Since there are two of us, wouldn't you think we
could finish a book in record time? Sure, we both have busy lives. We have
husbands, kids, grandkids, housework, other careers and hobbies (well, Tia has
hobbies, Dani just plays) but that's another blog for a later time. Like we
said, we are both fully committed to our writing. So what happens that we can't seem, to finish
a project?
Life happens. Not always in a mundane way.
Take the other day for example. Our plan was to meet
up at Tia's house and not leave until we had completed the next phase of
editing our work in progress. Which, by the way, it is going to be an awesome
blend of the present and past, with elements of paranormal, regression, and
plenty of romance. But when Dani pulled into Tia's driveway she was met with a
frantic Tia waving her arms. She needed help with an unexpected emergency.
The emergency was a baby bird that had fallen from
its palm tree nest near the front of Tia's house. Tia was certain it was an owl
and we needed to find a rescue place quick. Someone needed to come get the bird
before it died. She had already called two places who both told her they don't
take in raptor species. Raptors?!? Aren't they supposed to be those honking,
huge birds during the dinosaur age?
We made several more calls to animal shelters and
finally were directed to a place that would take in raptors. Only problem, they
didn't pick up. We had to deliver.
Twenty minutes later we had packed the back seat of
Dani's car with the make shift cage, which was really a crate with a lid over
the top to hold the tiny ball of white feathers. Off we went with the
directions programed into the GPS system. It took us almost 45 minutes on the
freeway to the exit we needed to take us north to Cave Creek and the bird
hospital.
At this point, we should let you know Dani is not
really fond of birds. Not that she doesn't like them, it's just she's sorta
afraid of them.
When she called her husband to let him know where
she was headed he said, "You are what?"
"Rescuing a bird."
"That's what I thought you said. You have a bird in your car?"
"Yes. We are saving his life."
"Ooookay. Good luck"
Meanwhile Tia is yelping and leaning over the seat, trying
to keep the tiny owl from squeezing through the holes in the grate and jumping
out of the box. Miniature fuzzy feathers are flying everywhere. With all the
commotion we missed the turn off and had to do a U-turn and go back to where
the GPS was insisting we should go in the first place. It was a winding dirt
road with large pot holes. We bounced along making the odd turns, when told by
the voice that seemed quite sure of where we were going. Us not so much.
In the distance we saw a sign and perched on top was
a metal hawk with the large wings spread wide. WILD AT HEART. Yep, we had
reached our destination.
Relieved we pulled in and parked. Not only had we arrived safe and sound, our little owl was still alive. Tia retrieved her precious cargo from the back seat. Dani stayed a safe distance away.
Off we went to find a doctor.
We were greeted immediately and our little guy was taken to be examined.
After a thorough examination we were assured he would be fine. He was wrapped in a warm blanket and placed into an incubator where he would be watched for several days. Then they broke the news to Tia that her baby was not an owl but actually a falcon.
"What!" Tia exclaimed. "It must be an
owl. He's so small and his feathers are white. And just look at his cute little
face. He must be an owl?"
The examining veterinarian assured Tia her bird was
definitely a falcon.
While we were in the critical-care room, a landscaper from the near-by golf course brought in a severely injured hawk.
We were allowed to stay and watch as they examined him, feed him an antibiotic stuffed into a dead baby mouse. (Here's where Tia nearly lost it…Abandoned baby bird fine. Poor dead baby mouse…ugh.)
Who knew?
Once our sweet raptor was snuggled in and sleeping, we were invited to look around at all the wild raptor birds they had in their outside sanctuary. We could stay as long as we wanted. Tia immediately took advantage of their generous offer and pulled along the reluctant Dani outside to see the many different kind of birds.
It was a wonderful day of adventure. Needless to say we didn't get any writing done that day, but we did help save a life.
Which is okay because there's always tomorrow.
And who knows, our little adventure might just end
up in a book someday.
Wild At Heart is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Arizona's native birds of prey. http://wildatheartraptors.org/
To find out more about the writing team Tia Dani and our books visit us at:
https://tiadaniauthor.wordpress.com/
To purchase click this link.
http://amzn.com/B00EVXABV0
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