October 13, 2025 – November 2, 2025

It's been a slow season since technically I am closed, but thus far I've taken in at least 75 animals! I say "at least" because some landed here briefly before heading to other rehabbers. I am grateful to my volunteers and mentees for helping out while I attempted to have a life. It worked!

Three scents, used for masking or luring when hunting 🙁 but useful in the rehabilitation setting.
I sprayed each scent- Forest Floor, Doe-in-rut, and "Coon Urine (synthetic)" on pieces of paper.

We will start this blog entry off with some enrichment!  I love coming up with new ways to enrich the animals’ lives while they are here.  Using scents is something I initially learned when I volunteered at AWARE in Lithonia, GA.

The experiment was to not only provide enrichment but to see which one elicited a response (tearing open the tube, etc.) 

No one cared about Forest Floor, which made sense.

Forest Floor smells kind of nice! Imagine lying face down in a mixed hardwood forest and inhaling through your nose. The other two, not so pleasant.
I stuffed each paper into a labeled toilet paper tube to be hidden in the enclosure.
That night they went out with kibble in a puzzle feeder, a bowl of vegetables and a few slices of plum to be placed in inconvenient places.
The release of the Three Weirdos, as I lovingly called them, went great!
Maggie Johnson of Blackberry Farm and her daughters hosted them in a warm and safe- but open- chicken coop. Thanks, ladies!
Roberta was also released with them and being shy, she immediately hid in a corner. When they checked later she had eaten her mouse dinner and burrowed deeper.
Maggie and her daughters provided a delicious spread of vegetables, fruits, snacks and kibble.
Current temporary resident Calia was raised remarkably well by a member of the public and came to me for a few weeks of acclimation and skill building.
He is a curious, healthy, happy young man and is bound for success in the world.
I provided a woolen bed and he got to work stuffing it full of leaves and pine straw.
Biggler and Littler continue to grow and will need a bigger nest box soon if they want to share.
Sarah has dug a very nice nest under a hollow log half and packed the pine straw in tightly around her.
Our special guest! My friend used to race pigeons and now just lets them live a peaceful life. He lets them out to fly regularly and on rare occasions one will get hurt by flying into overhead wires, as this one did. His leg appeared broken with immense swelling and a visible bone fragment.
I have been treating them (I can't tell if they are a male or female) with an anti-inflammatory and, on the counsel of a very experienced bird rehabber, added in both topical and oral homeopathic remedies. She indicated that Symphytum and Arnica would help- the arnica being given both as an oral treatment and in the form of T-Relief arthritis pain relief. They are already starting to put some weight on that foot!

I am scheduled to attend a 4 day “Bat Blitz” at Wormsloe Plantation outside Savannah, GA with the Georgia and South Carolina Working Bat Groups this week.  We will be going out every night to net and inspect/measure/assess the captured bats, and then set them free.  I’m looking forward to it and have never done anything even remotely like it.  I’m sure I will have photos and stories to share!

Late fall and winter are when the injured and ailing animals come in and I do intend to help.  I have stayed busy responding to voicemails, texts and messages to provide answers to questions and referrals to active rehabbers, if necessary.  A good percentage of issues can be resolved over the phone which is why it’s always worth my time to make that call. 

Sometimes people just need to know someone else cares, and wants to help.

October 13, 2025 – November 2, 2025

November 2, 2025 No Comments

It’s been a slow season since technically I am closed, but thus far I’ve taken in at least 75 animals! I say “at least” because some landed here briefly before heading to other rehabbers. I am grateful to my volunteers and mentees for helping out while I attempted to have a life. It worked! Three

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