Sunday, October 09, 2011

A Weekend of Waifs

It has been a weekend of pre-Seafood Festival cooking and waifs here at PFHQ.  We spent all day yesterday cooking 30 quarts of Minorcan style clam chowder in the Southern Sisters professional kitchen.

We are not done.

By next weekend, we need to make that amount two more times.
Y'all gotta come buy some and support the Cedar Key School kids.
... otherwise, I will be eating clam chowder into 2012.

Gotta make a couple gallons of Datil Pepper relish too ... sigh.

It's for the kids, it's for the kids, it's for the kids ... (my mantra)

In between all the cooking, a few forlorn waifs turned up, like this tiny Mediterranean gecko.
A student of Emma's brought it to her, and since I have a tiny colony of porch geckos living here at PFHQ, ... she brought it home to me.
Is he cute or what?
Emma also brought me not 1, not 2, but 3 baby flying squirrels. I don't know the story on these, except that another teacher passed them to Emma to pass to me to pass to the "Squirrel Lady" that I work with. We bought some pedialyte and milk replacer to get them through Friday night/Saturday morning, until we could pass them off to Squirrel Lady.

These 3 are older than little "Sharky" from a few weeks ago, so I don't know if "Squirrel Lady", will rehab them or if she will pass them on to "Flying Squirrel Lady" to rehab.

These 2 dedicated squirrel rehabbers have real names of course, I mean, I think they do.
They must.



Bear was not thrilled about being banished from the bedroom while the 3 flying squirrels were fed Friday night, but he tolerated his exile very well.
This is a recent photo of little "Sharky", the flying squirrel waif from a few weeks ago. Squirrel Lady forwarded an email to me that included this picture and the news that Sharky is doing great and is now 14 grams. He did have a turn for the worst at one point, but Flying Squirrel Lady pulled him through it.

Ya gotta love squirrel ladies ... and wildlife rehabbers in general.
It truly is a labor of love that requires lost personal time, spending personal funds, occasional heartbreak ...

... and success means saying goodbye to something you cherish.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

omigod, our baby's growing up! How cute Sharky is--all others very cute, too. Yay for the saviors!
kc's momadness

Sayre said...

Sharky seems to have a healthy head... er, body of hair now. Glad to hear he's doing well.

I have a soft spot for geckos. Quite a few hang out around our building at work and sometimes they get in. I rescued a baby from another office before he got stomped by the squealing lady occupant and turned him loose in my own office. We have the occasional ant problem, which is probably why he was in there in the first place. He was welcome to eat MY ants!

Caroline said...

It is 45 and drippy and gray here...would I love some clam chowder for lunch, or what!
Fundraisers here are popcorn for the Boy Scouts and pies for my Academy kids.

Anonymous said...

whoa! What a critter colony ya have now.

Aunty (unsigned in)

threecollie said...

Lizard love! Seriously. That is the cutest lizard I have ever, ever seen. Becky likes him too. Nice squirrels too, but I have a soft spot for those herps.

Anonymous said...

You do get to pal around with the cutest critters!

Julie Zickefoose said...

The repository for waifs and datil pepper processing plant...that sounds kind of familiar. Just substitute hurt box turtles and baby birds for the geckos and squirrels, and pawpaws for the peppers, and you have PF HQ North Campus.

So whaddya gonna do with that hexotic gecko, FC?

This post made me kinda misty-eyed at the end. There are all levels of animal workers. I am not a squirrel lady. I stand in awe of mammal rehabilitators. They stay up half the night feeding those little waifs. And we who work with hurt turtles can worry about one for years on end, hoping it heals. But you do have to love people who care enough to deal with it. And be thankful they're out there, when you have a towelful of baby squirrel.

kathy a. said...

cute cute cute!

cinbad122 said...

May get out to CK on Sunday but looks slim. I know the story on those babies! :D

Dani said...

Busy time right now that's for sure!

LaDivaCucina said...

What's in Moroccan clam chowdah? Sounds yummy in any case!

Blessings to the Squirrel Lady and Flying Squirrel Lady! Caring for animals (and people) can be heartwarming and heartbreaking, I really admire them.

(love that photo of Bear!)

R.Powers said...

KCMomadness,
He is!

Sayre,
Me too, love those geckos.

Caroline,
This chowder would defiitely warm you up!


Aunty,
True! There was even one more waif, a scaley one, that I have not mentioned.


3Collie,
It must be the big eyes. I agree, they are the cutest lizards around.


Robin,
Seriously, when it rains, it pours.
It was like one critter after another that day. One more to tell you about also.

Julie,
I see the parallels too, and the "cross-pollinating", LOL.
I view the geckos like the citrus tree in my garden, exotic, but not invasive, so I can enjoy their company without worrying about harmful spreading.
I am very thankful for anyone who helps a critter get back out there where they belong.
I agree with you, these mammal mommas really donate alot of time to the cause.


Kathy A,
Agreed, agreed, agreed.


Cindy,
It was your cat wasn't it?
(just kidding)

Dani,
Crazy time!


LaDiva,
Darlin, that's "Minorcan" not "Moroccan".
Search the blog for a recipe!
Thanks for noticing how handsome the Bear is!

LaDivaCucina said...

Haha! RIGHT you are, FC, that's what I get for reading the blogs before I've had me cawfee! Too funny! (I DID look up the Minorcan soup, looks divine!)

cinbad122 said...

How did you know?!?! PS...I have those little geckos all around by my house. I love them.

kathy a. said...

pretty amazing that the rescue clearinghouse at PFHQ has access not only to the squirrel lady, but her flying squirrel specialist friend! (been catching up on the florida news...)