it's been quite a long last month and i haven't found the time or energy to blog as of late, but i think i'm back up for the task! one of the new things i've found to do here in maui is to volunteer at the maui humane society on one of my days off from the facility. i am in charge of walking and socializing the dogs that are there. now you may think, "wow, that doesn't seem like a very big deal." but it is more important that one would think. many of the dogs come in badly abused with cuts all over them or covered in ticks and extremely emaciated from neglect. despite all they've been through, many of them still want nothing more than to lick your face and show you the love they wish you'd return. it breaks my heart to see how much these dogs give without having ever had anyone show them any kindness in return. thus i walk and play with these dogs in order to give them at least 15 minutes worth of the joy that they have so deserved in their life. volunteering there is definitely one of the hardest things i've ever done since i know that it is a shelter that euthanizes animals that are not adopted after a certain amount of time. when i see the same dog week after week i begin to worry, "will i see them next week and if not was it because they were adopted and if so how much longer do they have left here?" even if none of the dogs i walk ever get adopted i want to know that they had some love in their life and that's really the only thing that keeps bringing me back there when my heart has such a hard time dealing with it.

on a happier note, i finally got a few pictures of one of our maui parrotbill in his enclosure. i'm actually pretty proud of these pictures because these guys have the worst ADHD i've ever seen and can't stand still for more than a second. so, capturing a picture of more than just their behind hopping away from you can be quite tricky. this is our single male, gonzo, who will hopefully be getting a mate soon as breeding season is already beginning. hopefully we'll get at least one parrotbill chick this year as i hear they are incredibly cute and have included a picture of a newly hatched chick from a couple years ago. i have also included a copy of an amazing watercolor painting of a couple of our mapas that a past intern recently painted. it definitely makes me want to get back into drawing and maybe even move up to painting, especially now that i actually have subject matter that is so rare and so beautiful and needs so badly to be shown to the world.