RIP Fawkes, bird meeting, Pokémon 11.

* My hen Fawkes died yesterday. :( I can't say I'm devastated because I kind of expected it, and she lived a good long life... But it's always sad to see an old member of my flock go, and I had her from the day she hatched through her entire life so it'll be weird not having her in the coop any more. She was also one of only three larger-breed chickens that were still alive, so now only Dandelion and Constantinople the buff orpingtons are left as far as large-sized chickens go. Her mother Brindle died about a year or two ago at about the same age and with the same symptoms. I named her Fawkes after the phoenix in Harry Potter because I thought she was a phoenix (one of my favorite breeds of chicken--see icon) when she hatched. Then she grew up and turned out to be an easter egg chicken instead, so the name didn't seem as clever any more. :)

It's always weird when a chicken I've had for more than seven or eight years dies, because it almost feels like a little bit of my childhood dies with them... I mean, that's not true, but I grew up with them and my friends and I spent so much time with them when we were twelve, thirteen, fourteen, so there are so many memories associated with them. I don't know what I'll do when The Salula dies, or Yami, or Timber, or Ilikeayou... It feels like they've always been there, a constant part of me, and my life won't seem the same without them. I already lost The Other Other One several months ago, and I still have to consciously remind myself not to list her on my pet list any more. And even Brindle, who died at least a year ago, and to a smaller extent Lace, who died a week or two after Lily did, about two and a half years ago.

( Fawkes )

It's probably weird for some of you who are newer to my f-list how much I love my chickens, but to me all lives are equal and to me they are all wonderful individuals. And yes, chickens do have personalities, they are (or can be, anyway, though it's been bred out of some breeds) intelligent, and they do think and socialize and care about one another and have their own language and behave in surprisingly complex ways at times. People can try to refute me on this if they'd like, but I've spent countless hours in my chicken coop throughout the last nine years so good luck to anyone who would try to tell me what I've observed about chickens is wrong. ;)

* I forgot to write about it for some reason, but I went to the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Release Annual Meeting on Saturday. It was an awesome meeting, it really was. ♥ It reminded me yet again of why I rehab, even though it's stressful and devastating and time-consuming. My fellow rehabbers are some of the friendliest, most compassionate people I've ever met and they are so dedicated. Linda, from the songbird team (my team!), gave such an amazing speech on why we rehab and it nearly made me teary.

Last year our group rehabilitated over 900 animals. Pretty incredible, especially considering when I joined the group three years ago I think we did somewhere between 300-400 and our group was very small and not all that well organized. Now we're an awesome group with a lot of amazing rehabbers, programs, educational animals, and so on. Now we just need a real center and we'll be set!

We did some reviews of 2008 from each of the team leaders (songbirds, raptors, fawns, small mammals), discussed some general business/leadership/funding/classes and so on matters, watched a slideshow of animals from the previous year (including some of my babies ♥), and finished the meeting by watched a video of the rehabbing process and then release of a golden eagle from last year named Talksalot. There was hardly a dry eye in the place after that video. I was quite close to being teary as well for the second time in the meeting. (Wildlife rehabbing is a powerful emotional experience, what can I say!) I wish I could show it to you all.

Anyway, I'm so glad I went to that meeting. It was great. ♥ I watched some of the beginning of Earthlings again late last night (just the beginning, which is before it turns horribly gruesome and stomach-churning and painful) and cried my eyes out. Just...because. I feel like I have such a strong purpose, and such a strong love for animals and desire for them not to suffer. It is empowering and crippling at the same time. I...feel as though I can't fully expound on how I feel about it. Not only because it's such a deep feeling, but also because I think it's so intense and different and because it's so at odds with how most people live... It's hard sometimes. It really is.

* I watched Pokémon 11 this evening! It's a Pokémon movie so you can't expect Oscar quality out of it or anything, but I really enjoyed it. There was something about the animation and art direction that I appreciated a bunch though I can't put my thumb on why. I guess it just seemed more creative and well-done and high quality than I'm accustomed to Pokémon being, I don't know. I say this even though I know the Pokémon movies DO get prettier each movie, haha. It was somehow slightly even noticeable taking that into account! Also, there were so many adorable/fun/awesome/pretty moments in it that I just adored--the sorts of little, silly things that I always look forward to in Pokémon movies, and I think there were a lot more of them than usual. The movie was just so pretty and cute and it made me smile and laugh and make a *___* face! ♥

I don't know, I felt it had more character and personality than a lot of the movies and I just fell in love with it for some reason. I think the plot got a bit stale towards the end and I wasn't interested in the villain at all and some of the plot as a whole was just like "Oh, uhhh...whatever," but I had so much fun watching this movie. I think I'm going to watch it again soon because I enjoyed it so much! ♥ I think my overall favorite Pokémon movies are 3, 5, 8, and 11. But then I list that and I always want to include 2 and 1 for nostalgia and because I adore them, and I loved 4 quite a bit too, and 6 was sweet/adorable as well, and I liked 10 a lot... Really, the only ones I didn't care for all that much were 7 and 9, and even then I still got some degree of enjoyment out of them.

I'm such a Pokénerd, ahaha. I can't even give a coherent Pokémon review because it always degenerates into me just babbling about nothing and getting all excited over weird things. XD Oh well! I do love me some Pokémon. In case no one here has failed to notice. XDDD

...I overuse ♥ so badly. IT IS AN ADDICTION.

RIP Fawkes, bird meeting, Pokémon 11.

* My hen Fawkes died yesterday. :( I can't say I'm devastated because I kind of expected it, and she lived a good long life... But it's always sad to see an old member of my flock go, and I had her from the day she hatched through her entire life so it'll be weird not having her in the coop any more. She was also one of only three larger-breed chickens that were still alive, so now only Dandelion and Constantinople the buff orpingtons are left as far as large-sized chickens go. Her mother Brindle died about a year or two ago at about the same age and with the same symptoms. I named her Fawkes after the phoenix in Harry Potter because I thought she was a phoenix (one of my favorite breeds of chicken--see icon) when she hatched. Then she grew up and turned out to be an easter egg chicken instead, so the name didn't seem as clever any more. :)

It's always weird when a chicken I've had for more than seven or eight years dies, because it almost feels like a little bit of my childhood dies with them... I mean, that's not true, but I grew up with them and my friends and I spent so much time with them when we were twelve, thirteen, fourteen, so there are so many memories associated with them. I don't know what I'll do when The Salula dies, or Yami, or Timber, or Ilikeayou... It feels like they've always been there, a constant part of me, and my life won't seem the same without them. I already lost The Other Other One several months ago, and I still have to consciously remind myself not to list her on my pet list any more. And even Brindle, who died at least a year ago, and to a smaller extent Lace, who died a week or two after Lily did, about two and a half years ago.

( Fawkes )

It's probably weird for some of you who are newer to my f-list how much I love my chickens, but to me all lives are equal and to me they are all wonderful individuals. And yes, chickens do have personalities, they are (or can be, anyway, though it's been bred out of some breeds) intelligent, and they do think and socialize and care about one another and have their own language and behave in surprisingly complex ways at times. People can try to refute me on this if they'd like, but I've spent countless hours in my chicken coop throughout the last nine years so good luck to anyone who would try to tell me what I've observed about chickens is wrong. ;)

* I forgot to write about it for some reason, but I went to the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Release Annual Meeting on Saturday. It was an awesome meeting, it really was. ♥ It reminded me yet again of why I rehab, even though it's stressful and devastating and time-consuming. My fellow rehabbers are some of the friendliest, most compassionate people I've ever met and they are so dedicated. Linda, from the songbird team (my team!), gave such an amazing speech on why we rehab and it nearly made me teary.

Last year our group rehabilitated over 900 animals. Pretty incredible, especially considering when I joined the group three years ago I think we did somewhere between 300-400 and our group was very small and not all that well organized. Now we're an awesome group with a lot of amazing rehabbers, programs, educational animals, and so on. Now we just need a real center and we'll be set!

We did some reviews of 2008 from each of the team leaders (songbirds, raptors, fawns, small mammals), discussed some general business/leadership/funding/classes and so on matters, watched a slideshow of animals from the previous year (including some of my babies ♥), and finished the meeting by watched a video of the rehabbing process and then release of a golden eagle from last year named Talksalot. There was hardly a dry eye in the place after that video. I was quite close to being teary as well for the second time in the meeting. (Wildlife rehabbing is a powerful emotional experience, what can I say!) I wish I could show it to you all.

Anyway, I'm so glad I went to that meeting. It was great. ♥ I watched some of the beginning of Earthlings again late last night (just the beginning, which is before it turns horribly gruesome and stomach-churning and painful) and cried my eyes out. Just...because. I feel like I have such a strong purpose, and such a strong love for animals and desire for them not to suffer. It is empowering and crippling at the same time. I...feel as though I can't fully expound on how I feel about it. Not only because it's such a deep feeling, but also because I think it's so intense and different and because it's so at odds with how most people live... It's hard sometimes. It really is.

* I watched Pokémon 11 this evening! It's a Pokémon movie so you can't expect Oscar quality out of it or anything, but I really enjoyed it. There was something about the animation and art direction that I appreciated a bunch though I can't put my thumb on why. I guess it just seemed more creative and well-done and high quality than I'm accustomed to Pokémon being, I don't know. I say this even though I know the Pokémon movies DO get prettier each movie, haha. It was somehow slightly even noticeable taking that into account! Also, there were so many adorable/fun/awesome/pretty moments in it that I just adored--the sorts of little, silly things that I always look forward to in Pokémon movies, and I think there were a lot more of them than usual. The movie was just so pretty and cute and it made me smile and laugh and make a *___* face! ♥

I don't know, I felt it had more character and personality than a lot of the movies and I just fell in love with it for some reason. I think the plot got a bit stale towards the end and I wasn't interested in the villain at all and some of the plot as a whole was just like "Oh, uhhh...whatever," but I had so much fun watching this movie. I think I'm going to watch it again soon because I enjoyed it so much! ♥ I think my overall favorite Pokémon movies are 3, 5, 8, and 11. But then I list that and I always want to include 2 and 1 for nostalgia and because I adore them, and I loved 4 quite a bit too, and 6 was sweet/adorable as well, and I liked 10 a lot... Really, the only ones I didn't care for all that much were 7 and 9, and even then I still got some degree of enjoyment out of them.

I'm such a Pokénerd, ahaha. I can't even give a coherent Pokémon review because it always degenerates into me just babbling about nothing and getting all excited over weird things. XD Oh well! I do love me some Pokémon. In case no one here has failed to notice. XDDD

...I overuse ♥ so badly. IT IS AN ADDICTION.