Pippa Tales ~ Episode- Pippa takes a road trip
Pippa Tales! ~ Episode - Pippa Takes a Road Trip!
Hi everyone! It’s me Pippa again with an update.
If you are just tuning in, I’m an immature brown pelican, which is a lot of words to say I’m young, probably less than a year old.
At the end of march I tried to eat a filleted sheepshead carcass and well, that didn’t go so well. Those fish are very pokey like a porcupine and it got stuck in my pouch for a few days.
3 Hoomans came to my rescue! They used their hands to hold open my pouch, turn the fish around and pull it out.
Did you know I only have 4 toenails….have you seen how many fingers Hoomans have!? 3 people, 10 fingers each! OH My! So many fingers in my gullet! I like finger mullet but Hooman fingers, not so much.
Anyway, It took about 14 days for me to feel better. I was doing good. I visited Shelley almost every day and hung out with the dolphins and other pelicans.
I have a few funny stories to tell about those days, like the day I had the beak of another pelican in my gullet and couldn’t get it out! Oh and that pelican was stuck under water, oops. Not to worry, he came up just in time to get oxygen. Boy was he grumpy with me. It has been quite the adventure. More about that later.
Last week I started to feel sick, but not to worry, it’s not the bird flu. I was dehydrated and my gullet was yeasty keeping the fish from sliding down the hatch. I was hungry but the fish just stuck to my pouch. I could smell and taste the fish but couldn’t get it down the slide. So frustrating. Oh and I was popping a lot too. I hear that added to my dehydration.
I was tired, and struggling to catch my own fish. I may have eaten something bad for me. You see I’m a lot like a puppy who likes to put things in my gullet that I shouldn’t, you know like shiny objects. Shelley calls them plastic. When I do that, no matter where is, she yells, “PIPPA! No! That’s not food! Drop it!” Geeez, She gets so grumpy when I play with trash.
Since the local hospital is closed, Shelley has taken me under her wing. She found some very nice people who helped out but I wasn’t thriving on my own anymore. One of those very nice people found a place for me to go in St. Augustine. It’s about 70 miles from the lagoon. Shelley said, “This place is taking sea birds and can give you the medical attention you need to feel better."
I was a little nervous to leave the lagoon and my friends, but I trust my Hooman friends and went on my first car ride! WOW, I was mesmerized by the road. I watched where we were going the whole time. The hum of the road made me feel relaxed. Although it wasn’t as fun as flying, it was way less tiring than flying myself.
My new place has a large enclosed area where I can belly up to the sushi bar and eat all I want! Can you imagine, an all you can eat buffet! SO good. This is a good thing because I only weigh 8 pounds which isn’t bad but I'm a little on the skinny side they say.
They are checking me out to make sure they know why I wasn’t feeling good. Once I gain weight and get the all clear, I can be outside with the other birds and come and go as I wish.
How cool is that? If I struggle I can come back, visit the outside area and my new friends, and the best part is I can get more food. Speaking of food, I‘m not very good with numbers, like I said I only have 4 toenails to count with but I ate about 25 sardines yesterday! I have never eaten a sardine before, whoa, it was so tasty! I really, really like them! A total party in my gullet! YUM!
I miss Shelley and my dolphin friends, we spent the last 7 weeks together and feel I made friends for life. I am very grateful for all the help, love and support. So many kind Hoomans on social media giving an overwhelming amount of great ideas and resources. Thank you!
I’m not sure what the future holds but I’m certain the compassion of my Hooman friends, fish and sunny days are why I’m sill alive.
Stay tuned for more tales!
I don’t feel very good. Saturday 5.7.22
A little pep talk before the road trip
My first car ride
My new place for now. So many fish!