Goodbye Sandy Pines!

It's over, and I am home! It is honestly the weirdest feeling ever. It is weird being able to sleep in, not having to plan or worry about my day, not having to look after a lot of animals. It is definitely more relaxing, but also a little boring.

My last week at Sandy Pines was very exciting! We got in two species of owls I had never seen before! I think out of all the patients I worked with at Sandy Pines, owls were my favourite!

A little Saw Whet owl that came in on my last day. They are one of the smallest breeds of owls in Ontario!

A screech owl that also came in my last day! I didn't realise how small they actually are!

I was on birds my last three days, so I got to work with the owls more! We released several of our barred owls, which was great! We were also able to move some outside, so by the end of my time, there were only two barred owls left inside out of the five, and we had gone down from nine barred owls to seven! The barred owls have had a good healing success rate this year, and it was so cool seeing them go from very weak to strong and feisty! 

One of the barred owls that was moved outside.

Remember Belle? She is outside now! She was probably my favourite owl!

We also started getting several bats in during my last week! Sue said that bat admissions become more common during the winter season, because of hibernation. To keep them in hibernation the bats are put in little boxes in the fridge, which I found was a pretty cool idea!

One of the little bats that came in. We were syringe feeding it fluids to keep it hydrated.

My last days I spent a lot of time with the horses!  I rode everyone the last day, except Saffy. The ground was still slippy from the snow, and knowing she likes to try and bolt, I didn't think it was a good idea. I still gave her a treat though! When my parents came I said an official goodbye. I hugged Phelix for a long time, and it literally took all I had not to breakdown in front of everyone.

Last ride on Josse

My Dad meeting the horses

Phelix and I during the summer

We were best buddies!

Lucinda and I riding Phelix

Riding Saffy

 Anyhow, Alex and I had the same days off on our last week, so we spent the time walking around town, hiking in the bush, and playing cards. Alex and I grew really close after Lucinda left, so it was very hard not to cry when she left for the airport our last day.

Alex, Maddie, and I! The crazy trio!

 On our last night as a group, we went out for dinner, with everyone including the staff! It was a great night out, and made me realise how lucky I have been to have worked with these incredible people! That evening we celebrated Sue's birthday with a cake that Rose made, which was amazing! Then we gathered in the living room all together, and talked about our intern projects and our favourite moments as interns here!

I think my favourite moment here was when I held my first raptor, which was an Osprey. It was just the coolest feeling ever, and I have loved working with the raptors ever since! 

However, my favourite patients were the rats! It was so cool to see them grow up and they were really cute!

My last day was a sad one, mostly because I knew at some point I would have to say goodbye to everyone. The remaining interns, Rose, Adrianna, Meghan, and I gathered in the raptor room, and had one big group hug. The four of us had been together since I arrived, so it was rather heartbreaking saying goodbye. We had been quite the team! I said goodbye to Leah. She said she was happy she had hired me, and she also mentioned she liked my intern project, which made me happy! Saying goodbye to Sue was sad too! She gave me a hug from each of the horses, and left me with some advice. She wrote on my intern shirt...

"Love all, Trust few, always paddle your own canoe!" 

Sue is an incredible women, and I will miss having her around!

As we drove away, My last view of Sandy Pines was Sue, Adrianna, and Rose waving a tearful goodbye! I will never forget the people I have met here, or the animals. I do live in Ontario, so I should come visit Sandy Pines again at some point. As for the other interns....

I guess I am just going to have to travel and see them!

Not such a bad thing!

Anyhow, this experience was incredible and I am so thankful to Sue, and Leah for giving me this amazing opportunity! I learned so much that I wouldn't have been able to learn anywhere else! I am also thankful to the staff who were very patient with me while I was learning. Another thank you to the interns for supporting me through everything, and being the best group of friends I could have ever asked for! I hope to see you all again! And a final thank you to all who read, and followed this blog. It was very encouraging to see all the numbers of viewers. More then anticipated actually! It kept this blog going, and now I have something to look back on to remember this time. 

If you want to continue reading about my adventures I have an old blog  http://countrytowngirl17.blogspot.ca/ That I did as a child, and I have a new one that is going to be running! https://nomadspiritcanadian.blogspot.ca/

"I think I am quite ready for another adventure." - Bilbo Baggins.

So farewell Sandy Pines, and my friends!
 
Another adventure awaits! 

Let it Snow!

When I woke up today, this was the view out of my window!

It was snowing! I love the snow, but my first thought was, "Uh, I have to bike to church in this!?!" Luckily, Sue seemed to be able to read my mind, and offered to drive me there. That was as long as I put in a good word to God for her, and played a bit with our rescue kittens when I got back!

Our two new adorable rescue kittens!

The rest of my day has been very relaxed. I cooked myself a hot lunch, then pulled on my snow gear to go out and enjoy the weather a bit! The horses were all covered in snow, and very happy to eat the apples I brought them!

The donkeys were smart, and stayed dry out of the snow, eating hay!

This week in the clinic has been a strange one. Mostly, because I am beginning to realise that my time here is almost done! Leah and I were doing the owls the other day, and she kept saying things like, "Its going to be weird for you when you're done!....This has been your life for awhile....." etc. In my head I was like, "don't mention these things! I don't want to think about it right now!....I kind of don't want to leave!"

I mean I do want to leave in the sense that I want to see my family, get some sleep, make some plans (because I might be going to Iceland!!), but I am also leaving a lot behind here! The horses, the work, which I have loved, Sue...she has been like a second mother to me! The staff, the interns....they have all become family, and it is going to be hard saying goodbye. Who knows when I will see them again?!

But I guess saying goodbye is a part of life, and I am going to have to get used to it, especially since I plan to travel!

Anyhow, we still have a lot of owls! So many, that we have started naming them! We don't normally name the animals here, because that just causes us to get more attached. However, with so many owls, there needs to be a way to know who you are talking about. We have been naming them after where they came from. For example, we have Belle from Belleville, Mel from Mellrose, King, and Soldier from Kingston, and Bert from Bath! I get really amused by their names, and also how they all seem to have different personalities! Harry is feisty, Belle is sweet, Mel hates everyone! They are very entertaining!

Belle

Mel

Soldier

We also got a very, and I mean VERY large porcupine this week! He came to us from another sanctuary. He was really feisty and aggressive when I handled him the other day, but with Julia's help we managed to medicate him, and move him outside!

The grouch!

With snow on the forecast there was a lot of pressure this week to get things cleaned and stored away! Four of us piled the baby raccoon enclosures on top of each other, which proved to be quite the job! I then had to army crawl under the giant tarp we were throwing over, and stand up in the middle with a stick, so we could get it over our tower! It was an exciting project to say the least!

Our giant pile with the tarp over it!

I rode the horses on my last sunny day off. It is so great how far I managed to train them, and I really hope an intern next year takes up the task!

He is a magnificent horse!

I got to go on a release this week, which may have been my last! We released our Canadian Goose, who ended up flying off in the totally opposite direction of the river, when we let her go! It surprised us all, but she can fly, so she should be alright!

Anyhow, I guess this is my last post before my final one! I honestly can't believe it! It feels like yesterday I was a frightened teenager dropped off at the doorstep. Now however, I don't feel like a teenager and I don't feel frightened! I feel like I've got a lot more out of this internship then just rehabilitation experience. I feel a little more confident, independent, and although I am sad to leave, I am excited about what my future might hold!

Owls and more!

This past week has gone by so fast! I don't know where time has gone! Its weird to think that I only have seven working days left......

 This past week was quite enjoyable! I experienced my first working day with only two interns on. It was just Alex and I alone with Leah! It actually went better then I had expected. I guess that means things really have slowed down.....

But not when it comes to owls! 

We now have seven barred owls in our care! Four are inside the raptor room, and the others are in outdoor aviaries. I have decided this week that I really love working with the owls, especially the part that involves catching them! 

A couple of our owls need to be hand fed and tube fed, so someone has to hold them. As long as you have their talons under control, they are pretty comfortable to hold!

They have the cutest faces!

I had some pretty interesting first time experiences this week! For starters, answering the clinic phone! I swear that phone never stops ringing! During the summer I sometimes thought I was hearing it, but I was actually just hearing it in my head. Anyhow, Sue and Leah were both out, and Alex didn't want to answer the phone, so I was stuck with it. Well, it would so happen that the phone wouldn't stop ringing, so by the end of my little phone shift, I actually felt pretty comfortable with the thing! Weird how you start becoming comfortable with certain things, just before you are about to leave!

My second first time experience actually turned out to be Leah's as well! A porcupine we have had for awhile, got diarrhea suddenly, which Leah said she has never seen in a porcupine before. Anyways, I restrained the porcupine, while she cleaned it up. It really wasn't happy with us, which made holding it quite challenging, but I like a good challenge! Anyhow, we were successful and it was quite exciting to participate in! Leah complimented me on my restraining skills, which made me kind of proud of myself!

Alex and I have had a lot of days off together this week, so we managed to complete her project! The turkey vultures responded to it well, and were pulling at the string and meat very excitedly!

 I also completed my project as well! I made up a little guide book on enrichment for the mammals since I really enjoyed making enrichment for them! 

The cover of my project

On Thursday Sue took Alex and I to Napanee's remembrance day ceremony. I was very happy to be able to go, because I have family in the military, and I know a lot of people with military ties. It was very windy and a little chilly, but a lot of people showed up, which was very nice to see!

The weather, once again, has been lovely! Alex and I took a little walk through the woods on our day off and tried to capture the fall beauty.

We found a massive oak tree!!

And of course I had to climb it, because I am part monkey!

Of course even at a wildlife center you can't seem to escape politics! Everyone here was in absolute shock and dismay at the news of Trumps victory as president of the United States. I was, however, comforted by the fact that the front page of the local newspaper was about the fall colors!

You know all is well in the world when fall colors is the front page of the news!

Today has been pretty relaxing. I went to church, the store, then biked back to town with Alex, just so we could get some more fresh air, and explore the town a little further!Tonight is pizza for dinner, which I am absolutely thrilled about! (I like Pizza!)

Thirteen more days with these lovely ladies!

Owls and more!

This past week has gone by so fast! I don't know where time has gone! Its weird to think that I only have seven working days left......

 This past week was quite enjoyable! I experienced my first working day with only two interns on. It was just Alex and I alone with Leah! It actually went better then I had expected. I guess that means things really have slowed down.....

But not when it comes to owls! 

We now have seven barred owls in our care! Four are inside the raptor room, and the others are in outdoor aviaries. I have decided this week that I really love working with the owls, especially the part that involves catching them! 

A couple of our owls need to be hand fed and tube fed, so someone has to hold them. As long as you have their talons under control, they are pretty comfortable to hold!

They have the cutest faces!

I had some pretty interesting first time experiences this week! For starters, answering the clinic phone! I swear that phone never stops ringing! During the summer I sometimes thought I was hearing it, but I was actually just hearing it in my head. Anyhow, Sue and Leah were both out, and Alex didn't want to answer the phone, so I was stuck with it. Well, it would so happen that the phone wouldn't stop ringing, so by the end of my little phone shift, I actually felt pretty comfortable with the thing! Weird how you start becoming comfortable with certain things, just before you are about to leave!

My second first time experience actually turned out to be Leah's as well! A porcupine we have had for awhile, got diarrhea suddenly, which Leah said she has never seen in a porcupine before. Anyways, I restrained the porcupine, while she cleaned it up. It really wasn't happy with us, which made holding it quite challenging, but I like a good challenge! Anyhow, we were successful and it was quite exciting to participate in! Leah complimented me on my restraining skills, which made me kind of proud of myself!

Alex and I have had a lot of days off together this week, so we managed to complete her project! The turkey vultures responded to it well, and were pulling at the string and meat very excitedly!

 I also completed my project as well! I made up a little guide book on enrichment for the mammals since I really enjoyed making enrichment for them! 

The cover of my project

On Thursday Sue took Alex and I to Napanee's remembrance day ceremony. I was very happy to be able to go, because I have family in the military, and I know a lot of people with military ties. It was very windy and a little chilly, but a lot of people showed up, which was very nice to see!

The weather, once again, has been lovely! Alex and I took a little walk through the woods on our day off and tried to capture the fall beauty.

We found a massive oak tree!!

And of course I had to climb it, because I am part monkey!

Of course even at a wildlife center you can't seem to escape politics! Everyone here was in absolute shock and dismay at the news of Trumps victory as president of the United States. I was, however, comforted by the fact that the front page of the local newspaper was about the fall colors!

You know all is well in the world when fall colors is the front page of the news!

Anyhow, today has been pretty relaxing. I went to church, the store, then biked back to town with Alex, just so we could get some more fresh air, and explore the town a little further!Tonight is pizza for dinner, which I am absolutely thrilled about! (I like Pizza!)

Thirteen more days with these lovely ladies!