Pileated woodpecker rescue

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Today I rescued a pileated woodpecker. This is not it. This is Mac, one of our 5 cats, napping on what I call the 'mother' blanket. There is a beige blanket under him on this couch. He kneads it and then falls asleep like a kitten finished nursing. Just thought he may be having 'pileated' dreams...


I found the bird down near the creek at ice bottom. I spotted it on the edge of the creek on the ground, and went past it on my 4-wheeler , got off, and walked back to it. Belle was crouched trying to figure out what it was, and I shooed her and Penny away. The bird was hurt and it flopped its way into the creek and across the small expanse into the roots of a tree and hid up under it. Naturally I had no gloves and no camera. I left it alone and took the dogs home, got my boots on, got Bob, gloves, a tablecloth and a box and went back. It was still half in the creek and it looked like it was sleeping.Probably really cold. I pulled it out and we wrapped it up, boxed it and came home and called the wildlife rescue number I got from the internet by Googling bird rescue. Next thing I knew, we were in the H with a woody woodpecker inside a kitty litter box, heading for the hours ride to Roanoke. Good thing Jill could come stay with Mom.

Poor Woody looks bad.

Sabrina, the rescue lady, took him right out bare handed and stretched his wing...she said it was broken, she wasn't sure if it was a 'joint break' or not, so prognosis wasn't available yet. He was strong enough to try to peck her and he hung on to her fingers with his talons.She took him in and gave him some medecine for swelling, then came back out to have us fill out an information sheet. She said I did all the right things; wrapped him loosely, put him in a box with air holes, kept him warm and gave it no food or water.


Sabrina said these birds sometimes forage on the ground and he may have been grabbed then, or he could have been fighting with another woodpecker and hit a branch that knocked him down or it could have been a hawk or owl, she just couldn't tell.

Bob and I are hoping he will make it so they can release it back here on our land. We have seen a pair of Pileated's that we believe are nesting here, in past years, and we always enjoy seeing these big beautiful birds.

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Moderation,elusive as a mole

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The crocus are up, and so are the daffodils. Seems like Spring just came right out one day and slapped me in the head. Actually it slammed me to my knees, when I put my back out raking and weeding like a demonic fool. What is moderation, and why is our family not capable of it?

The weeping cherry should start to show its color soon.

A good day of sun and these guys will burst into buttery smiles.

The creek has deposited new sandy beaches along its banks.

The waterfalls are loud, and the depth of the pools are increasing..penny will enjoy that this summer.

Belle is very interested in the moles that have been making topographic map-like lines all around the creek bed..

Most times on a run she is neck deep in a hole, ripping up roots and digging furiously after the elusive little things. I don't know how she can smeel them, her nostrils get clogged with dirt!

I saw a forsythia in bloom on the way to Rocky Mount to the chiropractors office yesterday, and some of the Bartlett Pear trees look real close to popping. I could also see the red of the Red Bud trees, but I prefer when they turn purple!

The grass is greening up, and my little horses are getting to pasture for several hours a day now...( I am careful not to put them straight on green too fast.)I am headed North on the 3rd of April to bring Mom home...hope the weather will behave for our flight!

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A few of my favorite things...

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Caine is a rider..he loves to ride his pony "Tex". He gets a little exuberant and after hitting his little face on "tex's " plastic mane, Grandma got out the padding and duct tape and fixed that problem! Behind Caine is my old english saddle, sitting atop an antique washing machine. The only way that will ever be used by me again is if I put it on "Tex".


The cats are quite happy to stay indoors during these cold months. This is 'Iris', our one-eyed cat. Her preference is napping on this sheepskin rug in the 3rd bedroom..

'Moochie' has taken over Emily's heated 'muffin' bed. Emily has passed on to the big heated muffin in the sky, and for a long while, no cats would use it. Now Mooch and Beau take turns.

'Quarrie' prefers to nap close to people. He likes the back of chairs especially when someone is in the chair. He really likes Mom's chair, and he drapes himself over so his feet touch Mom's head, and then he kneads her hair.

I have been a house bound person this year, really for the first time in a long while as previous years here were not so winterish, and I had lived in the Florida Keys for 14 years prior. Not liking this resemblence to my youth in New England. I like postcard snow. Here today...oh so pretty, ...spring tomorrow please...Not this year!

Its coming, Its coming,Its coming...and today I hung my quilt to the fresh air and my sheets washed and dryed on the line. Can't wait for snuggling down into fresh aired bedding....

makes long nights so comfy.....

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Orchids make me smile

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Sunrise is quite pretty when the day is expected to be nasty. This was taken a couple of days ago, when our last bout of 'precipitation' was forecast. There have been alot....

The cold and wind outside has me reading more, and cleaning more. I also enjoy my orchids when the weather is so awful outside, these sunny dancing ladies always make me smile.

This bromeliad used to grace my front porch in the Florida Keys. I brought it north with me, and it never has bloomed once in the four+ years we have been here...until now !

Evidently I have found the right light and the right company for this guy.He likes the dancing ladies and he loves the sun...

I have been anxious... for my sister-in-law and her surgery and for my brother Clay and his surgery, which they both came through quite well; anxious with the weather,which is holding up the re-planting of the trees they cut down, and concerned about the land that the company hasn't been able to be back to repair ; anxious with the work situation for my husband (or lack there-of); distraught with Bobs work truck needing such costly repairs; worried, because he has a bad tooth and we can't afford the money to fix it ; stressed with my Mother and all that goes with caring for her on a daily basis...tie in the mini horse that keeps escaping, and the cold that keeps us from being able to re-fence the area properly..

etc.

etc.

etc.

I have been trying to keep positive..Spring is coming, Spring is coming..

And I know it is, I know also that things could be so much worse,

but I am a worrier, and a doer, and when I can't 'do', its not good...I worry.

So for my friends and my dogs and my orchids that keep me smiling,Thank you...

Better blogs to follow...IN THE SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Smiling..............................

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