Thursday at the shelter

The past few Thursdays I've been going up to the shelter where I volunteer. It sometimes makes me a bit sad that there are so many wonderful birds looking for homes, and it's always hard not to take some of them to my home, but it's good for them to get exposure to different people, plus there are a few who really like me and get excited when I show up.

Here is one of them:A severe macaw. On MY lap? Without attacking me? Not all severes have bad taste, like Rocky! (I do tell him about all of the severes who have liked me, but this has not changed his opinion of me!) It is a lot of fun to play with this guy. He is so playful and funny -- like Rocky. He is pulling out all of the stops to be adopted by me; sadly for him, we are full at our house. Full! Another severe macaw is being surrendered to the shelter next Wednesday.

I also had some toys to bring up. Unfortunately, I got a bit busy last week and didn't have time to do any assembly at home. Luckily, I had some extra time at work, so I brought the raw materials to my desk:And wound up with a bunch of toys for the shelter birds:
And what a pleasant experience I had bringing the components in! A man ran from behind me to open up two doors as what I was carrying was rather unwieldy. I kind of wanted to explain to him why I was carrying a bunch of wood pieces and other strange things into an office building, but didn't want to seem too weird! (It may be too late for that...)

In any case, if you're wondering how you can help out a local rescue if you don't have time to volunteer, are uncomfortable about just donating money, or live too far away for anything but infrequent visits, one way is by making toys. The birds always need more and that way you know your donation is making a direct, positive impact on the birds' lives! You may even be able to work something out with the rescue where they save old, used-up toy components, and you repurpose them by adding new parts, thus saving landfill space.

Now I need Thomas to cut and drill some more wood -- some of those cockatoos and large macaws chip up those toys as if their lives depended on it!