In Tennessee, spring whispers in slowly over a few weeks. The first signs that I notice are in the trees which surround our farm. They start showing colorful tinges of what will be their fall colors, light yellows, oranges and reds that begin inching their way from the branches of the sleeping trees and slowly they will transition to spring greens that are fresh and warm. The fields of the farms surrounding ours are planted with winter wheat and they begin to drown out the dreariness of winter by sprouting into beautiful fields of green. I'm from California, the home of the endless summer so spring happens much quicker there, that's probably one of the reasons that I'm so taken by the beautiful slow transitions from one season to the next here in Tennessee.
Most of us have been hunkered down in our homes for over a year now as the pandemic has swept across the country, and I for one have fought off days of depression from the loneliness and the disruption in my normal routines, like grocery shopping, movies, family trips and getting together with friends. Let us also not forget the change of going to the vet and having that personal contact with the face to face communication with the doctor, which has turned into sitting in the car while the masked vet tech comes to the car and takes my pet inside. Life has been so different in so many ways this past year.
Being a volunteer based organization, it's been harder for us to get out and help some of the dogs needing our help. Shelters have locked down outside visitors and cut their on site hours to a minimum. The flip side of this is that with so many people at home with more time on their hands, our requests for adoption are up and my phone is ringing all day long with people wanting to adopt from us. I have had to explain to so many that the pandemic has brought us to a near halt and the few dogs that we have taken in have been in desperate need of medical and long term care. I want to thank those volunteers who have taken such good care of these little ones who require so much more of their attention.
Patti Kushnir and Marge Williams both have unbelievable medical challenges ahead. In spite of their own needs, both have continued to reach out and help where they were needed or could offer a helping hand. Please hold these two amazing women in your prayers. I light my angel candle for them daily.
I want to thank all of you for continuing to believe in and support the work we are doing. I'm hopeful that soon we will return to our normal active busy lives.
love...
MaryElizabeth
