Thankful Thursday
1) We released an adult male Goldfinch this morning. The guy who found him and brought him to us is very cool, a rough-and-tumble ex-Marine who served in Vietnam and now works in construction. You'd like him! He's loud and physical and sometimes claps me on the shoulder so hard, he almost knocks me over, but he has a heart of gold. He is forever showing up at the front door with a bunny or a little bird. Last year, he brought us almost a dozen animals. His construction buddies give him so much grief for it, but war changed his world view. He now treasures life in all its forms and refuses to apologize or be embarrassed by it. It's always a pleasure to be able to tell him one of his saves made it out.
2) And I'm thankful for Burt's Bees Poison Ivy Soap! It says it's "a unique blend of jewelweed, clay and pine tar." So far, along with copious applications of Calendula ointment, it's doing a great job of helping me tolerate the insane itching of both arms due to a too-close encounter this past weekend. Apparently, over the winter, the Boston Ivy in the rocky area beside our house formed an evil alliance, allowing the P.I. to infiltrate and lie in wait for unsuspecting gardeners. But that will only work once! I'm onto them now. I'll be back - with longer sleeves next time.