Happy Friday!
This week on the homestead has been flowing at a much slower pace, at least for me, and I am so grateful! Travis is still driving to Hood River every day to tend the garden lot there. The irrigation is going and he is planting a bit more each day to keep things steadily growing. He is looking at selling Arugula to a local restaurant in Odell, and he even manages to do some work for The Fruit
Company on the side. Then...he comes home and tends to our garden and the admin work it takes to keep things moving forward for our small farming business. Sometimes I feel inadequate next to him!
I won't underestimate myself though because I help in a lot of ways, and let's not forget that I have a handful of rescue animals that I care for and meet the needs for. Our daughter has been experiencing anxiety and some depression over this last year, and I am advocating for her and helping her navigate through these strange and secluded times as best we can! My role is every bit as important, it just looks different. Of all the things on earth I love most, it is animals and being a parent. Travis appreciates this in me because he does not have the patience or knowledge of how to handle some of these things, just as much as I lack the patience and knowledge to plant and do all that he does. I also write and help advertise, which is not his strong point. I think we make a good team.
One of the things I forgot to mention in my last blog was my deepest gratitude and thanks to all the people who helped me rally around Chewy when he was with us. (In case you are new to reading my blog, Chewy was a pony with Cushing's disease and bone damage in his hooves that we had to lay to rest.) I have been coping with his loss. I know that some people would not understand, but he was a family member to me, like a child. I read a quote by Zig Zaglar on Facebook this morning. "You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one."
This resonates with me because I need to move forward. Ironically, my last blog post, including Chewy's passing, was titled, "Ending A Chapter."
Because of people's generosity in helping us with vet bills and other things such as boots, medications, and hoof care, we were able to give Chewy a whole extra year of life that was a good quality for him. His blood sugars were leveled out the majority of time and he had little to no pain issues until the very end, when his body succumbed to its struggles. He got medical attention, and loving special needs care, that he had never had before. I was told that he was very picked on by herd mates prior to us, but here he was accepted by our little herd gang because he was not as weak and vulnerable as he had been previous to our farm. His case was one of the worst neglect cases I have encountered, and I knew that he may not endure a long life with us, but he had such a good life in the time he had with us! He probably had not felt normal or good for years, but he got a taste of the good life with us before his body succumbed and we gave him permission to have eternal peace, with no regrets and no guilt.
What a beautiful thing.
So...I thank you from the depths of my soul for helping me to see Chewy through to the end, no matter the struggles, and no matter the cost. He knew he was loved and safe and had a home with us for as long as he needed. He really was everyone's pony and taught us all a lesson of how to give unconditional love.
Wow. As I type now, I noticed the temperature dropped, the room got darker, and now it is pouring down rain. Woo hoo! We need the rain! Gotta love spring weather and how it fluctuates all over the place because it could be sunny and warm again in the next hour.
I am going to get up now and bake some banana bread loaves. The Mosier Market where our oldest son, Trevor, works sent him home with a bunch of bananas that over ripened so now they can't sell them. I will put them to good use and send some in the form of bread back to the owners and staff at the The Mosier Market as a thank you.
I send my blessings and love to everyone and look forward to sharing more homestead happenings in my next blog. I think I will share some recipes or other homesteading tips, so if you're interested in these ideas, feel free to comment what you would like to hear more about, and stay tuned.
God Bless,
Amy E. Darr
3 Corners Farm
Mosier, Oregon U.S.A.
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