Oasis Diary - January 2002

---

Dear Friends,

It is early January 2002 as I write. The days here in Southern Arizona are mostly warm, sunny and breezy, reaching the 60s by midafternoon. But the nights can be chilly. The birds have tarps covering the aviaries, which we designed with flaps for us to open every morning and re-close diligently every evening before sunset. Some of the birds have additional supplemental heat from donated heating panels. Still others, the elderly or compromised, have been moved indoors until Spring.

We have been at this new location here in Cascabel for a year and four months. It is beautiful and quiet. We love it, as do the birds. However, it is very different from the big-city life of Phoenix and we are still adjusting. The community (you can't call it a town or even a village!) is so small and remote that volunteers on site on a regular basis are difficult to come by. There are four of us here on a daily basis, caring for the over 300 birds who call The Oasis home. The days are long. There are no holidays. But there is nothing else we'd rather be doing…

Guests have traveled down the long dirt road to visit with us this past year. It has been wonderful meeting so many of you! If you plan a trip to the Southwest, please call us and let's arrange a time to introduce you to the birds at The Oasis!

On a more somber note: The sad events of September 11th affected The Oasis in very noticeable ways…

While we are a long way from New York City, the effects of the terrorism have been far-reaching. Along with all charitable organizations (other than those directly dealing with the rescue and recovery efforts) we have felt severe financial effects. As a result, we found ourselves setting aside our plans for a new bird building for the immediate and foreseeable future. Instead, we have focused on enlarging the existing bird building by enclosing a back porch to create a kitchen. Additionally, we are in the completion stages of refurbishing a donated trailer to be The Oasis' veterinary clinic and hospital. We are reaching out to corporate and other sponsors, looking for another trailer to create office space and "guest quarters". We found it surprisingly reasonable to gut and rework the one we were given!

Note: Right now we are working on the Oasis' 2002-2003 speaking schedule. Any clubs, animal welfare organizations, schools and so forth who are interested in having a representative from The Oasis Sanctuary come to speak, please call Sybil (520) 212-4737 (3-6PM AZ. Time, preferably) or Charlotte (602) 863-1543 to discuss arrangements.

Sybil Erden, Director/CEO
The Oasis Sanctuary
January 5, 2002

---