Gardening
Hello to all you wonderful readers of the world! Thank you for joining me in my blog. If you are new here, we are a family of five living on a modern homestead in Oregon and starting a market garden, as well as taking in some rescue animals along the way. We feel it is important to give back to the universe in some way, and saving animals is our way to contribute to the greater good. I love to write about our experiences and share them with others!
To start with, I thought I would share that we have made a little progress in our gardening this past week. Travis made some raised beds here on our three acres and he is experimenting on a way to save water with these beds. Here is the link to that quick video if you are interested because I feel he can explain it better than I can.
We also received our strawberry roots today. Those have one side of the new raised beds designated for them so we will be putting them in the ground this weekend. The other side will be for potatoes. One last tidbit about the gardening is that, as we speak, Travis is at the one acre lot of land in Odell (not owned by us but we were given permission to use), and he is tilling and finishing prepping the soil. He will not be planting there today because it is still too cold, but he is it tilling and raking the ground so he can spread manure as his next step. The rows will be 30 inches wide by 100 feet long, and he will get about 30 rows.
It is ferociously windy today so I am guessing he will be tired when he gets home!
Weather
Thankfully, we have finally had a nice long break from rain and moisture. The ground is drying up and things are turning green. In our part of Oregon, which is in Wasco County and in the Columbia River Gorge between the two small towns of The Dalles and Hood River, we have a rather dry climate full of scrub oak, plateaus, rocky terrain, and challenging clay soil. We also have some mountains nearby, such as the Cascade mountain range, and we are surrounded by snow topped volcano's, but we will not stay green and lush for long in our little spot on our hilltop. The freshness of spring seems like a breath in the wind so we are desperately trying to capture some fresh spring images to share! Soon the wildflowers native to our area will sprout up, and it is beautiful enough to attract people from all over the world when combined with our orchards that peak, blossom and bloom. Travis hopes to capture some drone footage for our YouTube channel that can show people what an amazing patchwork of scenery this time of year creates in nature, but once again, it is very fleeting!
Soon the bees will be buzzing and our allergies will also be in full bloom. Haha! I am hoping that phase will be equally fleeting.
The only negative to the weather currently is not the chill still in the air, but the wind. We easily get wind gusts of 25 to 35 miles an hour for weeks at a time in this area. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but to live here and enjoy the beautiful scenery, you must endure the wind.
An Interesting Event
I also think it is worth mentioning the lights in the sky last night! This event occurred a minute or two before 9:00 p.m.
Travis and I were working on editing a YouTube vlog so we unfortunately were oblivious to the sky outside until we finished up around 10:00 p.m., and I sat down to scroll on social media for a few minutes. That is when I learned we had missed the fire balls in the sky!
It turned out to be The Falcon 9 second stage from the March 4 Starlink launch, which failed to make a deorbit burn and was reentering after 22 days in orbit. Needless to say, it's not every day that thousands of people witness such an event! The images were spectacular, and were seen, recorded, and even heard all over the north west.
Last, but Not Least, Rescue Animal Updates
While life in spring of 2021 gloriously moves forward, it is not doing so without challenges. Not only do I know several people who are going through great losses, we have had some recent bad news ourselves.
First of all, while I would love to share some of the struggles from the people I know because it brings forth compassion in us all, and shows us we are all human and need extra support sometimes, but those stories are not mine to tell. I will, however, remind everyone to hug your children, appreciate your parents, and live every day with gratitude for the people in your life. We NEED that connection as humans.
I CAN share with you about our bad news and it involves our little rescue pony, Chewy. He has had a case of laminitis lately, especially over this previous winter. We have to come to terms with the fact that we may not be able to save him. We have tried it all over the past 14 months, including five, yes FIVE, vet visits last year alone, and a super strict diet, even needing to create Chewy his own space without grazing or outside food of any kind.
Chewy has Cushing's Disease and permanent bone damage in his hoof. The Cushing's lowers his immunity and makes it harder for his body to heal, and the hoof problem causes pain which seems to challenge his Cushing's regardless of medication and careful feeding.
The issue does not even lie in the great expense that Chewy requires (his monthly meds run about $200.00) because there are many people who have donated toward his vet care and are happy to help with his cause, but it simply is the fact that he no longer has more good days than bad days, and he lives with a lot of pain.
We had blood work drawn on Wednesday and his future will be shaped by the results of that. Also, the farrier came out yesterday and took an extra precious amount of time in trimming Chewy's hooves carefully, as he always does, in hopes that it will bide this little guy some more time to gather his bearings and get back up to par. The farrier is so lovely in the way that Chewy (or even our old horse Willow for that matter) does not always cooperate, but the farrier understands the pain of requiring Chewy to stand for Trimmings and is very gentle while also being very skilled, and teaches us along the way. Chewy nor Willow would have ever made it this far without him!
We have such a great network, including volunteers, of people helping in this process that it brings a little tear to my eye. My emotions for Chewy have been on a roller coaster ride between wanting to keep fighting for him, and doubting whether I am being selfish in making him endure. This is such a hard call because he is a whole life. He is a unique and feeling being who has not given up yet, but it is getting harder and harder. His health issues can possibly be managed, but never healed.
Chewy is now more comfortable after his trim but is requiring butte for pain and padded boots for added protection until we hear the results form the latest bloodwork. Willow on the other hand, is doing fabulous! She is very protective of her pony friend so I am praying with all my heart that we get decent results, while also trying to prepare my heart for less than enthusiastic news.
Keeping Hopeful
Thank you to all those who support us. We will always keep hope alive and will never regret this journey with Chewy, or with any of the animals. In fact, they truly make life worth living, and look at all the beautiful people we have met through fighting for them!
Please keep your faith alive no matter who you are, where you live, or whatever your circumstances may be. Look for the beauty and good in everything, and it will always be there. May you stay happy and well.
Many Blessings,
Amy Darr
3 Corners Farm
Mosier, Oregon U.S.A.
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