If you don't know where I work you don't pay much attention to what I do with life. I rehab injured, sick and orphaned Birds of Prey. I love my job. It's my passion, there is nothing else I'd rather do. I go through pain, sadness, anger, frustration and somewhere in all of that I still find the happiness. over half of the birds who come in die, but I still find happiness in my job. I love teaching others about the birds, I love talking to them, working with them. I love helping the injured ones who come in, even if they don't make it or we have to euthanize it. I know I tried or at least stopped their pain. I spend large portions of my time dealing with rodent and bird shit. I kill rats, mice, rabbits, quail and any other "feeder" we're given so the birds have food.
I work hard in the hot sun, cold snow, pouring rain or whatever else nature can throw at me. We work out of an abandoned pig barn which was converted to a rehab center in the 1980s. The building is currently condemned. My job isn't safe, easy or glamorous. It's not ideal for the majority of people even if they think "oh cool you work with birds" they don't actually know what I do when I don't have the short amount of time to take pictures of the birds or talk to visitors.
I get footed, bitten, shit on, puked on and still I keep going back. Visitors yell at me, upset people call me names, idiots tell me I'm wrong when I try to explain something to them. Still, I keep going back.
I would never turn my back on my job, my passion.

I was told today that if things don't change and we don't start getting more money soon I may be losing my job. I have 6 months (at most) to hope the non-profit I work at can get more money...
Shitty economy, poor rehab/nature center struggling to stay afloat... I'm not optimistic.
We have 2 paid employees who can care for the birds, myself and my boss. We have volunteers but my boss and I are the only 2 who can do everything needed to keep that place moving and save those birds. Before she talked them into hiring me she was working 7 days a week, over 8 hours a day. She gets days off now, she even gets to go see her family out of state on occasion. She obviously was upset there is a possibility of me losing my job.
I don't want to lose my job...

I cried the entire way home thinking about losing my job... what I'd do... where I'd go.
Honestly I can't THINK of my life without the birds. I look forward to go to work, don't mind working late or on my days off. It's part of who I am, those birds are part of who I am.

I just... don't know... I'm still trying to hold back the tears so I don't ruin the evening for everyone.

This isn't just a job. It's so much more than that.
I don't want to lose part of who I am.

So we went to the big flight cage to catch 7 of the 18 Great Horned Owls because within the next week they'll be leaving (we plan to have them all gone int he next 3 weeks).
You know, this cage: http://ravenskunk.deviantart.com/ga.....et=24#/d3jggy7
At the time of the photo there weren't quite 18 owls in it yet.

I was on net duty since I'm trained to actually catch and handle healthy, wild birds.
So I get one and I grab one of her legs. The other before I can grab it get my finger.
Now the gloves we wear don't actually stop the bird all of the time.
Her talon went through my glove and into my finger about a good inch.

A nice little puncture wound that hurt like hell. My boss actually had to pry her from my hand. I'm glad only one talon went through the glove the rest just had all glove.
Ouch man, and it's right where my pencil sits for when I draw. So it kind of will hurt to draw for a few days.
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Also, I was told that next Thursday she wants me to release one of the Great Horned Owls for my family.
Sweet, will be a fun evening. Maybe one of the boys will take pictures of me tossing the bird. Usually I don't get to do the release I am handing the bird to someone else who gets to do it.
This is all mine tho, they just get to watch.
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Also, I start training Monday to get my actual rehab license. Nothing will change and I'll still just be a rehab assistant to my boss but, WOOO FANCY!

Cheers.

Tomorrow morning at 9am I'm leaving for a night of camping.

The entire point, to watch a half a million bats leave a cave at dusk.


Yes. Yes! HELL YESS!

Remember these 3 babies?
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5543433

We got 15 now.
They're all flying, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!
they eat so much.
I took a group photo of them so I'll totally post it here if i have time later.

So we got this little Screech Owl in. He was hit by a Dodge Ram. Dislocated his wing at the shoulder and blew a pupil.

We thought he would die.

This was him.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4951493/

Read the description. The photo was taken a month ago.

We released him last week. He flew away fine.
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The little things that make my job worth it.

So my boss's sister is sick (we'll leave off with what here for privacy).
It's requiring my boss to take a 3 week leave this February.
I have to cover, which means 5-6 day work weeks.

Including days I'm supposed to be doing my internship at the Zoo.

My job comes first. I just asked for an extension on my internship to miss the 3 weeks or the ability to do the 6 days of internship I will have to do in the last week and a half at the end of the semester after I should have been done with my internship (my schedule has my internship one with the 5th but the semester ends the 15th).

Here's hoping something works out. I don't want to postpone the one thing keeping me from graduating. I also however want to keep my job since you know.. passion and paid job in one = win.
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EDIT!!!!!!
My adviser is letting me tack on the days I'll miss at the end of the semester. I'll still be 3 days short but she said if I have an A or B for the internship by then she'll just pass me on those 3 days anyway because she knows I'm not a failure at life.

I love my adviser.

4pm rolled around yesterday.
I was done with work. A volunteer doing paperwork for my boss needed to be there until 5 to get finished.
So I said I'd stick around considering I'm paid to be there until 5.
I had an hour of freedom.
I COULD TAKE PICTURES!

Nope, guess who left her memory card in her computer.

OH YES!
I failed.

I work tomorrow and I'm going to spend my entire lunch hour taking pictures of birds

Because it's my job I can take pictures during feeding time too. My boss doesn't care cause really good ones can go to the center for use.

That and I can pretty much do whatever I want as long as I do my job too.

SO PICTURES OF BIRDS!
If I'm not too tired I'll post any good ones I actually get after I get off.

Apparently if I save an image as a .png I lose the EXIF information on the picture.
I'm at least assuming that so I guess I gotta try uploading photographs as .jpeg.
I'm so use to saving drawings as .png so remembering to switch between the 2 will be a pain.

*edit*
Ok saving as a jpeg didn't fix the problem.
Quite possibly I shouldn't "save for web" when in photoshop?


Who knows, guess I'll figure it out haha.

So I've planned this account a little bit.
Again, there won't be much here until after Christmas when my dad gives me my damn camera (woooo go daddy) but at that point you'll get more pictures.

I'll be posting my pictures here as I said. The better ones will be posted to my main gallery but others that would make good references will go in scraps so artists can use them.

YOU MAY USE ANY PHOTO AS A REFERENCE!
Be warned I may as well since I draw too (check my other account) so you could end up using the same reference as me or another artist.
Though that's ok.
**I'd prefer references not be used for porn because I know a lot of these animals personally and it would just be weird.

I will also be watching photographers on this account because I figured if I use a separate account for posting photos I can use it for watching photos.
This will make sure I pay more attention to photographers that I want to watch.

Enjoy my birds. I'll sometimes post non-bird stuff but really... birds.
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I'm starting an internship at a Zoo in January. While I'll still be working at the rehab center you'll probably get some zoo animal pictures too for a few months in the Spring Semester.
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Any questions can be asked for. Any local raptors in Colorado that you want photos shown of could be asked for and if by chance one comes in I'll probably take pictures of it.

This will be pretty skimp on pictures until the New Year when I have my new camera.

Be patient.