Attacked by Burroes!

Attacked by BURROES!!!

Well, kind of. But before I get to that, a few random thoughts:

1.) If anyone deserves to rest in peace, and I mean that sincerely, it’s Michael Jackson. He brought so much to the entertainment world and transformed the way we both listen and watch music. We’re fans and always will be. I don’t care about the controversies that surrounded him. I choose to remember him as an extremely talented individual who was sadly hounded by a jealous and spiteful media.

2.) It’s a bad week to be a celeb, particularly if you hit it off in the 80s. I hope I can turn on my computer tomorrow WITHOUT a dead person’s face being the first thing I see.

3.) While we’re on the topic of dead people, the image of the poor girl from Iran who was killed as she expressed her disgust at her country’s election results is both disturbing and yet slightly empowering as it shows that women finally have a voice there…

4.) Off the topic of dead people: I am an awful visiting teacher. I don’t feel comfortable spying on less actives for the RS.

5.) We’re ticked that Jillian sent home Jake on The Bachelorette. Actually, only I’m ticked because Judd feels that Jake was too boring. I feel he’s her only chance at true love and CAN’T WAIT for him to reappear! I do not want this nice guy to finish last! But we both agree that Wes and his devious plot need to go home NOW! Even though he’s the only one with game, I still can’t believe a smart girl like Jillian can’t see through him.

But on to a happier thought…we were attacked by wild BURROES! They came up to our car and stuck their heads in. Judd wants me to mention how ferocious they are, particularly the one who yelled at us as it charged our car! We were driving by Bonnie Springs today after a pleasant afternoon at Red Rock (sometimes a vacation from churchly duties is nice), and they just walked right up to the car. Of course I had to roll down the window to get a picture, and that’s when they decided we were their friends. I took a video too, but the sound didn’t take for whatever reason. Just imagine a wild burro sticking his head in the driver’s side window and another burro screaming as it charges our car. Scary!

Don’t worry, we didn’t feed them or try to encourage them to come up to us. I guess they’re just used to it from other people.

And we saw our adorable little friend Tweakers! We paid her a visit at the bird sanctuary where she lives now. She looks great and has plenty of little duckling friends to swim with. She didn’t recognize us until she got out of the water with one of her friends. She did her excited ducky dance and came by us. We’re just happy at how well she’s adjusting.

We miss our duckling =(

On Sunday, June 7, we said goodbye to our little duckling friend Tweakers. I didn't expect it to be as difficult and upsetting as it was. We had her for 4 weeks at that point, and I guess I didn't realize how attached I had become until it was time to let her go...but at the same time, I know we did the right thing.

Our cute little baby duckling was very quickly becoming an actual duck. Every morning we would wake up to find her looking completly different then she had the day before. She was learning new things so quickly, and we were so amazed that we didn't have to teach her anything. By the time a duckling is only a few days old, it can eat on its own, catch live crickets, swim both above and under water, groom itself, and follow its mother. In comparison, human babies are pretty pathetic! We were having a blast watching her grow up and feeling like proud parents for keeping Tweakers so alive and healthy when she wasn't supposed to last more then a few days. We love how attached she was to us; she loved to sit and cuddle with us while we watched movies and she would follow us around as if we were her actual parents.

At the same time, we knew it wasn't going to be long until Tweakers would need to be released into the wild. She was a messy little thing that only got worse as she got bigger. She was rapidly outgrowing her cage and the bathtub. I had been taking her to work with me so I could feed her, water her, and keep her somewhat clean throughout the day. I also didn't want the apartment managers to know we had her, and I worried about the day she would develop an actual quack that our neighbors would surely hear.

So we started looking into options for Tweakers. There was the standard dropping her off at the pond at Sunset Park or Bonnie Springs, but I worried that she wasn't wild enough to be able to take care of herself. Because she was so attached to people, I worried she would follow someone out and get lost or killed by predators. There is an indoor duck pond at Bass Pro Shops that we thought about because of the lack of predators and the fact that she would always have food. But we realized they probably clip their wings, and I wanted Tweakers to be able to fly in the fresh air.

I found Gilcrease Bird Sanctuary online when I typed "Bird Rehabilitation" in Google. My prayers and concerns were answered. This was a place where Tweakers could still get fed and cared for, but with the option of becoming a wild bird if she felt like it. This place takes in rescued birds, whether they are orphans like Tweakers or pet birds that no one wants anymore. After visiting them to make sure they weren't shady, Judd and I decided that this was Tweaker's best option. The gentleman we talked to actually had a group of orphan ducklings that he was caring for. This little group lived in the big pond with the other ducks, but got special attention. We would be able to visit her whenever we felt like it.

So after four fun-filled weeks, we decided it was time. Tweaker's adult feathers were starting to grow in and she was big enough to the point where I felt she was hardy enough to make it on her own. We made the long drive across town. Tweakers was so anxious in the car, so I couldn't wait to put her in the water. We arrived, and they told us to go put her in the pond. We looked around for the right spot and found one in a little stream where some duckings were playing. We kissed Tweakers goodbye and put her in. Rather then swimming away like we expected her too, she ran out of the water right back to us.

So for the next two hours, we kept trying to put her in the water and leave when she wasn't looking. We would go across the pond and watch her try to adjust. Unfortunatly, she kept trying to find us and she succeeded several times. When she couldn't find us, she would try and follow someone else out of the pond. I was getting really frustrated with the visitors who kept stopping to pet "the cute duckling" because then she would try and follow them away and we would have to go catch her and put her back. I was such an emotional wreck too; one minute I would be so happy for her if she did something like swim around for a bit, the next I'd be all teary and upset with the thought of leaving her.

Eventually, it seemed like she was going to be okay. We quietly walked over the bridge and started to head out. Unfortunatly, she discovered us and decided she was leaving too. She got stuck in the fence as she tried to get out. She was crying out and flopping around trying to get to us. That's when I lost it. I grabbed her and started bawling like a baby. I was so sad to leave her, and now I had this fear that she was going to get herself hurt if she kept trying to get out of the fence. The worker assured us that he would watch out for her and Judd handed Tweakers back.

I couldn't sleep that night. I kept having flashbacks and visions in my head of poor Tweakers stuck in the fence. Judd felt pretty sad too, and he made the suggestion that we should visit her the next day just to make sure she was doing alright.

So on Monday, we went back to the Bird Sanctuary. The worker recognized us from the day before and took us to the pond. We scanned it, trying to pick out our duckling among the hundreds of ducks. He then led us to another section of the pond where a group of ducklings were trying to swim up a waterfall. There were many different types in this little group, and they clearly weren't related He pointed out the little mallard on the side and we knew it was ours. She had found some friends overnight, and I was glad they were helping her out. The day before, some other ducklings had tried to befriend her but she was too scared. Now she was swimming confidently with them, eating on her own, and looking like she was having a blast. It was such a pretty day, and I was so happy that she was spending it outside in a pond with other ducks rather then inside in a kennel. We felt good about our decision, so we just watched her for a while. We knew we were going to miss her, but at the same time, we were glad for her.

So now I'm compiling all these pictures and video clips (which is a ridiculous amount!) I have of her into one big video. It was such a great experience and I don't want to forget it. Obviously, I'll post it when I have it done!

So for our first parenting experience, I think we did a great job!

'Cause we'd still like to eat...

So I've never been majorly concerned with the importance of food storage, despite it being preached pretty much all the time, especially lately. To me, it's was just one of those things that I'd get around to someday, just like I'll get around to finishing my wedding scrapbook and I'll get around to going to the gym on a daily basis.

But then I started to realize that Judd and I have it a little too easy and that we're totally used to it. We're both working, we can pay for school on our own, and we have a really nice apartment. The only dependants we have to care for are three sugar gliders and two turtles (the duckling is in her new home, which will be another blog!). We go out pretty frequently and make a lot of impulse buys. I'm not trying to brag or anything, we work really hard and I guess we feel the need to reward ourselves. I always hear nightmare stories about being newlyweds and being totally broke and wonder where we got off easy.

But with the crappy economy, we can lose this lifestyle we've grown so accustomed to very quickly. Judd especially is in a field that is very shaky at the moment, fortunately he continues to educate himself so he can stay on top of the game. I'm safe as long as people continue to care for their pets. Unfortunately many of our family and friends have been laid off recently. I started to worry about having a backup plan in case it happened to us. Our idea of food storage was buying a couple of extra cans of corn here and there and tossing it on the top shelf of our hall closet...

I wanted something that would last longer and be a lot more substantial. They have Relief Society Canning Days, which I have always avoided basically because I'm having a hard time admitting that I'm eligible to go to Enrichment meetings at family wards. In Singles Ward, Enrichment meetings were more like ice cream socials at some one's house. Here, they're about making aprons and cheesy/cutesy crafts. I am trying very hard to not become frumpy/housewifey/Molly/etc, so I try to avoid the exposure. The Church is true...but sometimes the people are a bit too much.

But I know that I need to humble myself and accept that I still belong to this otherwise awesome organization (heck, now they just made me a RS teacher, karma!) and that they have good intentions to help me out. So I went canning. And I canned. And canned. I realized that this is the cheapest way to store a lot of food for a long time. The macaroni and rice I canned is supposed to last 30 years! (Not that I'll wait that long to eat it, but still, 30 years!). And it was funner then I thought it would be. The Relief Society gals that went were sweet and were interesting to talk to.

We also stocked up on really cheap staple foods such as Mac and Cheese (50 cents a box? Beat that!). I'm trying to find some healthier alternatives that store well. I did get a can of dried carrots when I was at the cannery. I'd rather not live on carbs if we had to, and I don't like beans, so I'm looking for some other healthy options. Any ideas? I I didn't want to forget my cute little pets, so we built a food storage for them as well. I'm glad I'm getting on top of this now before we really need it.

This really needs to go under the bed, but I was so proud of myself for taking care of us that I made a tower! I never thought I'd say it...but I could get into this!