Just what's on my mind today....

This post is actually a little random (and a little long). It's going to be about two totally separate topics, but it's what's on my mind this afternoon, and as previously mentioned this blog is really about nothing overall. So whatever, we're just going to go with the randomness.... here's what's up....

I just got back from Liberty this morning. I'll probably post a lot about this place, at least for a while because I've only been volunteering there for a couple of months. It's still new and exciting to me. Here's what I was thinking about this morning: I never knew I was an animal person until recently. Really. Until about a couple of years ago, I would actually have said "I'm not really an animal person" and the reason is I'm not big on domesticated animals. I've never really liked cats or dogs. And I still don't, actually. But as it turns out I LOVE wild animals. This kind of snuck up on me and has come as a little bit of a surprise. A little backstory (because this is what brought me to voluteering with animals): about a year ago I was doing that thing that most students do, switching majors a million times, doing my general studies but not really knowing what the heck I was going to do with it. Then one night, super late at night, I was at home with my hubby watching an animal show on PBS. It was about penguins, and it showed animal researchers that had been on a long research study with this one particular colony of penguins. They were tagging them and talking about what they've learned about this species throughout their studies. I was so into this show and I started to realize how often I watch those types of shows and how much I really love learning about animal behavior, so I thought, what the heck. I'll major in biology, emphasis is zoology, and even if I don't work in that field, a biology degree will hopefully be pretty marketable. At least I'll enjoy what I'm studying. So then (more recently) I start volunteering at Liberty and find that besides my husband and family, these animals are like the best thing in my world. I really am truly an animal lover. Who knew!? (I'm thinking as time goes on I'll learn to love cats and dogs more too, even though I'm not crazy about them right now) ... you know, as kids we learn and grow so so much but we don't really realize that's what's going on. I've really found that as I get older I enjoy the fact that I'm learning and growing but I have the self awareness to step back and say "wow, I know more about myself and my world today than I did yesterday"... and I'm still so young. I hope that feeling never goes away. I never want to feel like I know all there is to know, even when it comes to just knowing me. Who I am and what I like (which I know will change with time)... So anyway, point of this whole story is that here I am, self described "not an animal person" and it turns out I actually am... I probably always loved animals I just didn't really know it. Weird thing to not realize about yourself, but whatever. It is what it is.

And here's the second part of this post (totally not related to the above topic, at all)

One of the classes I'm taking right now is world mythology and I was reading something in my textbook the other day that I find really interesting and worth sharing. So this is an exact excerpt from this textbook, "World Mythology: The Illustrated Guide" Edited by Roy Willis (Talking about Hawaiian mythology)

"The Hawaiian year was marked by the alteration of the ritual cycles of the god Ku and the god Lono... It has been suggested by some scholars that the Lono myth was behind the death of the English navigator Captain James Cook, who was the first European to visit the Hawaiian islands. Cook arrived off the islands in November 1778, just as Lono's circuit was due to begin, and circumnavigated Hawaii island in a clockwise direction. The Hawaiians assumed that this year Lono had come in person, and when Cook came ashore at Kealakekua he was immediately escorted to the main temple of Lono. Cook went along with his hosts' efforts to teach him certain ritual responses, unaware that they represented the words of Lono and confirmed the belief that he was the god. When Lono was due to 'die' and depart from Kahiki, the chiefs were reassured when Cook expressed that his departure was imminent. However, shortly after leaving, Cook decided to return to Kealakekua to repair one of his ships. He arrived on February 11, 1779, to find the Hawaiians first bewildered, then angry and abusive, because Lono was supposed to be dead. One hundred chiefs, all anxious to ensure that their god died as he should do, killed 'Lono' with the iron daggers that he had given them just a few months earlier."

I'm not really sure what to take from this story, but I find it really compelling for some reason. That is like the ultimate case of misunderstanding. I want to learn more about this. This is only one little clip from one textbook, and it kind of sounds like this might be a controversial theory so I don't think I can take it as total truth, but I'd like to know more about it. I want to find out where the evidence for this theory comes from. I'll do more research about it so you might see updates on this at some later date... when I learn things that I think are interesting I tend to want to share them. The good thing about this format of sharing is that if you don't think it's interesting you don't have to read it :) ... Anyway, if anyone has anything to add to this or knows more about it, let me know. I'd be interested to hear other points of view on it or reactions to this odd little story.

Ok. That's it. Just what's on my mind today :)

Updates...

I guess this blogging thing only works if I actually blog! lol. So ok, here's what's going on these days...

I got a new job, for one. I'm excited, and a little nervous. It's with a company that's contracted by BMW to do customer service on loans and leases. So basically it's a phone job, inbound customer service for BMW. Good company, good pay, good hours... but WAY different from what I do now. I'm worried about being bored. But whatever. I'll tough through it even if it is boring. At least I'll be able to pay my bills! And the schedule will work great with school.

I was looking over my transcripts and everything for school this past week. Seeing what classes I've done so far and what I have left. I'm only 6 classes away from my associates degree which makes me so so happy... not that an associates degree is going to do anything for me, but it is a mile marker. I still have a long way to go overall... at least I can kind of see a light at the end of the tunnel.

My hubby is looking for a new job this week too. It will be kind of crazy for us to both be switching jobs at the same time, but I think it will be a good thing.

And last but not least, I'm totally sicky right now. Which blows. I hope this goes away before I start my new job next week. I have a totally week immune system. When I get sick it lasts FOREVER! So on that note, I'm cutting this blog short and going to take a nap... :(

This is a totally boring post. I really don't feel up to attempting to be at all entertaining right now, but I did feel the need to post some updates. So whatever, it is what it is. Short, to the point. More some other time!

Wild World

(Hogan the owl and one of her foster babies)

So I just got back from liberty wildlife. One of my favorite places in the world. I figure that makes it a good day to blog about it (and tell that baby owl story)

Liberty is a wildlife sanctuary in Scottsdale, Arizona. They rescue injured animals found in the city, rehabilitate them, and re-release them into the wild. They also focus on educating the public on how to interact with nature without harming it and without it harming us, especially when it comes to wild animals. In the cases of animals they rescue, sometimes they can't be re-released because of permanent injuries that won't heal, or because they are improperly imprinted (look that up, it's interesting), so Liberty gives them a lifetime home. They do tours with some of those animals, taking them around to teach people about their species. Liberty rescues all types of animals, but mostly birds. So on Fridays I go there and do daily care: feeding birds, cleaning cages, filling out feeding logs and monitoring behavior for anything odd. Kinda dirty work, but I love it.

This is Hogan....

She's a great horned owl, and a foster mommy. She came in with a wing injury, but it never healed so she is unreleasable. She wouldn't survive in the wild. Instead, she lives at Liberty. She's very nurturing. When we get great horned owl babies in that need a mommy to teach them how to be an owl, we put them in with Hogan and she takes to them like they were her very own. And she cares for A LOT of babies! She has 8 right now, but in the past she's cared for way more than that. And she's totally crazy protective of all of them. I think it's neat.

These are a few of her babies....

(Not a super great picture. It was taken through the slats in the cage. I don't go in Hogan's cage. Don't mess with momma, for sure! You can only see 3 of the 8 in this picture because of the angle, but they're all in there)

This is Sequoia....

She's a Harris hawk foster mommy. (Also crazy protective. Another picture taken from the slats in her cage. Look at those crazy eyes! Who wants to mess with that! ... she is beautiful though)

Sequoia doesn't take to babies that aren't her own quite as well as Hogan. Right now, she doesn't even have a baby with her, she has an egg... and unfertilized egg... She layed it herself, because it's springtime and that's her nature, but there's no male to fertilize it. Even so, she doesn't know that. She's been sitting on it like it's going to hatch someday. So what happens with Sequoia is, when an injured harris hawk baby comes in, liberty volunteers will switch the egg for the baby. Sequoia thinks her egg hatched, baby doesn't know the difference, and he has a new momma to teach him how to be a harris hawk... So crazy! But what a good thing she's doing for those babies, even if she thinks they are hers. She can't live in the wild, but she is still helping her species. So neat.

Another interesting Liberty story... This is a pelican....

The poor guy blew in from California. Literally! He got caught in a bad wind storm, blown east, ended up totally disoriented at the first lake he found. Tempe town lake... a tiny man made lake in the middle of the city! Not a good home for a pelican... so he came to Liberty, but he has a severe wing injury. He'll never fly again. We're taking care of him until he recovers a little. He has a home waiting for him at SeaWorld in San Diego, as soon as he's ready to be shipped there. Poor sweetheart is so out of his element :(

Anyway, this is my life on Fridays. I love all these guys so much.

Some thinks to check out

http://www.libertywildlife.org/

http://www.libertywildlife.blogspot.com/