Good Morning All,

Yep! We are still here and trudging along. But boy, oh boy am I in-tune
with the weather these days!! I watch the Weather Channel now more than
anything else on TV it seems.

Since early April, it's been non-stop storm front, after storm front,
after storm front.....tornadoes, thunderstorms, heavy rains, flooding,
and, of course, the Mississippi River 100-year flood. Good Lord! The
ferrets are enduring the, what seems to be ever-constant, severe
weather changes and they appear less and less stressed out by those
changes in the weather...even this morning with the strong
thunderstorms that passed through this area, they seemed unphased and
pretty much slept through it all. When we have power, I keep the radio
on for them to muffle the thunder and any other scary noises that come
through. Keeping our power on and the ferrets cool is of paramount
concern for me daily as the temps are in the 90's and now approaching
the 100's.

Our house has pretty much held together since the initial three storms
that almost took out the ferret room (twice), the laundry room/kitchen,
fencing, storage shed, and the roof. We are patiently waiting for the
insurance claims to be settled and we can assess what we can do for
the money received from those claims. We also are waiting to see what
contractors are doing the best job in this area before we proceed as we
know the rebuilding will cause more stress on the ferrets and we only
want them to endure all the chaos once and be done with it -- so we
want the best we can afford. We also lost our hot water heater - and
what a mess that was...water everywhere! And, our air conditioner
malfunctioned but we were luckily able to get it going again with the
air only out for about 14 hours during the evening hours and morning.
We had power and were able to keep the ferrets cool with fans until
the air conditioner was repaired. We have had a spring wrought with
problems and heavy expenditures but, all in all, we are hanging in
there!

Unfortunately, we were unable to return any of the flooding ferrets to
their owners as their homes were declared uninhabitable once the waters
receded. It really was nasty! These folks are, in some cases, still
looking for a permanent residence. We are holding them in hopes their
owners will reclaim them in the near future once their lives stabilize.
We are still struggling with a little high-white silver boy found by
the River during the peak of the Mississippi River flooding by the
local sheriff's department. He is finally eating on his own but he is
way too thin. No medical reason for this has been found, we are
treating him as a stressed-out fuzzie. Maybe homesick as well...

Still have our two Smithville boys and will probably have them for some
time to come. We hold out hope that the young boy will be reunited with
his ferrets and his doggies once a permanent home can be established
for him. We keep in contact with him in his foster situation and we
pray for him daily.

I am soo far behind in my thank-yous! So many nice folks helped us
along during these difficult times: food for the ferrets; gift cards
for supplies for the ferrets; and bedding. I cannot express my
gratitude enough. Fuzzie kisses and whiskered hugs go out to all of you
from my kids. I had also received so many nice cards during my recovery
from the automobile accident in January - but unfortunately, those
cards and letters were thrownout by mistake during the cleanup from the
water damage from the roof coming apart. The box that I had them in for
replies were inadvertently thrownout by a friend thinking they were
trash since they were soaked. I am soo sorry for that...

A special thanks to F.E.R.R.E.T. who provided much much needed food for
our ferrets during this scary time for us after the storms. Knowing the
kids were fed and would not do without even a morsel relieved a huge
burden so we could concentrate on structural problems and keeping the
ferrets cool and safe.

And special hugs go out to our partners at the Red Cross and their team
of vets who volunteered their time, resources, and expertise to provide
life-saving medical care for the Smithville boys and for our
River-refugee ferret. We also received necessary exams and vaccinations
for some of the boarders who still remain with us because of severe
flooding in this area.

All during this time, we have received so many ferrets and the steady
stream continues --- two new kits received from LA Saturday. Very nice
people drove all the way from the border of LA/MS and delivered them to
safety. I had no idea they were coming, they found me on Petfinder and
just decided to deliver the kits to us. But, this nice gentle couple
paid a very uncaring individual $100 to take his unwanted ferrets -- he
had commented that "he wanted to get rid of them since the smell was
making him sick." These nice people had seen their cage outside on his
balcony of his apartment and were concerned about their welfare since
it was very, very hot and dogs were running around loose. His apartment
was on the ground floor. So, they inquired. These babies were delivered
in good shape - minus fleas and caked-on filth. They bathed the kits
before the travel and killed the fleas. They had been fed cat food
prior to their arrival at Raisins. Their age saved them, I believe.
They will recover and thrive I am sure. They are already bouncing
around like normal kits enjoying the toys and their new playmates.

We are way over capacity approaching 70 ferrets. I had closed my doors
to incoming some time ago...but, that was before the storms, the River
flooding, and the unannounced arrivals. I am now out of cages. But we
are still okay. And, my boss is retiring next year and my hours are
being dropped back a bit so I am spending more time at home.

Everytime I feel sorry for myself and the situation at-hand, I look at
the photo of the Joplin ferret being rescued by Ashley Stephens, and
remember Smithville and Tuscaloosa......and I hear the words "There,
but for the grace of God, go I." I know that we have gone through a
tremendous amount of difficulty this year but I know we are
blessed.....we are still standing and Joe and I and the kids are still
alive and well. We send prayers daily to those who lost so much this
past spring. We ask that you keep them in your prayers as well.

Again, thank you to all that were concerned about us this year and many
many hugs and whiskered kisses to those who helped us during these
difficult times. You enabled us to keep going despite it all.....THANK
YOU! THANK YOU!

GOD BLESS...

Maren Qualls Raisins From Heaven Ferret Rescue & Sanctuary Hernando, MS

[Posted in FML 7107]