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A Nice Surprise


Muse

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Mar-canvas.jpg

 

Sometimes the best suprises can come with tears...

 

My husband took this picture a long time ago. It was just a chance shot, with an awfully cluttered background, but he saw the picture of Mar in flight and cropped it, masked out the background and it came out beautifully. He looks so much like an angel. I think the tranlucence is due to him being in front of a window and the light was shining through his feathers.

 

Last night, he told me he *had* to go to Walmart. I waited in the car and he came out with this. Of course I cried.

 

We are thinking about using this as a donor reward for donors who donate over a certain amount (of course we have to research shipping costs, etc.).

 

I thought I'd share this picture here as I know many of you love flying pictures. If you want a digital copy, let me know.

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That's lovely! At least in my web browser (Firefox under Win7) it looks like a watercolor. Definitely a keeper. So apparently is your hubby btw! :)

 

Nice donor gifts. But thinking the "bigger picture" :rolleyes:, it might also be useful to make some nice coin. Need to copy write it first, though.

 

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2010/09/five-things-you-can-do-to-protect-your-online-imag/

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000977.htm

http://webdesign.about.com/od/graphics/a/aa102406.htm

 

From there the sky's the limit. Mugs, totes & tee shirts for starters. Bet you could sell them on Etsy for double your costs if you said the merchandise was for a good cause. It might also be another way to get some visibility too.

 

mug2.JPG

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That's lovely! At least in my web browser (Firefox under Win7) it looks like a watercolor. Definitely a keeper. So apparently is your hubby btw! :)

 

Nice donor gifts. But thinking the "bigger picture" :rolleyes:, it might also be useful to make some nice coin. Need to copy write it first, though.

 

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2010/09/five-things-you-can-do-to-protect-your-online-imag/

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000977.htm

http://webdesign.about.com/od/graphics/a/aa102406.htm

 

From there the sky's the limit. Mugs, totes & tee shirts for starters. Bet you could sell them on Etsy for double your costs if you said the merchandise was for a good cause. It might also be another way to get some visibility too.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]25455[/ATTACH]

 

Wow... Great ideas!!! I will run this past "the artist" and see what he says!

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Note to self: stay out of the way any time Dee's got the bit between her teeth! Wow!!

 

I'm not a really big fan of the "everything happens for a reason" thing. Usually, I think stuff happens & we figure out how to live w/it. But I think I have to make an exception in this case. As hard as it was to lose Mar, it may have been the best thing that could have happened to many used & abused parrots who might not have found a happy ending if you didn't have all that left over love.

 

W/all that you've already accomplished, I can't believe it's still early days. Really looking forward to watching this grow because I have a feeling it's going to be amazing. :)

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Note to self: stay out of the way any time Dee's got the bit between her teeth! Wow!!

 

I'm not a really big fan of the "everything happens for a reason" thing. Usually, I think stuff happens & we figure out how to live w/it. But I think I have to make an exception in this case. As hard as it was to lose Mar, it may have been the best thing that could have happened to many used & abused parrots who might not have found a happy ending if you didn't have all that left over love.

 

W/all that you've already accomplished, I can't believe it's still early days. Really looking forward to watching this grow because I have a feeling it's going to be amazing. :)

 

I believe we would have probably talked about "we want to have a bird rescue" for years before it happened. Marden's death was a catalyst. An extremely painful one, but it did goad me into immediate action. It's hard to believe he's been gone for nearly seven months. I still cry every day. I was getting to the point where I was sleeping and find it harder and harder to wake up in the mornings.

 

We now have FORTY NINE birds here. I am doing most of the work with some help from my husband who works and travels. But the added responsibility has been therapeutic and is driving me onward. The tears are still there, but I am working through them.

 

It is a struggle, and I suspect it will continue to be a struggle. For one thing, the majority of the birds here are not flashy macaws or Greys. They are budgies and cockatiels. Birds that are undervalued and way under-appreciated! They are just as smart and can be very much as sweet and as great a companion. However, because of their cheap price they often receive little to no vet care, cheap food, and less attention. They appeal to the wrong class of consumers - very often given to children as pets.

 

And I have personally seen donations POUR in for other rescues that take on groups of abused birds - or even single abused birds - but even though these twenty four were rescued from deplorable conditions it seems there is far less support for their plight. But I am determined to show no prejudice for the larger birds. Budgies get the same love and care here as any of the bigger birds. All are precious to me.

 

Right now it's hectic because we have three still in quarantine downstairs so we set up a quarantine in the guest room. Then we took in an additional twelve birds who the SPCA said were abandoned by the owner. It was not as dire as it sounded at first - he lived with his father and moved out and left the birds there. But the father is older and in declining health and could not care for them. I just couldn't say no. He had no where else to turn.

 

So I have ten more cages to clean with six from the flock from Virginia and four more from the last group of birds. Our eventual goal is to redesign the quarantine area (as we are FULL UP now and won't be needing it until we can expand or get the outdoor facility built) as the budgie's living quarters by putting in a large walk in aviary (indoors for now). This way they can be reunited as a flock. This was how the twenty-four lived their lives in their former home and I'd like to be able to give them at least that much freedom. I can't let them have the run of the house as they did, but I can give them room to fly and a safe environment to do it in. I just have to keep reminding myself to have patience and faith that this will come to pass.

 

Thanks for your kind words and encouragement! I will definitely keep everyone here posted as much as time allows with what is going on at Marden's Ark.

Edited by Muse
Grammar correction for clarity
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Wish I lived closer as I am looking for a cockatiel. I have four parrots but for some reason I have it in my head that a cockatiel is going to be my next rehomed parrot. I will find one, I just know it.

 

Keep an eye on Craigslist. I see cockatiels and budgies constantly on there. And if any bird needs rescued, it is often the ones that are being dumped on CL.

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