There is a bird in my bathroom and crickets in my coat

I’m not sure how many people have experienced hosting a sick bird in their bathroom or walking around with a bag of cricket tucked into their coat, but it’s all in a normal day’s work at Marsh Haven Nature Center. Driving home keeping crickets warm inside my jacket on this cold winter day got me thinking about the strange experiences I’ve had since becoming a part of the nature center. Some of these don’t even seem all that strange to me anymore, which is mildly concerning!

One of our doves appeared ill one day, so I took him home in a hospital cage with a heating pad on the bottom to create more warmth and a cover to keep out noise. I wanted him close by to that I could watch and observe his condition. He did visit the vet who gave us some antibiotics and antifungal medication and within a week, he was feeling much better and back to his old, happy, cooing self. But, for a week and a half, this bird lived in our bathroom - safely away from the dogs and in the only room with consistent heat and humidity. Visitors were told, don’t mind the bird in the bathroom, he’s only here to visit. This wasn’t the first, or I’m sure the last animal visitor to our home.

Today I stopped at the pet store to buy some dog food and picked up a bag of crickets so that I could feed Fred, the tarantula, later in the day. It was a bit chilly and I didn’t want the insects to freeze before getting them to the nature center, so I tucked the bag of crickets inside my coat and zipped it up. I could hear them rustling around inside the bag, but figured they were pretty toasty. I also went through the drive through at the bank with my insect addition, wondering if anyone had a clue to what I was hiding away under my coat. Some might think me crazy, others might see me as dedicated, but really I just do what needs to be done at the time it all needs to happen.

Other humorous and not so funny things that I can recall happening include:

• Spilling worm juice all over my jacket, scarf and pants while moving the vermiculture bin (yes, the stains did come out in the wash!)
• Warning the family not to open a certain bag in the freezer because it contained frozen mice intended for the corn snake (there have been numerous other "surprises" in the freezer that I won't even mention!)
• Walking through tall grass and coming out the other side covered in stick tight weed seeds – (that took some time and patience to remove!)
• Taking kitchen scraps from my house out to the chickens and having the scrap bucket end up on the floor of my car (of course the lid came off!) 

I’m sure there are many more, and I will add to the list as they either happen or I remember.