is, Saturday, and the kittens are sleeping peacefully in their cozy box with full bellies. They love to be held and cuddled. They are so incredibly sweet...and adorable. I am currently looking for good, loving homes for them. I do wish we could keep them...but we already have enough animals and a small home. So I am doing my best to remember that I am caring for them for someone else. Must.stay.strong.

Look at that face...who could resist?

2 comments:

Denise said...

Oh my goodness Michelle be still my heart and I am not usually into cats! So jealous of your tomatoes. It will be a miracle if I get one.

Wren said...

You are so awesome! I can just see you running around saving birds..boxes of kitty babies. They are adorable! HOT here and DRY. Desperate for rain. Your tomatoes look so fabulous. I'm currently waging war against cucumber beetles... Grrrr.. Xo. Love on a kitty for me!