All things bright and beautiful: The Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary and Anne
The Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is a non-profit organization located on 460 acres of natural habitat in Rosseau, Ontario. It is dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing injured, sick, and orphaned Ontario wildlife, while also providing permanent homes to animals that cannot survive in the wild.
https://www.aspenvalley.ca/our-story
My high school friend Connie Hueston, of London, Ontario, has a charitable foundation, which, among other causes, supports five wildlife sanctuaries, including Aspen Valley, in particular its “soft release” program whereby they release an animal back into its habitat, but provide food and supervision. Connie tells me that their first “soft release” involved a pair of orphaned Fishers, a brother and sister whose mother was killed by a vehicle.
To honour my recently departed wife, Anne, who loved “all things bright and beautiful/ All creatures great and small,” Connie made a memorial donation to Aspen Valley.
Our entire family is deeply moved by this kind, profoundly symbolic act. It is helping us experience a “soft release.”
https://www.aspenvalley.ca/ways-to-donate
https://hymnary.org/text/each_little_flower_that_opens
Your friend,
Robert
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/
If you feel like reading more about Anne’s cancer journey, I’ve chronicled it in prose and poetry here:
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/news/
