Friday

First, I have to tell you I’m still riding the high from yesterday.  It’s a kid in a candy store type feeling.  I had an awesome day, so I just have to share that first, then I’ll get back to what we did the rest of the week because we were busy.

The day started off with us getting up early to get ready to go to Black Pine Animal Park for my first day of volunteering.  I was excited and nervous.  Tyler got to come along and he gets to help me with some things, but not all things.  He didn’t help much yesterday since I was just learning, but he did great.  He played with the cats in the office area, Smudge & Cinder, he talked with Peaches (she’s a Moluccan Cockatoo and she’s famous, she’s been on TV and everything), he talked with some other volunteers that were on their breaks, and entertained himself with things he brought from home.  Now for what I did the 5 hours that we were there… I started out learning how to help take care of the animals in the office area.  These animals include Peaches (Moluccan Cockatoo), 2 finches, Lucy & Onyx (rabbits) , Smudge & Cinder (indoor cats) & 1 outdoor cat that has space in the maintenance shed.  I got to clean cages, feed & water them, and learn about any medications or special things that each of them need.  Then I got to go to the Primate House.  It is divided into 2 sections.  There is the chimpanzee section that I’m not allowed to go into since it requires lots more advanced training and years of experience and the other side containing various birds and primates.  I started out with the aviary while another volunteer took care of Yoda & Hanna (rhesus macaques) and Lisa (lion-tail macaque).  In the aviary there are macaws, Amazon parrots, Goffin’s cockatoos, and a Senegal parrot.  And let me tell you these birds can get noisy when they want to and they did several times while I was in the building.  The most talkative bird in there is Sammie (macaw).  He & I talked lots during the time that I cleaned cages, feed & watered, etc.  He says things like “Hello” and wants you to respond with “Hello Sammie”.  He likes to play “Marco Polo” with you, but he always has to have the “Marco” part.  And he was constantly saying “Look what I have” and then he would show me how he can undo the latches on the inside of his cage easily.  It’s a good thing the main latches are on the outside of his cage.  He also liked to say “Pretty bird” and “Good bird”.  The other one that talked to me was Augie (Senegal parrot).  He was much quieter than Sammie, but he did say “Hello” to me and he would whistle when I walked by his cage.  Pierre (Goffin’s cockatoo) tried to help me fix my hair.  My next animal encounter was with U2 & Fiat (cotton-top tamarins).  They are so cute & inquisitive.  They watched everything I did and followed me around their cage, but kept their distance.  Next up was 2 more macaws.  They stays at the top and front of their cage while I cleaned and didn’t really move much except to watch me until I brought in the food (which is always the last thing to be brought in).  Then they both came down to eat and watching them eat is amazing.  Next up was Joey (Patagonian cavy).  She got moved to a transition cage so I could clean and then I got to move her back.  I was surprised at how soft her fur was.  I guess I was just thinking that she’s a rodent so it would be more coarse.  Next up was Bandit (coatinumdi).  He got moved to a transition cage while I cleaned and his cage wasn’t too bad.  It was more interesting finding that he had hidden food around the landing area where he sleeps.  Next up was Mickey (Garnett’s Greater Bush Baby) and his cagemates.  I saw them sleeping and Mickey looked at me once, but since they are all nocturnal, they slept through my cleaning their cage.  The other thing about these animals is that they are heavily into scent marking, they actually urinate on their hands to mark their territories, which leaves sticky smelly residue everywhere and it is potent stuff.  The last animal I helped was Mae (Hamadryas baboon).  She didn’t want to leave her cage so we could clean it, but was finally enticed to the transition cage with her food.  And then it was time for me to leave after I filled out paperwork.  It was lots of work, but it was so worth it.

Tyler & I stopped and got lunch because we had to head to Mishawaka to meet with a potential riding instructor for me.  She was great, her facilities (barn, indoor arena, outdoor arena, pasture areas & trail riding area) were all wonderful, and her horses were beautiful (or handsome in the case of the boys.)  Andrea & I have messaged about it and we are going to take lessons from her.  In a side note to the whole meeting with her is how amazed I was with Tyler.  She has 3 dogs & currently 1 stray dog that she is trying to find a home for (he’s a black lab & very friendly, if you are interested, let me know), but these are big dogs and Tyler didn’t act scared at all.  Normally he’s scared of dogs, especially big dogs, if he hasn’t meet them before or watched them interact.  I was so proud of him.  Then when we were meeting some of the horses, he didn’t hesitate to pet them, too.  I can’t tell you how unbelievable that is.  Then as we are pulling out of the driveway he tells me he wants to take lessons, too.  Now I am in shock because I never would have guessed that Tyler was interested, so I ask him if he really wants to take riding lessons (just to clarify that I heard him correctly) and he tells me “No, I want to take the lessons that you took where you learn about horses and their pressure points so that I can learn how to train them.”  Wow!  My baby is growing up.  And then he asks me where we are going to live after he gets his black belt & I get my horse because we can’t have a horse where we currently live.  I was floored because this is the same boy who wanted us to promise him that we wouldn’t move again until after he’s done with high school and he’s reminded us of that even a few months ago.  And here he is supporting my dream to get a horse.  I love him!!!!  I don’t have an answer for him, but Trent mentioned in the evening (after he came home frustrated again from work) that the outskirts of Nashville sounds like a good idea.  I’m open to the Nashville area.  Tyler says he’s open to Nashville, but not until after he gets his black belt.  So it will be awhile before anything happens.