Today is the last day of 2020. I have lost track of the times I have heard/read the phrase “a year like no other”, or something similar. It is a statement that frames our new reality. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the way we live world-wide. Actions we took for granted – going to the office, celebrating milestones (good and not-so-good ones), traveling together – all of them changed. We miss meeting friends and family face-to-face. And too many families have lost loved ones.
So far we’ve been lucky: all in my immediate and extended family are still alive. Plans changed, but we still live in our “bubbles”, and hope to gather again “soon”. Technology helps us stay in touch, and lets me work from home. We remember to count our blessings, and try to see the silver lining in our lives.
The year went by without the posts I had hoped to write. It seems fitting to show some of the frost flowers that I captured in December. After spending so much of the year indoors, I wondered if I would be able to find any. As temperatures dropped below freezing, I bundled up and headed out to try. I’m happy to report I did find some, and wanted to share the images with you. Thank you for visiting; stay safe!
Cooler weather in the southeastern United States can be a bit frustrating for outdoor photography activities. Snow events are rare, and we usually end up with rain, or sleet. But in late fall, and early winter, we can search, and hope to find frost flowers. We need air temperatures of 32°F or below, and vegetation that is still actively bringing water up from its roots system, and up its stem. As the water freezes, it expands and extrudes thru the stem. The ice ribbons that form in the process keep growing away from the stem. I’ve seen frost flowers form close to the ground, or higher up longer stems. They usually don’t last long past sunrise. But if they are located in shaded areas, and the temperature doesn’t rise above freezing, they can last for a couple of hours.
I saw my first frost flowers in November, 2018, and constantly search for them on my way to work when the conditions are right. If I’m lucky, I can spend ten to twenty minutes in the field, and photograph as many as I can. Here are some examples of my favorite captures. Make sure to search for them when you can!
We knew Patches’ time was running short. When he was diagnosed with a heart murmur in March 2016, we were told the mean life expectancy was between 2-5 years. His heart failure crisis in March of 2018 had shown us how quickly things could deteriorate. He managed to recover, and his quality of life was back to normal. We enjoyed a great year, but on March 22, 2019 he suddenly lost movement of his right hind leg. We rushed him to our vet, and we were told blood clots had developed, and that his condition would not improve. Letting him go peacefully was the hardest things we’ve done in a long time. Learning to move on was the next one.
We wondered how Socks would react to being a single cat. He had always been the independent one, but wondered if he would like being alone. Not only did he adapt, he never gave any signs of missing his brother. That angered me at times, because they had been together all of their lives. But he was happy, enjoying having a choice of laps at the end of the day, and we moved on… until a week ago. On December 22, nine months after losing Patches, Socks crossed the rainbow bridge. He had a good morning: breakfast was served on time, and he enjoyed a long brushing. Then, as we were getting ready for our breakfast, we hear a loud thump in the bathroom. Socks had collapsed, and did not respond to his name. We drove him to the emergency vet, and we were told that he was gone. He probably had a heart attack, or a blood clot, but we’ll never know.
We never have enough time with our loved ones, humans or otherwise. But while we always want “more time”, that is not up to us. The best we can do is not take our family for granted, pay attention to the moments we have together, and build memories for the time when we will not be together. I’ve been a pet photographer for years, and always advocate to take portraits on a regular basis. I am glad that I took candids of our everyday life, especially now when our routines are gone. But I still wish I had captured some of their quirks better. Patches was always ready for the camera, and I have more images of him than of his brother. Socks barely tolerated my attempts, so I tried to let him be, and did not “pester” him with the lens. I’m glad I did continue to photograph him despite his preferences, but I wish I had photographed him more.
Our condo is too quiet these days. The familiar meows or pounding runs upstairs are missed. Friends have asked us if we’ll get more cats soon. But while there are thousands of felines in need of good homes, we need time to grieve, and let our hearts heal. We miss our boys, and they cant’ be replaced. In time, I hope we’ll be ready to love again. We made a donation after Patches’ death to Friends of Rescue, so that a feline could be sponsored into their program. We intend to make a similar donation in Socks’ name after the holidays to a second homeless pet group.
This last image was taken on December 2017. I walked in the bedroom, and found them on J’s lap. Surprised not to have them rush out of bed for their evening treat, I took several candids with my iPhone. This was the best of the series. We’ll miss them forever, but are glad that they were a part of our lives.
Give your pets a hug while you can. I wish I could.
In the past three weeks I’ve been able to interact with a very cool cat. Friends of Rescue (FOR) volunteers call him “Mr. Dude”. He’s a very friendly cat, and is constantly searching for attention. In fact, he can be very difficult to photograph because he’s always trying to get really close!
Mr. Dude is a big kitty, so be ready to stay put for a while if he manages to get on your lap.
He rarely takes no for an answer, and will remind you he also needs time with you…
If you are looking for an affectionate kitty, and would like to meet Mr. Dude, please contact FOR at info@forrescue.net.
December, the last month of the year. 2018 is almost gone. It has been a busy year, but my blog was not updated. Here is a summary of what went on:
The time I dedicated to photographing fosters with FOR was reduced. But this non-profit continues to save lives, and makes a big difference for animals and humans alike. There are still too many dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens that need help. It is heartbreaking to know that so many are still euthanized, but every life saved deserves to be celebrated. FOR volunteers are amazing!
My husband and I teamed up with FOR to work with feral cats. As a result, three young feral sisters were spayed, and brought to their new home in January. They spent a month in a cage, being fed and taken care of by a single caretaker so they could get used to their new territory, and (hopefully) start trusting the human that took care of them. They were released in early February, and a small group of volunteers continues to take turns providing food, and water, and keeping watch for sightings of the newly released members of the community. These days we have daily interactions with two of the original three cats, and hope the third one is still in the area (just not willing to interact with us). A separate entry will chronicle the evolution of this part of our lives, and the ups and downs of this rewarding experience.
Patches, one of my two indoor cats, had a medical crisis. He was diagnosed with heart disease in 2016. In March he had severe complications that descended into “heart failure“. His lungs accumulated fluid, making it difficult to breathe. Our vet contacted a specialist in Nashville, TN, and after removing part of the fluid we drove north late in the afternoon. Patches spent 36 hours in an “oxygen tent”, and the vet clinic’s staff stabilized him and saved his life. Almost nine months later, he has a “new normal” life. Medications keep him going, and we drive him to Nashville every three months for evaluation.
It’s time to look back, be thankful for our experiences, mourn our losses, and look forward to the next year. I intend to write about this in the next three weeks. I hope you will find it useful!
2017 is long gone, and January 2018 is well on its way. It is always good to look back, evaluate what was accomplished, and decide what to do in the coming days. I was happy to see that I worked with many Friends of Rescue’s fosters and foster families. Of course, this is but a fraction of the 1,337 cats and dogs of all ages that they rescued last year, but every bit helps. You can follow their work through their FaceBook page or their web page. If you would like to join forces with this wonderful group, please reach out to them at info@forrescue.net.
Animal rescue involves time and devotion. And, never doubt it, it is hard work. Volunteers do their best to save as many homeless pets as they can, nursing them back to health, teaching them to trust humans, and finding them loving homes. Along the way, each dog/cat makes his/her way into our hearts. And while it is hard to let them go when they are adopted, we can only save new ones if we move current fosters to forever homes.
It is rare for me to see fosters multiple times, and that is as it should be. If I see them several times it means they have not been adopted. But every once in a while I get to see them just as they arrive to foster care, and observe how they change as they receive the care of foster families. This was the case of four kittens I met for the first time in mid-May. They had just been brought to a temporary safe house after being found together without a momma cat. They were scared, and huddled together as far away from the enclosure door as they could.
When I saw them again two weeks later, they were getting comfortable with people coming in and out of the room where they were staying, and while not coming to greet us they were not running away.
I was thrilled to see three of them again the first Sunday of July. Loving care shows in the way they moved among humans during the Friends of Rescue (FOR) kitten party. Here they are: Sally,
Spot,
and Charlotte.
Sadly, the fourth sister (Bella, the kitten with a black nose) died after I saw her in late May. The sadness felt by her loss is tempered by the hope felt for her sisters’ future. I will remember them all, and am glad to have met them. These three sisters are still available for adoption. If you are interested in them or any of FOR’s fosters, please email them at info@forrescue.net.
The first two months of 2017 have been unusually warm. Flowers of tulip poplar trees in Marshall Space Flight Center were in full display a month earlier than in 2016!
Spring is about to begin. Kitten season is coming. Please come back soon to meet some of Friends of Rescue’s fosters, or visit their web (www.forrescue.net) or Facebook pages (https://www.facebook.com/FORrescue/).
Another year gone… 2016 is part of our past. It’s been several months since I posted entries in this blog. Life is complicated, and the best intentions won’t keep us on the path we thought we wanted to follow…
Fortunately, while I did not manage to keep up with my writing, I did find time to photograph more of Friends of Rescue’s fosters. I am happy to report that I worked with 182 felines, 70 canines, and one mini horse. But this was just a fraction of the animals FOR rescued. By year’s end FOR reported that they had rescued 1,004 animals… and then in the last week of the year they saved 30 more. Bravo!
These are some of the faces I met in 2016. Some were adopted locally, some moved out of the TN Valley, and some did not make it… but will be remembered with love forever.
