Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary, Sarasota - Florida

How It All Started

Every caring person can make a difference. Even more powerful, a dedicated team of employees and volunteers in Pelican Man Bird Sanctuary is making a huge difference in the life of more than sixty thousand migrating and native birds and other animals of Florida's Sarasota Bay.

It all started in 1981, when Dale Shields found a pelican, lying on the beach. The bird looked dead. When it finally moved its eyes, Dale rushed it home. At the time, there were no organizations that would be able to help, so the nursing took place in Dale's bathtub until the pelican was well enough to be released back into the wild.

During this experience Dale developed a vision to create a Wildlife Rescue of Sarasota and succeeded after eight years, in 1989. The construction of the Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary began with the generous help from the City of Sarasota. Throughout the last year alone the Sanctuary has rehabilitated and released over 4,000 birds into the wild.

Injuries

Some of the common injuries for which the birds are treated in Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary hospital are: wing, eye, leg and feet injuries, and beak damage.

And reasons for most of these and several other injuries?

There are many of them, including the environmental issues like polluted water and traffic struck. Fishing line entanglement and fishing hooks cause lots of troubles as well. Therefore, all the fishermen should keep in mind not to cut the line when a bird swallows a fishing hook. The hook has to be removed. Lots of injuries are caused from predator attacks as well.

One of the most surprising common injury reasons are hits by golf balls. In particular Sandhill Cranes are the victims of golfing quite often.

Since the wetland and grassland areas are smaller and smaller every year due to drainage projects, agricultural development and logging, these sensitive to disturbance and very majestic birds are trying to survive and look for new feeding and roosting habitats which include margins of lakes and ponds. Two very important factors for nesting location of sandhill cranes are isolation and presence of water. No wonder we find them at the golf courses.

Hospital

The backbone of the sanctuary is of course the hospital in which on average fifteen patients per day are treated. Wildlife Rescue volunteers bring the birds in after caring people report injured, sick or orphaned bird.

All of the birds are supposed to be released back in the wild. Unfortunately, that's not always possible. Some of the injuries are so severe that a survival is endangered. For that reason some birds are given a permanent home in natural, spacious habitat at the Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary.

And what better proves that this is a nice place to live than a choice of several wild birds to live and breed in or around the Sanctuary.

How You Too Can Help

Dale Shields passed away in 2003. His life was dedicated to wildlife despite his ill-health. But his vision survived. It is alive and growing with new areas developing in the Sanctuary and more being planned on.

If you, too, are concerned about the wildlife or just birds, it's easy to help this bird-and- visitor friendly and well maintained place. You have several choices and you can find one that suits your budget and interest with no hassle. If you are in the area, go visit and see the Sanctuary for yourself.

Recently constructed Heronry, the most advanced habitat at the Sanctuary for Herons, Ibis and Egrets, is focused on water and native wetland plants. This super-structure is designed for minimizing maintenance and disturbance to the birds. Any size of your help or donation improves the living conditions for all the birds that found safe home at the Pelican Man's.

Copyright © 2007 by Daria Perse. All rights reserved.

Why a Card? 10 People You could send a Thank You Note to - Today

We live in this fast paced world, snatching at some things that seem important at the moment, but don’t really add to our happiness; longing for goods or relationships that shall bring us bliss.

We are focused on everything we lack in our everyday life and forget to appreciate all the good stuff. Instead, we take the good things for granted. Even more so, we don't have time to appreciate the people and the relationships.

But today can be different. We can make someone’s day - it’s not all that difficult. Here’s and idea! Pick up a thank you note and send it to someone, who made your day one way or another; to someone who made you laugh; to someone who made your life feel brighter, sunnier or different; nicer on a single or several occasions.

Send a thank you card to someone who has done you a favor when you hadn’t even asked for one.

Send a greeting card to your mom for whatever good she did for you (and forgive all the times when she was negative).

Send a thank you quote to your dad for something nice you did together (and stop grieving about the things you expected and never received)…

Send a thank you note to that aunt who winked and understood - when no one else in your family did…

Don’t forget your child who made that precious drawing or a favor to you - which was a pure gift of unconditional love from the innocent heart.

You might all of a sudden feel a need to thank a dear friend, your neighbor, coworker or a relative for a special moment you had together or simply - for being themselves.

You can certainly make anyone’s day by sending a thank you note. It just might bring a smile on addressee’s face or even a tear in someone’s eye. Your card will plant a seed of happiness in recipient’s heart; this human being will go out and shine the love to the world.

Every act of kindness will come back to you ten fold. We still harvest what we sow. Hence, start planting some happiness, light, hope and love - today.

Simple Living Guide: Growing Up At 40 +

Lately, I am studying Sylvia Browne's books. If you've never heard the name – she is »One of America's Most Successful Clairvoyants« as stated on the front of her book Adventures of the Psychic. In my opinion, she is a lot more than that! I admire her (and her work) tremendously and I'd really like to know her in person.

As a result of my studies, I kind of signed »peace treaty« with my life and everything that's happening to me, with all the tough circumstances and events that were making me wondering for years, »Why me? Why do I have to go through so much? How did I deserve all that? Am I really such a bad person – or I was in a previous life???«

While questions like these and similar were constantly on my mind, I was probably missing the real purpose of my present earthly experience, which is learning and growing up – or - becoming a better soul…

One story from that same book (mentioned above) left me exceedingly amazed (and with a new question, of course). I know I am too tough on myself a lot of times… It made me very angry that I couldn't apply her discovery to my own problem and solve it instantly…

Anyway, Sylvia's problem was on and off inflamed bladder – for years. She couldn't understand or find the reason for it until mentioning it to her friend and saying how »her mother really pisses her off«… It always works like a magic. As soon as we understand the reason, the problem is not needed any more and the healing takes place instead.

In the last couple of months my most unpleasant concern was my body, gaining weight. Slowly, but steadily. Not being a kind of person that uses the personal scale, I have absolutely no idea how many pounds heavier I became. But when my clothes become too tight and I don't feel comfortable wearing them anymore, I get really upset. Since I don't eat that much too much, hardly any fast food, and had never had a serious weight problem in my life, the only answer available to me was the whole estrogen-hormonal period of my life. Some TV commercials keep »promoting« hormonal weight gain in women all the time, swearing it's the only possible reason for weight-gaining after you reach the magical age of thirty…

For some reason this answer didn't satisfy me and I kept wondering… Until a few hours ago. I erupted like a volcano and couldn’t stop saying things that really bother me in my relationship, in my everyday life. I felt very unhappy about certain things but kept them inside, not saying a word to a living soul.

Soon after losing the heavy load of unhappiness and suppressed thoughts, I realized that by letting go of my feelings, I will not gain another pound! If you have any doubts, ask me in about a month from today, if my clothes are still too tight…

Simple Living Guide: Possible Cure for Messy Toothpaste Disease

Is a messy toothpaste tube driving you crazy?

Let me tell you - you’re not the only one. I’m quite sure that toothpaste has been a popular reason for fights between spouses or family members since its appearance in our daily routine which (at least for some people) happened a long time ago…

Toothpaste History

3000 to 5000 years B.C. the Egyptians were already making a dental powder/crème out of powdered ashes of oxen hooves, myrrh, burned egg shells, pumice and water. This powder or paste was probably applied onto the teeth by fingers since the toothstick (predecessor ot the toothbrush) had not been invented yet.

Persians chose different ingredients in about 1000 B.C. Burnt shells of snails and oysters with gypsum were their magic formula.

Romans improved the recipes by adding (among others) some flavoring agents, which also counteracted bad breath.

Half a millennia later, around 500 B.C., we find records of toothpaste use in China and India as well.

Modern toothpastes appear in 1800 A.D., developed by doctors, dentists and chemists in Britain. They contained some very abrasive substances (brick dust, crushed china, earthenware, cuttlefish) and even sugar. The poor still rubbed their teeth using fingers and for the rich toothbrushes were available.

Mass production started in 1873 (by Colgate). Toothpaste was packed in a jar and for the first time in history it smelled good. U.S. Army included the brushing of teeth in their standard hygiene procedures in 1941.

Toothpaste Today

Nowadays, toothpastes come in a variety of colors, flavors, aromas, with fluoride or without it, with synthetic or natural ingredients, packed in plastic or tin tubes, dispensers etc. There’s one thing that hasn’t changed, however. Some people simply don’t mind spreading the toothpaste not only onto the toothbrush but all over the dispenser, the sink and probably other places also. Uppermost, they probably forget to put the cap back on the tube after use…

These sorts of (bad) habits can become a serious problem when such person shares the same bathroom with another kind of person who prefers toothpaste in a tube (always with the cap on when not in use) and on the toothbrush only.

Until today, I haven’t heard of any cure that would heal the "messy toothpaste disease". But I’ve had a chance to learn about an interesting and at the same time amusing method a young lady just started using in her bathroom. We’ll call it "Doro-Method". It involves putting up conspicuous post-it stickers with instructions around the area in question. By "conspicuous" I mean the size, the color and the wording you really can’t miss or disregard easily. And she’s told me so herself - it’s been working so far…

There’s no guarantee that the "Doro-Method" will work for you. In that particular house nobody ever comments on warnings or directions but they are being followed by every member of the household without exception.

See the photos of the "Doro-Method" used on toothpaste at: http://www.greetingcardservice.citymaker.com/page/page/3846992.htm