A Sad Day for Birds (and Kait and Andy)

This story is not going to be easy to read, please avert your eyes if you have a soft spot for wild birds.
Please don't consider this a guide to anything. We don't recommend it.

Here we are at "the cabin." (It's not really a cabin, but that's what Andy calls it because its cozy and comfy and on a creek and in the middle of nowhere. It's actually the full-size house that I grew up in and where my parents live all the time so I don't think you can call it a cabin.)

We get up in the morning to find a bird sitting strangely still on the porch - where the crazy puppy has been bouncing around. I send Andy out to investigate. Yup, the bird is stuck AND "someone" has completely ripped off one of its wings. It's gruesome. So, I can remember vaguely the strategy of assembling a stretcher of sorts for wounded animals using a shoe box. I do that, throwing a bunch of leaves and sticks and dirt inside to make it comfortable. With big snow gloves on Andy forces the one-winged bird into the bed we made for it. It makes an effort with it's single wing, but really can't move much at all.

The problem is we don't really know what we're supposed to do next. It's guts are hanging out, but somehow it is still breathing. If we take it to the vet, they're gonna think we're ridiculous (because they won't be able to save it) and that we're 12 (26 year olds don't usually spend a lot of time saving mangled birds). So, we go looking for worms. That's what birds eat, right? We dig a lot of holes before we actually find any worms. My family has a few outdoor cats so naturally we're concerned about where we should leave our little ward while we ponder our next move (I'm really trying to resist calling my mom at work - that's what my sisters and I did back when the parakeet got out and was flying around the house with the cat chasing it). We settle on a flower box outside an upstairs window - that's way too high for any cats to get to it. It's safe in the little hospital we've created but we just don't know what to do next. We need to help end its suffering. Andy asks if we have a bb gun. Um, no.
Then, the unbelievable happens - the bird makes a leap of faith - and finds none. Somehow it used its one wing to get out of the box, out of the flower box and fall to the ground. There's no helping it. We can only hope it hopped its little self under some bushes to hide from the many predators.
We're sorry we aren't better at saving birds.

Hey, its been 2 months and we're still on the road!!

Yeah, that's right - Andy played Saginaw Valley State University - they were so excited they were tearin' up the place!

Did you know the Lincoln Park Zoo is FREE?! And when its cold the giraffes hate it just as much as we do...

Booze WAREHOUSE! We heart Chicago (and they're BYOB liquor policies - WHAAAT?!)

love, K & A

ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT!

Guess what, dudes?! K & A have a store on Etsy now! You should go there!!!!

http://KandATravelingCircus.etsy.com

love, kait and andy

Here it is: Our interpretation of "Cheeseburger in Paradise"! Yay!

Did you know Indiana has wineries?

I KNOW, we didn't either, we went to one and look how surprised we are! There are actually 7 and if you go to all of them you get a commemorative wine glass. (We're not doing that so if you are getting excited about the possibility of really cool souveniers you can forget it...)




We have been having some lovely family time (and lots of ice cream - that's one thing that doesn't last in a cooler so its an extra-special treat).

Here is a bit of wisdom we've gained in the past week...

If you are alone at someone else's house and they have a crazy tiny dog who always tries to run out the door - don't assume that it will be any different when you open the door.

If and when the dog goes bolting toward the busy road where drivers are doing more than 50, assume you will be chasing it for at least 20 minutes.

If you realize that you really should drive the car because who knows how many hours you're going to spend looking for the dog in the sprawling neighborhoods, be ABSOLUTELY certain the back hatch is latched before you peel onto the road (where drivers are doing more than 50) and the hatch flies open, letting many of your belongings spill onto the asphalt.

Finally, once you've had this experience and gained this important wisdom - do NOT let it happen again 2 days later with different dogs.