Astonishing Guest List!

The amazing Tucson Wildlife Center recently had a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new state-of-the-art animal hospital. Here's a list of their animals receiving care on April 4. As you can see, in just the last 3 months they have rescued and cared for 177 animals! WOW!

Donor Flower ~

At the ribbon cutting ceremony here is Dee Kidd, Executive Director of the Tucson Wildlife Center, standing with the Center's magnificent donor recognition sculpture. This fun century plant sculpture displays the names of the Center's major donors on the blossoms. A beautiful way to say 'thank you' to their generous donors!

Bubba Greets the Crowd ~

The Tucson Wildlife Center celebrated a milestone - the ribbon cutting ceremony of their new state-of-the-art hospital facility! And what a celebration it was! Mayor Rothschild and Vice Mayor Scott came to assist in the ribbon cutting, TV news crews were busy filming, and through it all, Bubba (one of the Center's permanent residents) fascinated visitors.

This wonderful facility was made possible through the generosity of Sam Goldman who wanted to help heal and rehabilitate injured wildlife. This hospital is a Tucson treasure and I encourage you to visit their website to learn more about them. Here is Joan Cass, one of the Center's many dedicated volunteers, with Bubba.

Appropriately named ~

And here is the last in this series from Kathi's garden ~ Yellow Bird of Paradise. Which is just about how Tucson feels now. The cold has passed and we are not yet into the triple digits!
Photo courtesy of Kathi Gardner.

Nature's Neon ~

Here's one more photo of Tucson in bloom. The colors on these flowers are so vivid!
Photo courtesy of Kathi Gardner.

Tucson in full bloom ~

The prickly pear is ubiquitous in Tucson and typically we think of the green variety. This beautiful purple prickly pear is called the Santa Rita. It was discovered in (and named after) Tucson's Santa Rita Mountains. Gorgeous, isn't it?
Photo courtesy of Kathi Gardner.

At the corner of wacky and wild ~

Here's more examples of the imaginative and fun work of the Village Blacksmith.