Between Oaks

Two old oaks stand side by side in the creek bottom, the way Kenneth and Janie Shrum stood together for 63 years.

Kenneth has looked after these 100-year-old oaks for decades. Everything Tait and Andry are building lives between them: a home, a family, and a rescue for animals who need a soft place to land.

Janie was an artist, a gardener, a baker, and a foster mom with an open door. Her favorite flower was the sunflower, so they grow at the feet of both oaks, turned toward the light.

Andry came to the United States from Venezuela by way of Colombia and fell for the southern pines. His music and his Spanish are part of this place too, which is why everything here is said twice: sheltered by love, protegidos por el amor.