wildlife rescue

 Once in a while for me, characters just seem naturals for a second book. That happened in Moon Dust with two, rather unlikely protagonists and yet... were they? They became the heart of Second Chance, likely or not. 

Before I get into their story, this is the only book where I wrote myself and Ranch Boss into a book. Below is the clip where they appear, based on an experience we had with a wildlife rehab center, Chintimini, that we knew about in Corvallis, Oregon-- not the one in this book, but pretty much how it happens in such places where we brought an injured animal for help.

 I created the image above from a photo of our farm creek and the kinds of animals that often get rescued by sites like Chintimini and the fictional one in my book. All the animal photos were ours, which I cut out to make the image. Now, onward to the clip.

When the car drove in the driveway, he went out to meet the couple and direct them to the back. He'd created a temporary examining room out of a floor-less shed. It wasn't as good as what he'd had before the fire; but with a strong light overhead, it would serve.

The couple were older, excited about the bird they were carrying and concerned as to its chances. "Bring it on back," Judd instructed and asked Barrett to bring him a bottle of cortisone from the recently donated refrigerator.

Putting on his gloves, Judd didn't bother with the jacket. The owl that peered at him from the carrier had dilated pupils and seemed completely unaware of its surroundings. Even at that, the gloves were a precaution.

"Be careful. Their beaks and talons are sharp," he warned as the man set the carrier on the table. Barrett stood in the doorway as Judd reached into the carrier and carefully pulled the bird out.

The man gave a nervous laugh. "I got a good look at those talons when I picked him up."

"We were just lucky we saw him," his wife said. "Such a little bird, but he was tough. Stood there right in the road and somehow didn't get hit again."

"It's a barn owl," Judd told them as he pulled the bird's wings out, examining each one for breaks. Everything looked to be intact, which meant concussion and shock were its most likely problems. “It’s a female.” He smiled. “That’s good. They’re tougher in most species. We'll give her this to reduce the swelling and shock." He loaded a syringe with cortisone.

"What do you think her odds are?" the man asked, helping Judd hold the bird.

"I'll know better tomorrow." He picked up the bird and put it in a small cage. "I'll keep her in the house for tonight. If she’s still alive in the morning, I have an arrangement with a veterinarian. We'll see what she thinks."

The couple smiled with relief, left their phone number, and asked to be kept informed as to the bird's condition. When they had gone, Judd picked up the caged bird and carried it back into the house. 

I planned to write about the book, but more on our experience with the injured owl seemed better. Next week for the book.

We had driven from the farm to a nearby town for groceries, when we saw the owl just standing alongside the road. That didn't seem natural but when we returned we looked to see it still there. Getting out of the car, Ranch Boss wrapped it in  heavy blanket.

As soon as we had gotten home, stowed it safely into one of our cat carriers, we called the animal rescue facility, Chintimini in a town about 25 miles from here, where we knew they worked with wild creatures. They said bring it right in to assess its chances. An hour later, they were giving it treatment for shock and had said they felt it would survive, but it had a concussion. Fortunately its wings were unhurt.

After a few weeks, they had called to tell us we could come get it and release it back to where we found it, which we did, being blessed to watch the beautiful bird, as it flew into the night toward harboring trees.

https://chintiminiwildlife.org/ has grown a lot since then with expanded programs, worth checking it out. 

Creative Energy can take many paths

This week, because I had been asked to answer questions, plus provide a few images for an interview, I went looking for some paintings I had done back when I was painting. When I came across the blog below in a site that is no longer public, I thought it fit well with this topic of creativity.

For many creative people, they go through various ways to express their ideas. The beauty of it is how each can seep into the other venues. The experiences I had while painting and waiting for Ranch Boss as he fly fished, an art form of its own, also gave me the chance to wade creeks looking for more round rocks, a hobby of mine. Did you know that all creeks do not produce round rocks? When they do, it takes looking carefully to see how round they are.

The main experiences of creativity for me, besides always writing, were impressionistic painting and clay sculpture. Those two plein air paintings are at the farm. I remember doing both of them as I describe below. As my tremors worsened, both became less feasible. I am glad though for the times I with those modes of expression. 

One thing I hadn't mentioned in the earlier blog is that when I painted at Slough Creek in Yellowstone, we also saw and photographed a grizzly. It had been sleeping on the other side from where I painted and Ranch Boss fished. 

We left that site to look for wolves and more buffalo pictures in the Lamar Valley, Returning, the grizzly had clearly waded the creek from the brush where he'd been napping and was heading out. Lucky for us, he crossed the gravel road, right in front of our vehicle. Then, he headed up the hill to a quieter area with tall trees and no fishermen. Ranch Boss said you can tell by the trail, that a bear knew it well. likely that bear.

While I was painting, a ranger asked if I had seen the grizzly. I described what we saw. He then asked if he had seemed aggressive. Absolutely not, he just wanted to get out of there. Too many people.

 

 

 

from 2010 Yellowstone -- grizzly -- second image on his trail-- Frankly, life for predators is never easy even though bears are omnivores.

 ~~~~

It seemed a good idea when making a trip to Montana and Yellowstone National Park that I would take several small canvases, my oil paints, and the new portable easel along. The truck had plenty of space although there was one difficulty in planning to sleep in the back while in the park. That meant packing light and I kind of thought I had... if I didn't consider the easel.

What I learned was that the easel was not needed and was in the way. It takes too long on a fast trip like that to get it out and set it up-- not to mention it was not necessary as I actually like sitting on the ground with a canvas propped against a rock and mixing my paints right on the canvas. So next trip, no easel unless I have a trailer along to carry the extra supplies and plan to spend more than one night in a location.

The other thing I learned was that wet oils are a problem to transport. The need for a small box that will hold the oils apart from each other and protect everything else from getting paint splatters is obvious.

I have to get used to the curiosity some feel when they see someone painting on location. I was asked by one man if I was a painter. How does one answer such a question? I said I want to be but thought that I need to decide if I am; or if I am not than what am I doing?

All in all I enjoyed the painting and felt good that I was able to do it in places I love very much while my traveling partner was fishing and enjoying his time also. First painting is at Rock Creek, east of Missoula, Montana. Second is Slough Creek in Yellowstone National Park.  Both are 8"x10" oils on stretched canvas.

 

snakes

Photos below all are related to snakes. If such bother you, skip this blog.

 It began the afternoon of April 7th. I went to the door to tell Ranch Boss, who was working in the vacation trailer, preparing it for the visit from my brother, that he'd had a call. When he walked back toward the house, he had news for me. On the front porch was a diamondback. 

We have been lucky here with king and gopher snakes but have only seen a rattler at the back of the property. I have worried about them despite having a fenced yard for the cats. They consider snakes playthings with no idea, from our part of Oregon, that they can be dangerous.

So, what to do? After spraying it with water, the snake curled up under a big rock. Ranch Boss said let it be and figured it'd go away. I worried with my brother coming and he'd use the trailer out front. So while Ranch Boss wasn't concerned, I called a snake removal company. They would come within half an hour but were a bit costly. 

 

Again, Ranch Boss said it'd be okay. It seemed pretty subdued after the water spray. I said, I want to do it even at $150. They remove them and put them in better places. So the guy is on the way and Ranch Boss sat out front keeping an eye on the rattler to make sure it stays where it is. The guy would have found it if it had left but better it stayed put.

Such a relaxing day until... I only hoped the guy would get here before snake left. It seemed satisfied to have the warmth and big rock for shelter. When the guy arrived, he came well equipped with snake tongs and a long stick that I guess is called as snake hook, tall boots, and a bucket with a locking top. He went right for it and captured it using the tongs and the hook to put it in the bucket within moments. 

 

 

He said it was what we had thought, more officially a western diamondback rattlesnake. He said males are out right now looking for females. The females will be out later looking for food. Because Ranch Boss had kept an eye on it, it was an easy capture, he reduced the cost to a regular customer. I hope we won't be one but was relieved this snake has been safely taken elsewhere (where it is legal for them to be moved as there are restrictions). I'd have been stressed if we hadn't done this; so definitely worth it to me for it to be taken away alive for hopefully a new life. He mentioned they have a one mile range... That might mean we will see it again *s*

 

The day after, we saw the other snake that looks like a diamondback, only is not. He's a gopher snake. You can tell by the head shape and no rattles. They are good snakes to have around although they do not kill rattlers. They do though compete for food, which might help to reduce the number of rattlers. We used to call them bull snakes but turns out they don't live in our part of Arizona. They look pretty much the same; so not sure how they are differentiated other than geographically.

 

Since then, we've seen no snakes but they are for sure here.

 

Horse stories

 

image from Stencil

This will probably seem way different from my recent blogs, but it's not for my life experiences and isn't that what blogs are about.

I came across this YouTube through one of those things we get if we are on YouTube-- recommendations. Not sure why but it's interesting to me and might be to some of you.

Five Friends who died with horse accidents.

Although I have had my own interests in horse, I have only a few experiences to share. In my historical novels, I have horses as part of the stories-- more rarely in the contemporary but also in the urban fantasy novels. I base some of that on my times on horseback--though i am not remotely a good horse person. 

Growing up, my favorite books were the Black Stallion series and had almost all of them from various Christmas or birthday gifts. Because my father was allergic to horses, we couldn't have them-- with one exception. He decided to give it a try and we got a gelding, which worked for a while before it began to make my father sick. I had enough experience with him (don't remember if I knew his name). One of them was life experience kind. I saddled him and rode up the dirt road on our property that led to the back of our 80 acres. All had seemed well, until I turned him to head back to the farm. He began to run. I had little control and pulled on the reins to stop him. He stopped all right and I went right over his head. I was not hurt but definitely got scared by it. Not long after that he was gone from the farm but not because I told anybody. I did not. it wasn't the horse's fault.

I had a couple of trail ride experiences in later years. One went smoothly, along the Metolius River. Lovely time. The second was heading into the pine forest in that area. The horse I was riding apparently was what can be called barn sour as when we all turned, he broke into a run to head for the barns. I remembered my earlier experience, thought I can never stay on and ahead was a paved road. So, I kicked my feet out of the stirrups and rolled to the right side of the trail, all loose dirt. If i hadn't been wearing a sleeveless shirt, all would have been well, but I was, scraped my shoulder and had to head to a nearby town for a tetanus shut.

Horses continued to fascinate me. I debated taking lessons when I was in my 50s but just never did it. Our Oregon farm wasn't good for horses, too wet, although we boarded a friend's horse for a few years before she died of old age. For our limited land, we had enough cattle and sheep, sometimes too many, and horses didn't make sense.

My other horse experiences were pretty much without incident. At my age, there won't be more as starting over with horses would make no sense now. I still love them but do see the need to know what you are doing with them-- and even then, things can go wrong as you will see in the link, if you read it. . 

July is almost gone

Yikes, I meant to put up something for how things are going with how it is to be living in a travel trailer for a few months. Well, it would have been better if we'd have had a trailer that didn't have so many things going wrong with it. Most appear fixable but it's been depressing where it involves the basics like heat, cooling or black water (you can guess that that is). There are other things that are hard for me but that's due to my nature and not  a fault of trailer or anything else. Think too tenderhearted. 

Here are a few photos of my world right now. Likely it will stay that way until early September when we finally head back to Casa Expiritu in Arizona. Yes, we will be glad to do it, but we will miss our closer contact with our son and the love we have for this land where we had lived in 1977 until recently.

On the trailer aspect, don't know how full-time RVers manage as most of the problems relate to storage for us. This RV has a good layout with the computers and all but storage... big problem. Although it has a big TV, we haven't used it even to watch the many DVDs we brought-- let alone cable. 

One thing I wanted were shelves above the computers. I like them but haven't used the lotions much either. I am removing myself from so much. Alongside my computer is a wall with photos. That's been my project to try and feel upbeat when times are tough (think sending cattle to the auction *sad times for me when it's needed*. They are all photos of places we've been, with positive energy, and where I might hope to go again. Think positive.

If you've never been around livestock where they operate as herds, you might be surprised how much joy there can be gained from watching their personalities as they interact. It's a whole different world than corporate agriculture. If you think there is value in such small herds and flocks, find someone local from whom to buy grassfed meat. It's better for the animals and the humans who need protein. In a natural herd, they live until they die. We can't always do that as it's hard to find enough buyers but it's the goal. As for dying when life is over (sooner or later)-- We do the same. What we want and hope for is a good death.

 

 

 

moon thoughts

by Rain Trueax

April 6th and the setting of the Pink Moon. 

With my interest in full moons, I found two meanings for this moon. The first was that it's for the pink phlox and early bloomers. The second was it meant rebirth. Since Sunday is Easter, a time of resurrection for Christians, that's a good meaning. The time of rebirth. however, isn't always good. It means death first.

I have mentioned before that I am on Facebook. Currently, it's a good place for me. I like connecting with people there and sharing parts of my life. If someone asks an opinion type question, even on a topic I generally avoid, I will answer with my thoughts on it. BUT if it's peppered with insulting terms, if it's from someone I have considered a friend, I quit reading with the first of them and hide the post. If it's a 'friend' there that I don't know, I snooze them for a month and then unfollow if the nasty words are still there.

Some say they don't like coming to FB for the negativity. What I wrote above is a solution, which I need, as it's important for me right now as a place to connect with those I have gotten to know, where I am interested in how they are doing. The only way I can continue there is to get rid of what upsets me. Maybe it's my generation or how I was raised to be polite, but insulting words don't work for me even if I agree with them-- and once in a while, I might...

I have a thought on the virus, which I will share... read it or not as it works for you. 

putting it together

by Rain Trueax

Somehow, this blog is not coming out as i had intended...

Originally, I had intended to write more on MeToo. Particularly, I wanted to research if more info was out there on Congress's shush funds. Well, after some research, I got very little. These payoffs were only the part that the federal funds covered to stop someone from talking who had made a complaint, but they didn't all have to be about MeToo issues. There has only been $17 million paid out at the point I found figures. There was no info as to what it had covered or which Congressional employees. It also did not deal with private payoffs. Basically, I didn't feel I had enough to carry on with the subject. IF that changes in the future, I'll do more with it. 

I just want to add that it's good for there to be accountability whether it's movie executives, stars or political power brokers. There doubtless is still not enough being done.

So... what attracted my interest instead was another kind of cultural issue that was triggered by putting together one of my nighttime dreams, a popular reality show, and our political world. I was hoping I could write it in a way that made sense. 

Then,  I had second thoughts about that too based on not having the mindset to do it justice as well as all of what's going on with Covid-19, where it's causing such major disruption and has so much uncertainty attached to it. January 4th, I wrote about ['black swans']. The world has been hit by one of those with no idea where it's going. Not a good time for deep thinking where, at least for most of us, we don't have enough facts to put it all together...

So third plan. Photos of the desert and at the end a jigsaw puzzle, one of my current meditative distractions. Enjoy my piece of the desert where I find such peace and if i have to self-quarantine, I will enjoy my surroundings.

by Diane; A fix for the painting, Howler Monkey Mother

 

 Yesterday I was unhappy with this painting because it suggested black face to me. After washing away surface color that has not stained the paper, I feel better about the painting. Also I enjoy the way my previous building of the shapes left a texture. Yet I like the contrast before washing the painting and will use the contrast with colors that work with future subjects.

 

Red Howler Monkeys 12" x 9" on smooth hot press Instead of a filbert the brush is Simply Simmons 1 stroke * Plat Long 1/2"

Hot press papers are good for fine detail but also like here the colors spread in great blooms with most of the pigment staying on the surface. Every little touch shows. Also the hot press shows the full brilliance because less pigment doesn't soak into the paper. In this one the brush strokes did little to shape volumes.  I was distracted by the marks in laying down the under-painting in the first step. So never blocked volumes in an abstraction natural to the character of the brush. The lines were made by turning the brush sideways. The square flat shape strokes were from the flat side of the brush.

 

 

Since the Fabriano hot press paper was a big factor in how I reacted while painting Red Howler Monkeys on Thursday's I returned to cold press Fabriano so it would be more comparable to  the painting that was washed in the bath tub. The perfect synthetic Simple Simmons plat was the only brush I used. the rectangular strokes are very regular. My preference is the filbert brush.

 

 

 

 

 

Next Wednesday the blog will be about the influences I feel from the trip to London and Paris.

the heart and the catalyst

by Rain Trueax

Another interesting dream that I am still mulling over with two symbols that seemed possible to have meaning.

Yikes

by Rain Trueax

Time is going by way too fast. I literally cannot believe we've been back at the farm for a month and it seems like it was yesterday.

The farm has had a lot accomplished-- hay for the winter bought and stashed in the barns; sheep shorn; fields fertilized, and fence across the creek replaced after calf got on the other side. The place was in great shape when we returned thanks to the hard work of our son, but this is the season for preparing for all the other ones. 

addictions of a kind of innocent sort... maybe

by Rain Trueax

bobcat in our Tucson backyard

Everybody has ways they waste time… Maybe not everybody but I do. I am not sure I can justify my own choices for what I do instead of something important… Well, maybe we need to define important, but after just going into the immigration issues, I am not going to define anything here—just describe what I do when I should be cleaning house or something more noteworthy, like writing on the next book.

My time waster began innocently enough. Don’t they all! I got interested in people who live a full-time RV life. I can’t describe right now how I found the ones I began to check out on YouTube. Maybe because I joined some Facebook groups about RVs since we have one and were looking at changing to something different. Because I also have a YouTube channel, with very little on it, I had interest in the art form, and know from experience that it isn’t the easiest thing to create something others want to follow.

Imbolc

by Rain Trueax

photo for Imbolc 2017

When we are in Oregon, we usually see the first lambs about now. Imbolc, Ewe's Milk, is a Celtic, Pagan, agrarian celebration-- the true end of winter when the grass begins to green up. 

The Oregon farm did have its first lambs already, and they are doing great thanks to the help of our son, who is taking over a job he's not thrilled with. He likes the cows but the sheep not so much. I have to remind him the sheep are why we do not need a lawnmower. He might want to reconsider it.

The link below has some rituals you might consider to celebrate the end of winter. Of course, if you are on the middle of that Polar Vortex, you probably aren't ready to celebrate just yet. 

Interestingly, the West Coast has had a milder than usual winter. Humans have so little real control over climate. It's something to be aware of when people want to demand we do something. Study earth's history, and you know it's a constantly changing place. For humans, we have been through a fortunate time.

We will definitely have a fire in the fireplace tonight to welcome back the sun.

Imbolc Rituals

This is not a regular post but a special one for a special day. Tomorrow will be on death... hmmm not sure how that fits rebirth but then it depends on how you see death...

predators

by Rain Trueax

For years, there have been those who argued that cougars weren't actually dangerous to humans. They brought up the point that no cougar had killed anyone in Oregon (though they had to concede they had in other states). In 1994, this viewpoint led to a ballot measure, passed mostly by city voters, to ban hunting cougars with dogs-- about the only effective way they can be hunted. 

The ban has led to many more cougar in rural areas, such as where I live. Sometimes there has been concern when a cougar is seen hanging around a school, but in general the view has been the same-- cougar danger to human is not that big a deal and much exaggerated.

The photo is from a wildlife cam about a ridge over from our farm. It's not common to see five cougar together. This might've been a family.

Where we live, on the edge of wilderness, it is not uncommon to see cougar tracks or their kills. I've seen a cougar in the wild when I was a girl but not here. When we still had teens at home, they had been hiking on the hill above our house, heard the sound of a branch cracking in the brush. They then had something follow them down the hill. They didn't ever see it, but a cougar was most likely. 

Cougar will track prey quite a ways as they are waiting for the right spot, but they are also curious. More recently, neighbors told us they saw one walk up the gravel road in front of our house. That's beside our mailbox and about fifty feet from the front door.

Sometimes, we observe our cattle herd bunching instead of their more casual way of sleeping-- with their calves in the middle. They know something, but so far, we don't think we've had a calf killed by them. The herd has enough size to protect itself.

Locally, their kills are generally deer, but the house up the gravel road lost a ram to one. Because our sheep are kept closer to the barns, we don't know we've had a cougar kill one. They could take a lamb with them. They like to cache their kills. The thing to remember is they have to kill to live. They are predators looking for opportunity.

Camping has had us in their country, and while hunting deer, my husband went into one of their dens in Eastern Oregon. Seeing them in a zoo, I very much appreciate their physical beauty and grace but never forget-- they are predators.

This week, Oregon has a new story regarding cougar.

 Mt. Hood Hiker killed by cougar

Here's the thing for those folks who thought a cougar would never attack a human. Why wouldn't they? If we don't have weapons, if they don't have previous experiences of being threatened by us, we are prey species. Yes, we are also predator, but where it comes to teeth and claws, we don't have much to offer in the way of defense. Despite that, there have been many confrontations with cougars that ended with the cougar backing off-- far more than kills.

So, if confronted with one, make yourself big, don't run, look them in the eyes, yell, and if it attacks anyway, fight back. The sister of the woman killed said the authorities told her that her sister had wounds indicating she had fought for her life, but it wasn't enough. It's one of those times where you can't guarantee an outcome.