Hoots, Howls, and Hollers 06/22/2009

This last week was spent doing an odious task. We have been offered some donated office space until we finally get settled into new digs, and this necessitated emptying two trailers that we have been using temporarily. They were stuffed! This was one of those tasks that it was just hard to get into. It entailed culling old un-needed stuff, packing, organizing and then disassembling furniture, computers, telephones, etc. You know the drill. And, someone has to be the wrangler and take the bull by the horns.

So, by now most of you know that our Operations Director, Terry Stevens, is among other things the producer of This Week at Liberty, an education provider and eagle handler, a rescue and transport guru, and he can fly and land really big airplanes. However, here’s something you might not know about Terry. He can pack a U Haul trailer like he is playing a game of Tetris. And, that is what he did last week. Nina and Brian Grimaldi, Jan and Joe Miller, Melissa Hughes and blessed David Gort came to our rescue during the effort to help with the task. The other end of the job was another exercise in organized (or not) unpacking and repacking, but for now the job is done, and we can go back to some amount of normalcy.

What I am suggesting as “some amount of normalcy” should include noticing beautiful moments. Some of the things that recently registered with me include the following:

· Seeing the look of wonder on the faces of the two youngsters who toured Liberty with their fathers last week.

· Seeing the quick flash of the iridescent red crown and throat of an Anna’s hummingbird buzzing my fountain.

· Watching a jackrabbit catch air as it darts away.

· The nape of a golden eagle as the sun hits it—no wonder it is called a golden eagle.

· Rounding a corner and running smack dab into a yard of blooming cacti—all different colors and shapes—here today and gone tomorrow.

· An empty space where the trailer was—there yesterday and gone today.

Enough said.