By LAURA QUEZADA News Review Staff Writer– Longtime Ridgecrest resident, Stacie Wheeler, Owner of Reliant Mobile Live Scan and Notary, can provide services in the comfort and privacy of your home or business; or she can provide services in her welcoming home office. One minute with Stacie and you will know you are in the hands of a professional.
Certified as a Notary Public and a Notary Signing Agent, Wheeler is Department of Justice and FBI approved. She acquired these essential skills while she was working as a Speech Pathologist in Antelope Valley (AV). “While I was there, I had access to AV college and I thought, ‘What classes could I take there that I couldn’t take in Ridgecrest?’ So I went back to school full time taking real estate courses and learned everything I could. In that process, I thought I might be more valuable in a real estate office if I were a notary.”
Over the years her work as a Speech Pathologist required her to have Live Scans – digital fingerprinting, as it is with many professions. Live Scan results are not shared, requiring a new scan for each job that requires one as do many volunteer positions. In the past, Wheeler would often have to go out of town to get her Live Scan because there wasn’t the availability and timeframe she needed here in Ridgecrest. So, she realized this was an unmet need for the valley.
As part of her commitment to professionalism and customer service, she makes the process as smooth as she can for her clients. Thus, the home or office visit service and an inviting home office.
There is an unexpected visual treat at her home office. Two large windows fill the room with natural light and behind them is a 10’ X 30’ aviary filled with colorful parakeets and a pair of finches. She was inspired to build her aviary based on the one at Bella Sera Skilled Nursing Facility of Ridgecrest Regional Hospital.
About 20 years ago Wheeler worked there as a Speech Pathologist when it was Beverly Manor and the 4’ X 8’ aviary was filled with cockatiels. “I thought I wanted to build something similar so my first bird cage was a 4X8 cage that mimicked the one from Beverly Manor.” She decided against cockatiels because they are “screamers.” Parakeets are “always happy and chipper little birds and they come in a lot of great colors. After years of hauling that cage in the garage every winter and out every spring I just decided to use the space on my patio for something different.”
She doesn’t consider herself an expert, but she takes great care of her feathered friends. Misters keep them cool in the summer and a windproof cover and heaters keep them warm and cozy in the winter. She never wants to give any of them away because she can’t bear to think of them in a small cage after the freedom they have in her aviary.
Over the years she has learned so much about them from their behavior. For example, she says she doesn’t want to add more male parakeets because she has plenty. But parakeets aren’t like other species where the males are bright and colorful and the females are dull, “traditional green parakeets have an area above their beak – if it’s blue it’s a male and if it’s brown it’s a female. When you get into some of these more mottled colors they’re all brown so you have to kind of look at behavior. The males are always trying to impress a female; they’re wanting to get close to them; they want to tap their beaks; they want to feed them. The males are also much more talkative, the females are much more quiet.
“I never set out to be a breeder,” she says, “but if my numbers get low instead of buying birds I just breed my own. I have enough birds from different places that I don’t have to worry about integrating bird genetics and I have enough colors where it’s often interesting.” All she has to do is put out an empty gourd (they throw out bedding) and the parakeets lay eggs.
When asked where her fascination for these little fliers come from she says she doesn’t know. Her first pet, Rainbow, was a parakeet, but she doesn’t remember any “heartstring feelings towards the bird. To be honest, I’m more of a dog and horse person.” Plus, her sister always pointed out that when Wheeler created art, it was of birds. Until she built her first aviary she hadn’t had birds as pets again but she always fed wild birds and hummingbirds.
The aviary is very entertaining. “It’s very interesting watching the flock mentality. They have rest time, grooming time, eating time. The morning is their flight time. It’s really interesting just watching them behave like a flock because I think the aviary is almost big enough so they can do that.”
For whatever reason this beautiful visual oasis is a part of her home office and almost makes one want to need something notarized.
