It's been pretty rough around the edges here... I'm caught up in mixed emotions about the sanctuary...

On the one hand I really love what I do, but on the other hand, I can't help but think I'm shorting our family. We never get to go on a family vacation together. Either Isabel and I go, or Tony and Isabel go. The other of us always stays home with the ducks and geese.

How is this fair to Isabel? She's already ten years old... Eight more and she'll be off to college and we'll miss this opportunity. Don't we deserve the memory of at least one family vacation together?

For a while we had a few offers from responsible people who said they would stay here and take care of the flock to give us this chance for our family to do something special together, but then when it came down to mentioning that we were seriously thinking about taking them up on it... well... It's just not going to happen...

And so... I'm torn...

We also have to do a major rebuild on our pens and donations are way down from where they used to be. We're just not on people's lists anymore. We have a few steady supporters that keep us going, but I'm worried about the dwindling support.

Sometimes I just don't know what to do... and then I go out into the pens and see these fragile, little creatures all tucked into their fluff snoozing and it just breaks my heart... the things they have seen and experienced that no one should have to... Where else will they go?

Like little Peekachoo in her fluff... She's our latest rescue. I thought it would be good for Ranger to fall in love and stop obsessing about his brother Rilo in the next pen. But he was too rough with her (despite her instant love for him), so I had to move her over with Rilo (who isn't the least bit romantically interested either, but at least they get along).

These love things are complicated sometimes... but I'm sure we'll figure out the right match eventually.

In other news, Jodie-Dee is molting and trying to get enough calories in her to keep her alive is proving a real challenge. I'm worried that she doesn't have long. I'm thinking it might be cancer eating away at her and all this energy needed for growing her new feathers is just further taxing her energy resources.

And finally we have the tight squeeze with Eesa and Taahn. We were full to capacity and then some when we welcomed them in, but we went ahead and brought them in anyway because we had two families interested in adopting them.

Both homes fell through... 

So now we have no where to put them... No open pens... We have them in with the geese right now. I had to section off part of the Goose Run with portable fencing and set up a kiddie pool for them.

They are such cute little dears though... how can you not love them?