Hello my friends!  I am here to say I hope you had a very merry Christmas!  We sure did. This year we were even able to find enough Christmas wrapping paper! Our kids picked out thoughtful gifts for each other and for myself and Travis too. In turn, they each received a big gift from "Santa". It was the best family gift exchange we have ever had so far because the kids are old enough to really put in the time and care of gifting independently. (For the most part. They came to us if they needed help ordering or finding something, but they did good!) All of our animals were included with gifts and treats too of course, and we ALL ate well all day long.  

I also would like to say Happy Friday, Happy New Year's Eve, and tomorrow, Happy New Year!  There are so many great events that occur this time of year and I love it!

The Arrival of Snow!

Since my last post, when I shared that we had been blessedly enjoying a slower pace and a little bit of down time in life, things have found a way to pick up again and we have been back to busyness. First there was the Holiday frenzy of shopping and gift giving, plotting and planning, wrapping and hiding...Then our activity turned to snow, snow, and more snow!  Right now?  Still more snow.


                                            Willow and Joe sharing some hay with a deer.

We haven't measured it but my guess is that we have about just over a foot of snow, topped off with a layer of ice. The pattern has been snow for awhile, then a slight break will happen where even the sun shines for a little peek a boo time, before the snow falls all over again. It is beautiful but we are feeling a tad stir crazy, ha! We also lost a few trees because back when the snow first started, it was very wet and heavy and burdened the trees under its weight. We have since gone back to experiencing the fluffier type of snow.

When the kids were little they used to love to go sledding, build snowmen, and play in the snow, but now as teenagers, and after having so much snow every winter for the past handful of years, it is old news to them. In fact, our 16-year-old son Blake got several paintball gun sets for Christmas to help him get started on his dream of running a paintball group for kids in our area, and he can not WAIT for this snow to melt so he can get started!  I haven't had the heart yet to tell him that next up is mud. (Cringe).

                                            Our son's paintball gun collection is growing.

So...this past week between Christmas and the New Year for us has been spent shoveling snow, digging out pathways, and endlessly feeding the outside animals, including the deer, hummingbirds, wild turkey, and other birds.  We are grateful to have one large trough, that has a tank heater in it, and that trough is filled with water to disperse as needed to the smaller buckets that freeze over. Travis hooked up a long hose that goes from the back door water spicket at our house, all the way down to the trough to keep the water moving and the trough full. 

Keeping Occupied

Otherwise, Travis has been working on-line and keeping the fire burning, the kids are either shoveling snow, helping with chores, or enjoying their time on-line, and for me, my first book should finally be published by next week and I am already planning ahead about what I want to write about next. 

I once again have that feeling that life is about to catapult us forward like a rocket from a cannon!  Travis's farm business is going to require even more time than last year, and phew!  He works hard. The kids are going to get back to doing all of their various life activities, including finishing up on building Trevor's tiny house.  (I will create a separate blog post for that because we have made some progress but I would like to share all those details separately for anyone wanting to try this themselves).

AND...I will be baking home made breads from scratch for purchase along with Travis's produce, tending animals on my own when everyone else is busy, writing another book, continuing blogging it all as best I can, and working on more farm and Homestead videos, as well as filling in the cracks wherever I'm needed. 

Dreams For The Future

My only prayers and wishes for 2022, for our family, is that we stay well and physically able to live this lifestyle because it requires capable bodies.  We have been so blessed to not have concurred injuries or illness since starting this venture in 2019, regardless of working around horses, climbing on roofs, driving down our winding hill with deer in the road continuously, and living amongst Covid like everyone else.

                                          Picture from the hill we drive down almost daily.

Other than that, I hope that we get to get see and visit with more family this year.

For the world, I pray that we get relief from Covid and all of it's mutations.  I pray we can find peace and that mother nature will find her balance. I currently am praying for Colorado as they are experiencing devastating wild fires that have devoured homes.   

I send my love, positive vibes, blessings, and prayers to anyone reading this blog post and I hope you enjoy following along in all that we will be doing this upcoming year. If there is anything in particular that you would like us to share more about, please comment below and I can make a blog for you or we can create a 3 Corners Farm video on YouTube to answer questions.

May you all have the best year of your life in 2022!  There may be challenges and change, but this is the greatest time to be alive!

Thanks for reading,

Amy E. Darr

3 Corners Farm And Homestead

Mosier, Oregon U.S.A.