Hello my fine people!  I don't know about you all out there in cyber land or wherever you reside, but I wonder if you are experiencing the great phenomenon of time flying by at break neck speed, like we are!  

For those of you who may not normally read my blogs, once a week I sit down and write about my families' happenings and life while living on a small modern day homestead in the hills of Oregon.  Sometimes it's exciting and sometimes it's down right dull, but one thing remains the same...We are so lucky to live where we do and we enjoy this lifestyle! It is nothing short of miraculous to see and experience the seasons as they come and go each year. 


This week I would like to simply do a quick run down of our past week. So much has happened, yet it seems that so little has happened, all at the same time. I think it boils down to pure, blissful, business.

May 25, 2021 Tuesday

This day reached a comfortable temperature in the 70 degrees (Fahrenheit) range, but it was unusually humid.  Even though it was only a tiny bit humid, it is so unusual for our area that it felt to me like a tropical jungle outside.  The birds, bugs, and bees were so active and loud.  I also woke this day with a throat so dry and sore that it gave me great anxiety and I had to tell myself that it was just caused by seasonal allergies. I felt like I was suffocating!  However, I decided to get up, dress up, and show up. Once I got moving and took some awful allergy meds, I managed much better after that.

Travis has been working so much at his Odell garden plot that I feel like I hardly ever see him anymore.  He is gone when I wake up, and even when he does come home, he immediately goes to work in our garden here.  He also built a walk in cooler and a washing, spinning, and drying rack system for the salads and produce.


I would be lying if I said I am not exhausted just by observing him! But truly, for some reason, this is not work to him.  He enjoys this kind of labor and always has. The kids and I tease him that he is a workaholic, but he doesn't care. He just keeps going along at his own pace until low and behold!  He has made himself a successful business and his fresh, organic produce is not only appealing to eat, but also like beautiful, edible, art.  

This day I was feeling so content and blessed by our life.

May 26, 2021 Wednesday

This day got a tiny bit warmer and was sunny, but there were still some clouds sailing by and a bit of wind. 

I spent this entire day cleaning up in the house (which no one would ever be able to tell by looking at it) and cleaning out animal shelters. I cleaned out the goats pen, the chicken coop, the bunny hutch, the hay shed, and pooper scooped tons of dog poo from the yard.  I also cleaned and re-filled the hummingbird feeders because, let's face it, those little sugar sucking machines are demanding!  When they start dive bombing our heads or tapping on the windows, I know it is time to refresh the sweet water. 

This day Megan had an appointment with her mental health doctor, but it was a video visit and just a check in to hear how she is doing. 

Then I emailed Blake's school Principal about summer transportation since he goes to a charter school.  Their hours are different than the average school.  Blake attends school Monday through Thursday, with Fridays off, but they have less breaks throughout the year. We like this school because it offers more hands on learning within the community and lots of technology and science based skills. The only downfall is the lack of transportation for us country bumpkins. I am truly not sure we can manage all the trips back and forth this summer when it is our busy season on the farm.  

Hmmm. We shall see what happens.

May 27, 2021 Thursday

The temperature crept up another five degrees or so.  The day started off very gray, with a bright rainbow and spackles of rain, but it ended up sunny and clear.

Megan went off to school feeling anxious again on this morning, but I never know why when this occurs.  Honestly, she said she doesn't even sometimes knows why!  The important thing was, she made it through and had a pretty good day.

I will also mention that part of Megan's struggles comes from within herself. Since she was a 2nd grader, she has shared with us that she feels more like a boy than a girl. Since then, she has cut her hair very short and it has been that way for four years now.  We even call her M.J., which is short for Megan Jane.

We are perfectly happy to accept M.J. for the wonderful soul that she is!  Honestly, no one judges M.J. on this issue in our circle of family, friends, school, and people, but I know she just feels different.  That is why I have chosen to seek outside help by specialists to ensure that M.J. is able to work through whatever she/he needs to, so that in the future, she/he can have a solid foundation of self, and will always know that we will always have unconditional love for her/him. M.J. is also bringing difference and pizazz to our old school homesteading lifestyle and...I love it!  She dresses like a Rockstar!  (Enter youthful joy here.) That is all I will say about that.

The allergies were once again brutal this day, but it's worth it when we get to see all the little baby deer with their lanky legs and white spots starting to appear everywhere. This particular morning while getting a cup of coffee, I witnessed a mother doe and her tiny twins out our kitchen window. The tiny ones nursed and then walked away into the brush. I was fascinated because the babies looked like they were barely able to walk well yet, but they were already mimicking mama eating the grass and shrubs.  (I am only sorry I didn't get any pictures of them.)

Travis was off at the garden, Trevor went to work at the local mini mart, Blake and Megan were at school, and I ran around getting housework and animal chores done as quickly as I could.  Sure enough, as soon as I was caught up and did a few writing projects, the house was once again flowing with activity and it all started all over again. 

This was just a beautiful day that reminded me of how much I have to be grateful for.  

May 28, 2021 Friday

Megan had her best friend sleep over this night. I also woke up at 3 a.m. because I heard a cat meowing outside our bedroom window. There is a stray calico that frequents our area and I figured it was her. Poor thing. It took awhile for me to register that our cat wasn't laying at the foot of the bed like normal.  Sure enough, when I got up and checked, it was our kitty at the front door begging to be let in. She was dirty!  And for a white, pristine cat, that was a sight to see at 3:00 in the morning!

I was tired the next day but blamed it on the cat's nightly adventures and the allergy meds catching up to me. I had breads to bake and vlogging to do that day, plus the girls wanted to go to our little town of Mosier to hang out at the school, walk to the river, and get some snacks at the mini mart. When they came home, they got all dressed up, and went for another walk down our country roads. Haha!  I love youth.

May 29, 2021 Saturday

I'm not totally sure of the temperature, but it got hot this day. The girls had laid out on the trampoline the night before, watching for shooting stars (which they saw many), and reading books about the universe.  I couldn't sleep due to listening to their silly gleefulness, since the trampoline sits just outside our bedroom window.  Years ago I could sleep through anything and Travis often was the one awake at night.  Somewhere through the years our roles have reversed and he now snoozes right through night time noises while I often lay awake.

This day I was tired and the only thing I managed to accomplish was to take Megan's friend home and make some deliveries with Travis. 

That was a fine day by me!

May 30, 2021 Sunday

The kids decided to stay home but Travis and I went on a little hike to a place I haven't visited since before the kids were even born. It is a little pond tucked away in the hills of Mosier. It was much more wild and overgrown than it was years ago, but it still remains so beautiful that it's literally...magical!


When we returned for animal feeding that night, I discovered blood all down Willow's back left leg!  (Willow is our old horse.) I didn't panic and could tell that it looked worse than it probably was.  I was right.  It looked like she had scratched herself on something and managed to open skin.  Since the scratch was at the top of her leg and it was very hot out, the blood drained down, as gravity intends it to do, and it just looked horrifying against her white haired leg!  

Silly mare.  I spent time cleaning the wound and getting it treated with wound spray to ward off infection and flies. I have been spraying it 3 times a day ever since and it is healing nicely. Thankfully all is well. I still don't know where or how it exactly happened.  I probably never will.

May 31, 2021 Monday

Here we are in today.

Happy Memorial Day to all! It is another hot day, at 90 plus degrees. Travis is suffering form our hike the day before. There was a weed or something that grew near that pond that really did Travis in.  Blake (16) is bored out of his mind!  Megan was up all night quietly watching tv because she said she just couldn't sleep.

This day is rather uneventful for us, but it is an extra day of rest, so we will take it!  We thank all service men, women, animals, and their families for their sacrifices, so that we can have our freedoms to live this life today. I hope you enjoy following along in our adventures, happenings, and daily ins and outs. I have been feeling inspired lately!  There is something cooking up in the works of my brain, but I will share this dream at a later time. Until then, I will go within and ask for guidance through prayer and mediation.  I will plot and I will plan.  I will dream and I will work as hard as Travis to make it happen, but I am getting so excited that, like Travis, this next chapter will probably not even feel like extra work to me.

Oh the mystery!

I send my love and blessings to everyone. Be kind. Be happy. Be well. Be joyous. Above all, be grateful.

Much Love, 

Amy E. Darr

3 Corners Farm

Mosier Oregon, U.S.A.