The world outside my windows has gone mad! I mean this in more ways than one. Not only has the weather and global pandemic been challenging, but now people are feeling the effects of wage losses, businesses are closing down due to all the new restrictions, and there is now massive upheaval of people over racial and radical tensions.
Over the weekend we experienced a severe thunderstorm unlike the usual that Oregon normally has, (at least in my experience of where we live.) Thankfully we fared through it alright, but Travis lost the tarp to his greenhouse and possibly some potato plants and a few other crops. All in all, that's not bad considering trees came crashing down across many counties in Oregon and there were several power outages. I heard of a tree falling on the roof of someone's house but no injuries. Praise God!
Here on the farm, I have started Chewy on his Insulin regulating medications. It has only been two days so far and I am praying my pants off that this works for him! (Yes, I am that desperate to see him get some relief, haha!)
Now I am concerned for Willow. I am seeing her age show by how hard it has been this spring to keep her weight up. She is not eating as much as she once did and I think it may have to do with her teeth. The strange part is that I had her teeth floated back in February of this year, and she hasn't eaten as well since. They may be too flat? The other issue is that we are out of good alfalfa hay. We bought some at Coastal to get us by but it was not great. It was very stemmy and Willow just did not eat the majority of it because it was too tough. Unfortunately she won't eat any hay that I soak to aide in making it softer for her, not even her most favorite alfalfa. The alfalfa fields locally should be ready, but that heavy rain and thunderstorm halted those plans for the farmers.
All I can do now is feed more of the high protein supplement I have and give her as much of the grass hay as she'll eat until next weekend when the alfalfa will be ready. I do not like to add oil to Willow's feed because believe it or not, she gets nosebleeds when I do that. Call me crazy, but I have linked the nosebleeds back to the oil through journaling. I had two previous horses, Tonka and Cashmere, at two separate times (those two horses never even met) that I have journaled the same outcome of feeding oil. They are the only other two horses aside from Willow that I tried helping with weight gain by adding oil and they all three have had nose bleeds around that same time as consuming oil. Tonka was even vetted due to the nosebleeds because it was the first time I had ever experienced a horse with nosebleeds and it freaked me out! (He wasn't even technically my horse at the time either but that is a completely different story.)
In the end, Tonka was fine, but now I am reluctant to use the oil. I have since learned that I was using vegetable oil with them but I have discovered that rice bran oil is the best.
I have been busy here on the farm and trying to avoid the news because I don't want it to drag me down, but it's as if I can FEEL how heavy the world is right now. All one has to do is sign on to facebook and scroll down. There you will hear the phrases "Black Lives Matter" and "peaceful protests that turn into rioting."
I absolutely agree that black lives matter, don't get me wrong. Every life matters or I wouldn't be trying to save animals that are no longer useful to anyone! I just disagree with the chaotic ways people are handling these changing times. The world must go through this to get better I suppose, but it deeply saddens me, especially for my children and all the youth from around the world. I remain optimistic that today's youth will be the ones to bring forth good change, after all that they are living through currently!
So once again I must say, I am happy to stay positive here at home on the farm and I hope I can be a calming beacon of light to those who need it and come across my path, whether in human or animal form.
Speaking of that, I have felt utterly useless during this Covid-19 quarantining because there is not much I have been able to do to help my fellow teacher friends on-line. Our country internet can barely handle my families on-line needs right now, let alone adding work/school zoom meetings and videos to the mix. However, the filming of the virtual field trip is complete and "Mr. Bob" is sending it out this morning. Next week will be the week of officially cleaning out and closing up the classrooms for the summer. Even though this is an ending, I hope to see my fellow teaching friends and be as optimistic and encouraging as I can to them about the future.
I intend to end this crazy school year strong, no matter what!
And with that, there is much to do so I am going sign off here and go get started on my next project of the day, which is housework and making sure the kids have not become computer zombies. "If I make food, they will come."
Much love to everyone reading this and stay strong. No matter what happens, we can always be kind.
Blessings From,
Amy at 3 Corners Farm
Mosier, Or. U.S.A.
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