Mother's Day

 *you can double click this picture to see the little fella much bigger and it's worth it* 

I now know there was a reason I canceled my trip to New York. I was scheduled to fly out this morning. I just didn't feel like leaving home so soon and for almost a week after such a major disaster. Though I usually get energized and restored in NYC, when I walked through all I had planned there in my mind, it just didn't sit right.

I rose at 7 AM thinking I had the luxury of the entire day free and the list of  things to catch up on was long. I sat down at the computer to put a dent in all the e-mails asking if we were OK and was looking forward to putting the house back into shape. But the first thing I saw an urgent message saying that the Wildlife Rehab and Education Center had seven hundred baby squirrels who needed nursing.  That's right -- 700! 

Squirrels have their broods in both fall and spring but their nice cozy nests sit high in the tree tops. Hurricane Ike ravaged those, flinging babies far and wide. I don't know if the parents lived or lost them or were too traumatized but people started to bring the babies in from all corners (along with a stray pelican, turtles, raptors, a baby duck, a few possums and an egret with a broken wing... so far). The WR&E expects another 2-300 more before the weekend ends.  They range in age from a day or so old up to 6-8 weeks and all of them need to be fed antibiotics and warm milk formula by droppers 4 times a day. There were about 2 dozen in intensive care and many more, like the little weenie below, were in incubators.

I raced over there and worked from 8 AM til almost 4 PM then went home briefly and returned with my husband to help til 8:30 tonight. The babies were all adorable. Each had different temperaments which they displayed in their eating styles. Some were fussy, some ravenous, some curious in-between sips, some wiggly and full of life, some vulnerable and shaking. Some held onto the syringe with their little claw paws, some looked me right in the eyes and several got sleepy as their tummies filled up, their lids growing heavy as their suckling slowed to a stop. With each CC that went down a little throat, there was the truly satisfying feeling that we were one step closer to saving that precious life. It was indeed a day well spent.

Here's one little cutie who I wanted to take home.  There were so many to feed I didn't feel I had the luxury of cuddling and comforting them much. But I hung onto this little girl who curled up in my pink washcloth against my chest as long as I could.

I've enormous respect for the people who run these organizations. They themselves have just gone through this hurricane and are putting in 12, 16, 18 hour days, only to get home after an hours drive to feed their own horses, ducks, goats, cats and dogs, fall into bed, get up in 5 hours and drive back in to do it all again... when gas is scarce to boot. And most still don't have power once they get home. No fridge, no lights! No complaints though either.

Imagine: 700-1000 helpless babies x four feedings for at least 2 months every day before the oldest among them can be reintroduced to the wild!!  These folks all do it all out of a sense of responsibility for the helpless and sheer love.

They all deserve a medal.