Shop at our store!

Been a bit of time since I last blogged, I am getting back into the groove. Slowly.... Gayle has done a great job getting some great merchandise on the website store. I have purchased several of the things and I like the selection a lot. PLEASE check out the merchandise. I love everything with Oscar on it! I also use the Sleepy Barred Owl notecards all the time as thank you notes and sorry I missed your birthday cards. We need to sell items to make it worthwhile to keep the feature and raise money for our mission. Have you started holiday shopping yet? The thought makes me want to scream, I saw my first christmas commercial the other night on tv. It was actually a nice relief from all of the nasty mudslinging campaign commercials. Still depressing that fall is ending so fast. Look at the website store, buy something for that hard to shop for person and then put a note in with the gift that a donation has been made to NY Wildlife Rescue Center in their name. I'd much rather have that then anything else. We will send a note to the person informing them of the donation and put it on the list of donors on the website.
Since last time, two weeks ago, on October 9th, I took a bunch of our educational birds to Glimmerglass State Park in Cooperstown for a program. Nearly 100 folks showed up, it was a great day and I really enjoyed sharing the Raptors and our message of conservation and preservation. This past weekend, we had several Boyscouts come and help around the farm. After a tour, we worked most of the day inside the barn getting stone dust into the Raptor Aviairies. It takes a couple of weekends to get our facility winterized but we are well underway.
This past monday, MCS Schoharie County History Students and I were working in the Negro Cemetery for the course community service requirement. Thanks to Ms. Bates and the Middleburgh Historical Society for a great lunch as usual. Tomorrow night I am doing a program for the Middleburgh Rotary Club on the Wildlife of Africa. It should be a nice change (for me) from my normal programs on NYWRC.
Ive cancelled my reservations to attend the NY Wildlife Rehabilitators Conference this weekend in Grand Island, NY. I have attended the last several years, the classes are really educational but money is pretty tight right now (as it always is). I know that times are tight for everyone. I saw on the news last night that contributions to charities and not for profits are down 28% last year alone. I think that my small gifts for "hard to buy for" people will be small donations to some of my favorite charities, NY Wildlife Rescue Center Store will be the first place I shop...:) Pssssstttt, tell everyone you know to clean out their freezers, we can use the meat. Till next time, WES