green [DM ME TO FOLLOW] @troodon@vulpine.club

if you're here for the wildlife rehab news, I wanted to pass on a tip: DO NOT LET YOUR PETS OUTSIDE UNSUPERVISED. it's a bad idea any time, but right now it's especially dangerous. I've heard several reports of coyotes attacking and killing dogs, and of bears hanging around the edges of the Seattle suburbs. wild animals are getting much bolder with much fewer humans around, and a lot of them are missing their usual food sources (crows, seagulls, and rats that forage on restaurant leavings and trash; coyotes that eat rats that are disturbed and flushed into the open by human activity), so they're expanding their territories into unusual areas, like potentially *your yard*.

COYOTES WILL ABSOLUTELY ATTACK DOGS. this is because dogs trigger the coyote's territorial instincts. one coyote can mess up a medium-sized dog; multiple coyotes (there's almost always more than one) can take down even large dogs. and small dogs... well. KEEP YOUR DOGS INSIDE AND UNDER SUPERVISION AT ALL TIMES.

coyotes *rarely* attack cats. this has been studied; they will attack cats that are injured or old, or kittens, but cats are usually far too agile and *pointy* to be prey for coyotes. RACCOONS WILL ABSOLUTELY ATTACK CATS. most cat attacks attributed to coyotes are actually from raccoons.

"badly explain your fursona"

um... look, the *accurate* explanation is "post-ego-collapse refugee dinosaur from an alternate dimension, who used to be a Martian paleontologist," so

no, seriously: I WILL NOT ACCEPT FOLLOWS UNLESS YOU SEND ME A DM (or unless I'm already following you; follow-backs are auto-accepted). just say hi! if you're too afraid of me to send a DM, what the &*$^ makes you think I'm willing to let you see the stuff I post followers-only? sheesh.

account note: if I boost a toot that has a picture or gif that isn't captioned, I *pledge* to immediately follow it up with a non-@ reply describing the image.

also: if you can, please, PLEASE caption the images and gifs you post? if you can't, it's okay, but if you can, please do.

oh is it #introductions time again already?

* furry-adjacent saurian/dragonkin
* bitey, with feathers
* green hair
* #agender (they/them or zie/zir)
* currently ace/aro
* historically #polyamorous
* intermittent #writer mostly of #fanfic
* lifelong depressive disorder, currently mostly in remission
* #oneiromancer
* occasionally posts about "woo-stuff" (magic/spirituality/weirdness)
* frequently posts about wildlife (birds, coyotes, squirrels)
* 2 adorable #cats
* 1 adorable #spouse

Razi is tremendously excited about a bit of lint that he's caught, and is now dancing around it and chirping. #KittenThings

that's a really nice picture of a *sign full of words* you have there, partner. it'd be even nicer if you could... oh, I don't know... something crazy... like CAPTION IT. :|

(I know some folks can't caption, but most can, it's not done often enough, and there are plenty of people who *can't* read your *perfectly clear* picture of a *sign full of words* if you don't *caption it*, so even if you can't caption you can maybe include some text? or make a followup post with the words? or use @OCRbot ? or even just say "sorry I couldn't caption this"? THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS, PLEASE USE AT LEAST ONE OF THEM, THANK YOU)

please feel free to RT if you like!

hey! have you enjoyed my wildlife rehab volunteering recaps? have you been missing them lately? (I've been missing doing them for sure...) PAWS is doing a thing, showing videos on Wednesdays at noon on all their platforms (listed below) talking about how to help animals of all kinds! it's mostly aimed at kids, but it's got lots of awesome footage--adorable kittens, puppies, woodpeckers, seals, otters, and other things! it's a bit cutesy and awkward, but hey, it's the first episode. give it a watch! 💚 ​

PAWS website: https://www.paws.org/education/paws-academy/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2429968877225710
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGEI-oIQ8fc
and Instagram, although it didn't give a direct link so I don't know where in the account to fin it, but there's a lot of cute animal pictures there anyway! https://www.instagram.com/paws_wa/?hl=en

*opens dragon maw, emits sensation of standing in an old growth redwood forest far away from any human noises as a gentle rainfall patters on the branches of the upper canopy*

I want to get cross-stitching supplies but would rather give my money to an independent business that'll ship to me instead of JoAnn's Monolith. any suggestions? I may need everything from cloth to hoop/frame; I know I still have needles, but I'm definitely going to need a good selection of threads, even if I do find my old stash. (reblogs ok)

it's trans day of visibility! so this is me, being visible as a trans enby. :P 💚

I will do my best not to post or boost any misinformation on April 1. if a thing is obviously a joke, actually *funny*, and not relating to anything important, I'll consider boosting it. otherwise... this just isn't the time. I'll be more rigorous about verifying sources, too, and for the next week as well, because some stuff always seems to linger (or be late). please let me know if I slip up so I can delete or unboost, and stay healthy and gentle, beautiful creatures. 💚

just put out peanuts for the crows and saw that Lefty is back! yay! XD

saw what I'm pretty sure are the very first crow fledglings of the season today--heard angry kazoos and saw a crow being followed by two others that were doing the beg-flap. I'd be surprised if my nearby family doesn't have a few kids getting about ready to fledge too, and I'm sure they'll be on my porch before long, being taught how to eat from the suet feeder and yell at me for peanuts. XD Junior's still with the family too--this is her third spring being a helper-aunt instead of going off to start her own nest. I don't mind; she's the one that seems the most comfortable with me, and does the quiet "gronk" talk to me when she meets me outside. ^______^

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tetris-shown-to-lessen-ptsd-and-flashbacks/ interesting article, hopefully helpful to someone. take care of yourselves and each other as best you can, dears. 💚

PkG has implemented more friend gifts in storage and more results per gift, so now's a great time to add more friends! I've been making an effort to hit my nearest PokeStop-rich park at least every other day, because Exercise (and hatching eggs and making my new Archen happy) is Good!

6322 5941 8648

ah, Moloch's jaws have opened again
promising showers of gold in exchange for
the usual business
business, as usual.

flames bellow forth releasing ashen clouds
where those ashes touch there is sickness
but that's convenient, isn't it?
toss the sick ones in the maw, it's just
business, as usual.

the priests smile, wave their hands, smile
all is well, you can absolutely trust us
we know what's best for you, for us, for
Moloch, the devourer, what's best is always just
business, as usual.

when its appetite is satiated
we will all know happiness peace and prosperity
close your eyes, give us your parents, be glad
we're taking them off your hands now
don't think of it as a sacrifice, it's just
business, as usual.

similarly, this is a *real* good time to keep a very close eye on any small humans you may have around. again, coyotes are normally wary of human contact, but right now they're getting bolder and possibly hungrier. don't risk it! also did I mention BEARS. I've heard reports of mountain lions coming into California suburbs.

THEY ARE NOT INVADING. they were here *first*. THEY ARE NOT MAD/BAD. they're just doing what they need to do to survive (it's baby season for them, too), and taking advantage of a sudden reduction in the number of apex predators (us, usually in cars). be alert, be aware, do not approach, for *crowyote's sake* DO NOT FEED THEM.

Nature is *here*. it's all around us, all of us. (if you live in the US and you don't think there's coyotes in your area you are almost certainly wrong) treat it with respect, and appreciate its resilience and strength as it pushes in around the boundaries of our world, but *stay safe*. it's your responsibility, not theirs.

if you're here for the wildlife rehab news, I wanted to pass on a tip: DO NOT LET YOUR PETS OUTSIDE UNSUPERVISED. it's a bad idea any time, but right now it's especially dangerous. I've heard several reports of coyotes attacking and killing dogs, and of bears hanging around the edges of the Seattle suburbs. wild animals are getting much bolder with much fewer humans around, and a lot of them are missing their usual food sources (crows, seagulls, and rats that forage on restaurant leavings and trash; coyotes that eat rats that are disturbed and flushed into the open by human activity), so they're expanding their territories into unusual areas, like potentially *your yard*.

COYOTES WILL ABSOLUTELY ATTACK DOGS. this is because dogs trigger the coyote's territorial instincts. one coyote can mess up a medium-sized dog; multiple coyotes (there's almost always more than one) can take down even large dogs. and small dogs... well. KEEP YOUR DOGS INSIDE AND UNDER SUPERVISION AT ALL TIMES.

coyotes *rarely* attack cats. this has been studied; they will attack cats that are injured or old, or kittens, but cats are usually far too agile and *pointy* to be prey for coyotes. RACCOONS WILL ABSOLUTELY ATTACK CATS. most cat attacks attributed to coyotes are actually from raccoons.

other things we currently have:
* a *lot* of pigeons omg
* several assorted small birds
* six yearling bears who are currently rambunctious as all hell and we're hoping to release them in the next couple of months (they're adorable but SO BIG and they eat SO MUCH)
* two two-month-old baby bears who are doing *great*, they've been eating well and they're now moving around on their own, yay!
* um
* we don't have the snake any more. it had gotten as good as it was going to get, and unfortunately it failed an "obstacle course" test (not sure what that involved, I really should ask, I'm curious) and it was put down. :( we still have no idea what was wrong with it in the first place.
* oh we still have the spotted skunk, who is doing much better! it's climbing properly, which is important because they're mostly arboreal, is out of vet care and is either cleared for release or will be very soon.
* I... honestly don't know if we currently have any raccoons. might have one adult out in the silos, but I didn't think to look/ask about it.
* two baby rabbits, one adult was released today.
* also didn't hear anything about the bobkitten but I assume we still have him, last I heard he was close to cleared for release too.
(end!)

which means that despite only having two volunteers for the morning shift, we were still able to accomplish all the major morning tasks. I helped with meds & tubings, which involved holding two pigeons, two gulls, a mallard, and a starling (we're taking starlings until April 1, after that we don't take them; they are invasive and if we accepted baby starlings we wouldn't have time for anything else). last week I also did meds & tubings and I don't remember exactly how many, but I'd guess I interacted with a half-dozen or less birds, including pigeons, gulls, a crow, a junco, and a finch.

we currently have a peregrine falcon who has a fracture in some part I didn't catch, a sharp-shinned hawk who... I don't remember what its problem is, THE OSPREY WHO WILL NEVER LEAVE OMG, *several* bats--the one with white nose is almost entirely recovered but we need to figure out how to make sure it's clear before we release it, and meanwhile we got another bat that may have white nose--um, I'm going to have to take these one at a time, I imagine. XD we do not currently have any trash (bald) eagles! the last one we had in care was released last week. it's unusual for us not to have *any* in care. (cont)

it's still slow, at least partially because of deliberate choices: they're not accepting baby gray squirrels at this time (gray squirrels aren't native; but they are accepting baby Douglas or flying squirrels, if anyone brings 'em in), because at the height of squirrel season they account for at least 30% of the shift work for 4-5 volunteers, plus 1-3 interns. there's some debate about it, but it's looking like if a "shelter in place" order comes down, volunteers will *not* be exempt; they'll only have paid staff to deal with all the critters they have, so they're pre-emptively declining the seasonal squirrel avalanche.

I suspect the other reason we don't have as many patients right now is due to the shutdowns currently in place. people aren't driving as much, so they aren't hitting opossums carrying babies or raccoons with families, and they aren't doing yard work as much, so less problems with unhomed squirrels, birds, and rabbits. and even if they do find an animal, once they find out we can't come pick it up a lot of people who call us decide to "let it go," or otherwise decide not to bring it in. (cont.)

I'm not 100% sure because I didn't make it inside (after standing in a line that didn't move for half an hour I decided I didn't need the stuff I was there to get that badly), and I can't find an announcement or news about it anywhere, but I believe that the Costco at Aurora Village is currently *limiting the number of customers allowed inside* at once. the entrance line went along the length of the building and into the parking lot *at 10:20 am* (and they open at 10 am).

IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON GOING TO COSTCO PREPARE FOR A POTENTIALLY *LONG WAIT*.

It's only Quarantine if it's in the Quarante province of France. Otherwise it's just Sparkling Isolation.
(from an unsourced FB meme)