Happy Birthday!
Today our oldest turns 19. Wow! How does time pass so swiftly by? Our celebration plans will not be fancy, but that's okay by Trevor. He is a quiet, simple minded guy, and he would not like a huge affair anyway. We will celebrate with an ice cream cake, a few gifts, and a $50.00 money gift to spend as he wishes, however, he is a penny pincher so will probably save it.
Next up is Blake's official 16th birthday on Sunday! One boy was born late and the other was born early, so they ended up being exactly 3 years and 2 days apart. Both were born at about 1:00 in the afternoon. We have slowly been celebrating already for Blake because there are movies at the theater that he wants to see as they come out. He is ecstatic that the theater is open! He will also get an ice cream cake, a few gifts, and a $50.00 money gift to spend. Unlike his older brother, chances are that Blake will spend his right away. Haha! They also get to pick out what they want for dinner, whether we make it for them or they choose to eat out, it's up to them.
We have always held simple celebrations for birthdays and Holidays. It is important and fun to acknowledge these milestones and special occasions, but it is unnecessary to purchase items that will later be tossed out, or break the bank for a lavish affair. Simple, special celebrations and time together will suffice just fine.
Weekly Happenings
This week has been busy! Travis finished up his full time job, woo hoo! He is now going to be working ten hours a week, for the same company as a contractor, so he can focus more time on his produce and farming work. He makes much more money doing the contracting work so it is nice to know we have that income during this first official busy year of running 3 Corners Farm. There is much work behind the scenes to do in getting our web page and store operating and functional. Plus, we are prepping to attend local farmer's markets and must perfect the art of cleaning and drying a mass amount of produce at one time. There are appropriate labels to be made and licenses to apply for, etc.
I have been baking in the kitchen all week! In fact, I just now put my last two banana bread loaves in the oven and will be making the last of this week's deliveries this evening.
Trevor has been working at the local Mosier Market, Blake has been on-line for school, anticipating his school's opening day on the 19th of this month, and Megan has been fluctuating between attending in person school and doing on-line school, while also keeping up with theater practice three evenings a week. With the arrival of spring came business to our Homefront.
Animal Updates
Chewy. Ah yes, Chewy the wonder pony. He is doing better at the moment compared to when we received news from the vet last Thursday that his sugar levels are still too high. The thing is, he is just not giving up! We feel if he is ready to 'go' and had enough, he will tell us. Signs could be laying down all the time, very sleepy eyes and lethargy, severe pain and limping verses his usual stiffness, and the big sign...not eating or drinking.
I have decided to change my mindset about one major thing in this pony's life.
Grass.
Yep. I am now reminding myself several times a day that he is basically allergic to grass from the ground. It sounds silly but it works for my mind to think of it in this way. This thought is keeping me from letting him out to graze even a little bit. Basically, that grazing gives his body the reaction of high sugar levels which can...kill him. So...no more grass. Instead, I offer soaked hay (to drain the sugar out of it), in a net, freely all day and night. He will never go hungry as long as he is interested in it. Now I have to give him a bit more time to get to a good place where his feet are not so sore. Then I can put his boots on and take him out for walks to get him away from the round pen, and get the circulation moving through his body. I have to remind myself that even though he is confined, he has plenty of space to move, food and water, shelter, the goat goes in and out of his round pen freely so she keeps him company, and Willow the horse is always near him. Let's see if this last resort of zero grazing ever again will make enough of a positive difference for him. THEN I will know I have tried everything! Most livestock owners want plenty of green grass, but I dream of a dry lot.
Thankfully, all of the other animals are doing well and we are so grateful that they don't all have issues at the same time. (Quick! Knock on wood!)
Ins and Outs, Here and There
That's about it for this week! The only other excitement is that Travis has been planting, watering, tending, and working on both garden plots, the one here and the one in Odell. He just dragged a small greenhouse back in to our living room so I am sure he will be putting more starts in it soon. I am hoping to get another video blog made soon, but it takes a lot of time. We have some beautiful footage of our area that I can't wait to share! This weekend we will get to drive around and capture beautiful drone footage of the cherry trees in bloom, thanks to some friends who allow us to share the footage in exchange for mentioning their orchard businesses.
This morning the orchard fans in our area were buzzing like helicopters because we woke up to a chilly 27 degrees and frost, but Travis was able to cover his outside crops with plastic tarps until it warmed up a bit.
We hope you enjoy following along with our family's events, our rescue animal adventures, and our little farm happenings. We send our love to everyone reading this post and wish you to be as blessed as we are!
Much Love,
Amy Darr
3 Corners Farm
Mosier, Oregon U.S.A.
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