Firstly, I apologise for the lack of posts of late. Unfortunately we had to temporarily close after my sister had a bad accident a month ago. She spent nearly three weeks in hospital, had two operations and is thankfully home. Sadly she also has to spend the next few weeks not walking so I have had to look after her – which means I have had to close the rescue for a while. We are taking in a few emergencies when they arise and nowhere-else is available, but for the most part I have had to focus on Samantha and looking after her.
It’s been a strange few weeks – the hospital building still has quite a few patients, and long-term patients. We will still have the other two sites with their residents to look after, so I can promise we are still hard at it.
Prior to my sister’s accident I was diagnosed with Fybromyalgia. This often goes hand in hand with M.E. (which I have had for the last decade), and like M.E. this seems to get worse during times of stress. The last few weeks have been bad in this regard too – but a TENS machine has actually been a huge help. If anyone-else suffers with recurring pain and hasn’t tried one then I do recommend them but you have to get a reasonably good one to feel the benefit. Also, make sure you get one that has pads that are easily replaceable too.
While we are closed we are concentrating on two things: courses / events and fundraising. We really want to find some land so we can set up a centre with accompanying wellness centre at some point in the future, and this would be a great place to run courses as well. In the meantime, we are looking at courses for schools, clubs etc.
I recently adopted Velvet the raven. She is 14 years old and was trained for film and TV. She is a dream to work with as she is quite gentle but at the moment she is getting used to a change in environment. I am hoping to take her flying in a few weeks. At the moment she loves to whistle and say “hello”. Hopefully, quite a few of you will get to meet her next year.
It seems a lifetime ago that I was planning a Halloween Event for this year. I wanted to do a Crow Cafe for Halloween in our local neighbourhood. One of the things I have been most grateful for is the support of the local residents – they love having a bird rescue so close and we have been so fortunate in that respect. Our neighbour passed away in March this year and I was really close to him, he was like a grandfather to me. The other day, whilst emptying his home, his daughter brought me a ceramic chicken that you can keep eggs in. It belonged to her Dad and when he owned a shop on St Helen’s Road it used to be in there on the counter. It means a lot to me and I will treasure it.
So, apart from my long ramble I can say that we are still here, still working hard and still making plans. We are just a little slower at the moment due to family illness and commitments. After the hectic Baby Bird Season of 2020 it’s good to slow down though.
Every Feather Bird & Wildlife Rescue 