Hello beautiful world! I hope this post finds you all well. We celebrated two birthdays under our roof last week! We don't live in town so don't really have the option of asking friends and family to do a birthday drive by, as is quickly becoming the custom we see so often on-line nowadays.
For Trevor, we grabbed our face masks and gloves, and drove to town to go searching through car lots to get a start on helping him buy a used car for his first vehicle purchase. How exciting!
We found two great prospects to think about so far, which is more than I thought we would come across in our small town, but we are all pleasantly surprised. One is a Dodge pick-up truck that is at an auction. Travis is going to find out more about it and maybe start bidding on it just to see where that goes.
The other is a Honda. It runs but was rear ended previously. However, there is really only a dent in the trunk and the bonus to this one is that Travis can test drive it with Trevor and they can have a chance to make a wise decision, unlike the truck at auction.
The trunk still functions fine and for a first car, it doesn't have to be perfectly beautiful and brand new, just affordable and safely functional. I will have to keep y'all updated later about the outcome. 18-year-old Trevor is getting pretty excited about applying for jobs (other than seasonal jobs) and getting his first taste of freedom in the form of his own car. Of course, he is also nervous because of the added responsibilities.
I am nervous because he has to start his adult life out in the big scary world, while living with the Coronavirus as the seemingly new norm. That just makes me so sad for my kids, and for all kids everywhere. Trevor is a quiet guy and has never really had much drive to get started on building a life of his own. I think being stuck home with us during two months of quarantine so far is changing his mind, and his reality. Tee hee!
Onto Blake! He had his big paintball camping trip already, thankfully just before Covid-19 quarantine hit, but we did take him to his favorite little home town drive thru for dinner and we ended up getting a huge ice cream cake for the both of them.
Our family doesn't eat a whole lot of sweets so we are all enjoying nibbling from it still. We all also gave the boys some money to purchase on-line video games. Now they are waiting to download them because living in the country has slow connection, added to the fact that everyone, literally everywhere, are all on-line these days too, makes it quite the wait while downloading.
You know what they say..."Patience is a virtue."
Anyway, I am grateful we managed to pull things off that made the boys feel special and these things were spread out over time, which helps break up the monotony of Covid quarantine 2020.
Aside from celebrating the boys, Travis and I have been pecking away at starting our new small farm business. He has more green houses up and has planted...ummm...Well, I don't actually know all of what he has planted so far. He is out working in the gardens now so I will not bother him, but I will definitely be sure to add that information for everyone soon! After all, that is kind of a big part of our business, haha!
My part is my beloved little sanctuary of animal rescues. The mini pony, Chewy, has the most horrendous, dry, scaly, flaky skin under his thick coat that I have ever seen! He started rubbing and itching on the trees in the pasture and ended up with bald patches! Then these patches were made worse from his constant new obsession of scratching the itches on all the trees, and he was creating open sores and wounds.
I called the vet to update this situation and she did not want to give Chewy steroids or antibiotics to treat his skin condition due to his metabolic disorder and laminitis issues. Steroids could cause these things to flare and we don't need his hooves and feet to be tender all over again on top of the skin issues. I keep reminding myself that he has only been with me for three months and was in quite a bad state when he arrived. This is just going to take patience, care, and time. Lots of time because every hurdle we jump over, there is an even bigger one that pops up.
For now, he spends his days in the round pen where he can still socialize with the horse and the goat . The round pen is in the middle of the pasture with Willow and Clover. The round pen set-up stops him from rubbing on the trees, making it harder for me to heal him. I now have to give him medicated baths twice a week and administer thrush treatment to the bottom of his hooves twice a week as well. He hasn't had pain medicine since his last hoof trim a few weeks ago, and while he is still gimpy, at least he is running around and energetic. He can't wait to get back out to the field with Willow and Clover! He seemed depressed and so uncomfortable there for awhile, so much so that I lost sleep over worrying for him.
I am so grateful that Chewy is eating, moving, and has gained some spunk (and skin) back! All those mornings and evenings of administering anti-fungal sprays, etc. are finally paying off.
Travis made for me, a wooden board out on the road in front of our pasture where I type up tidbits of the farm happenings. I laminate and hang these updates for the neighbors and people of our town to read. We also hung a bucket with safe "low sugar, low starch" treats for people to feed our little herd, if the herd is near the road and interested. My last update shared with people how to safely hold out a treat in the flat of their hand, and how to request that the animals must always BACK up first. And they do! I explained in my letter that if the animals show any bad habits/behavior from the treat box visits, I will have no choice but to take it down. However, by adding basic respect mandates from the visitors to the animals, it is working out well. It keeps them engaged, interested, and moving around. Now they are getting so used to it that they don't even respond to the visitors, which is fine by me. The visitors still can take pictures and read the newest updates.
We are all currently rooting for Chewy to heal up enough to get back out to pasture life with his friends. Go Chewy!
My future goal is to start hand walking Willow, Chewy, and the goat, with help from Travis and the kids of course. Not only would I find that delightful but I think the animals would enjoy it too, while getting them healthier at the same time.
I hope to share their adventures on YouTube one of these days, but one thing at a time. First, healing. Second, getting Travis's crops growing and gardens finished. Third, walking and working with the animals and putting our adventures on YouTube.
It's good to have goals. It sure makes life busy and more tolerable during quarantine and makes us remember how blessed we are to have this wonderful life!
Until next time, stay well. I recommend purchasing or making some fun face masks now. They will be helpful to your and your families and will also make great gifts come Christmas time!
Many Blessing From,
Amy Darr
3 Corners Farm
Mosier Oregon, U.S.A.
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