Celebrating diversity and making lemonade...

Celebrating diversity and making lemonade...

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Autism Service Dog...

Today's blog is not about farming but it is about Mark.  After all, this is ReMARKable Farms and I want to tell Mark's story and about our family's journey.

A few weeks ago, we were talking to our next door neighbor.  They were excited to tell us that they were getting a puppy to train to be used as an Autism Assistance Dog.  This article was on the front page of our local newspaper...


So, I just had to tell them the story of our (now retired) service dog, Coal...

When Mark was younger (under age 3), I used to take him to Lab School.  Lab School is a parent cooperative where parents grow and learn with their children. Parents and children come to daytime class together, giving parents hands on practice for the skills they learn in the adults' only evening meetings.  It was challenging because Mark did not want to sit still and do the activities with the other children at the classes.  Also, he didn't have any language yet and there was a circle time in which the kids went around and told their names.  It can be upsetting to see your child not keeping up with the other kids but we persevered and did our best.  Even today (5/29/2016), Mark and I went to Rite Aid this morning.  He likes to hang out in this little room in the back of the store where there is a blood pressure machine that people can use to take their blood pressure.  An older gentlemen was in there getting ready to check his blood pressure.  I went to check on Mark and he asked me, "Can he hear?"  I said "Yes, he can hear.  He has autism and sometimes it is hard for him to talk."  Still working on this...

Anyway, I digress.  Back when Mark was so young, I really wanted to get Mark around other kids for the social aspect (this can be a big deficit for kids on the autism spectrum).  One lovely thing I remember about Lab School was sitting with Mark and reading Dr. Seuss's book A Fly Went By.  He really seemed to like it (he also liked snack time)!

When Mark was 4 years old, we learned about autism service dogs and how valuable they can be for a family with a child with autism.  The child can be tethered to the dog so that they are unable to run away when out in public.  The dog can be trained for search and rescue to locate a child if they go missing.  The dog can do behavior interruption and apply deep pressure by sitting on a child's lap.  Deep pressure is calming for many people.  In addition, a dog may be trained to alert to seizures.  About 30% of children with autism also have a seizure disorder.  (Please, note: Mark does not have seizures so we were not looking for  seizure alert activity in our service dog).

We identified an agency in Xenia, Ohio that trained Autism Assistance dogs.  We were living in Florida at the time.


We contacted 4 Paws and started the process.  First, we had to apply and help them determine what kind of dog we would need and what training the dog would need to help meet the needs of Mark and our family.  Then, once that was figured out, we start our fundraising.  Our dog would cost $12,000!  We asked all family and friends for donations and started our fundraising.  We had raised about $2000 and decided to do some bake sales.  At our first bake sale, we raised $200.  I quickly did the math...50 bake sales.  I was determined that we were going to get this dog to help Mark and our family...




Mark was now in Developmental Preschool and I had Joshua in Lab School.  One day, it was our turn to "host" so Joshua and I came in early to get everything ready.  Our Lab School instructor came up to us and said, "Your dog has been paid for."  This was a really weird thing for her to say.  I countered by saying, "No, we still have like $10,000 to raise."  She was adamant and said I should call the agency.  I called 4 Paws and it was confirmed that an anonymous donation of $12000 had been made for Mark's dog.  I just started crying - tears of joy!  I felt like we had won the lottery!  We never did find out who made the donation but it had to be someone from the Lab School...

The next May, we traveled to Ohio for 2 weeks of training with our new service dog.  


Our service dog journey had just begun.  The end of June, we moved to north Idaho.  We had planned to have the moving company take our van (Henry sold his car that he had at the time and was going to buy a different car once we made it to Idaho).  Then, we would all get on a plane and go to Kansas and visit family while our belongings were being shipped across the country, literally.  Well, the moving semi pulled up and they said that they did not transport vehicles.  Boy, I wish someone would have told us that sooner.  So, the next morning, Henry dropped me and the boys and our brand new service dog off at the airport and he started driving and met us in Kansas.  He spent a couple days with us and then continued to drive up to Idaho.  We had bought a house there but we didn't have any belongings so he was staying in a hotel.  

About a week or two later, the boys and I got on another plane and went to Idaho.  Then, more upsetting news from the moving company.  Our things had not left Florida yet!  So, we got to stay in the hotel for a few days.  When we were checking out, the hotel had charged us a pet fee.  I explained that our dog was a service dog (you cannot charge a pet fee for a service dog).  The hotel said that they could charge a fee and so I took them to mediation through the ADA.  It was months before we got our money back and as the manager of the hotel handed me the check he said, "We were right in charging a pet fee because once you bring an animal into a room, we have to do extra cleaning because of the pet dander."  Some people just don't get it...

We enjoyed our new dog and he worked so good with Mark.  We would put a harness on Mark and then connect him to the harness that was on Coal.  In this way, Mark could not run away.  This, of course, was back when Mark weighed about 50 pounds and Coal is 80 pounds.  We used Coal extensively the first 3 years we had him.  Even after Mark was too big for his harness, he would still hold onto the end of Coal's leash when we would go out for walks.  Coal is now retired.  He is really a great dog and we are happy to have him as part of our family.




Sunday, May 22, 2016

Meadow Mushrooms!

In the Front Yard

I think I have mentioned before that we have Meadow Mushrooms growing in our front yard.  Our neighbor told us years ago that they were safe to eat but we did not try them for a couple of years. 

 Then, I saw some for sale at the Farmer's Market so we decided to give them a try.  

It has been raining a lot this spring so we keep getting flushes of mushrooms!  I have already dried 3 quarts full and I filled the dehydrator with more today and there are still a bunch in the yard!  If anyone wants some, please, stop by and grab some.  We have had our limit.  


I found some great information about identifying Meadow Mushrooms from a blog called The Thing that is Steve:

Agaricus campestris, the Meadow Mushroom, is one of my absolute favorite fungi. One of the closest relatives to Agaricus bisporus (the common Button Mushroom, found in grocery stores all over the world), it is the brother who seems to have inherited twice the flavor. After heavy rains, we always pull in pounds of campestris and preserve them with our food dehydrator.

When identifying Agaricus campestris in the field look for:

  1. A white or light brown cap. Think white button mushroom or crimini. Brown varieties seem to have very fine fibers pressed into them. In dry or windy weather the cap tends to look cracked.
  2. Bright pink gills that become brown when they age. The gills should be free from the stem and never run down it. In very heavy rains, sometimes the gills “bleed” red juice, or if you cut a cap in half you’ll see a red layer of moisture right above the gills.
  3. Growing on grass. Generally in fields and growing in arcs or rings (although solitary specimens are possible). Sometimes the cap is deformed if it grows up through dry grass.
  4. A brown spore print. Put the cap of an older specimen on a piece of white paper and wait for a half hour. It should leave a fine brown powder on the paper. If it’s another color, you’re not looking at A. campestris.
  5. A very thin ring that will rub off to the touch. The ring might not even be there, it’s so light. Sometimes this also causes the margin (edge) of the cap to look a little “fluffy.” See the photos.
  6. A stem that tapers at the end. Most A. campestris have stems thickest at the cap abruptly becoming slender at the base.
  7. It does not turn bright yellow when the base is cut or bruised. Gash your fingernail into the base, or cut it in half. If it turns yellow (bright, daisy yellow), then you’ve found an Agaricus xanthodermus, a poisonous cousin that will give you cramps. If the flesh other than the base turns a paler yellow, you may have found anAgaricus arvensis (Horse Mushroom).
  8. It smells like store-bought mushrooms. Especially younger specimens. Cut one of them in half and sniff.
This might seem silly but I keep thinking about next year and how we will be moving.  Not sure if we will be getting any mushrooms...(sad face)...

This morning, I listened to SowEdible podcast and they were talking about the benefits of mushrooms growing in your garden.  Basically, mycorrhizal fungi (mykes, meaning fungus, and rhiza, meaning root) are  fungi that have developed a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship with the root systems of living plants, from garden vegetables all the way up to the trees. Networks of mycorrhizal filaments envelop the seedling’s root structure, supporting the plant’s own ability to utilize water and nutrients in the soil. This relationship encourages healthy, vigorous growth. 

On the podcast, they mentioned that they were going to start some mushrooms in a wood pile and then apply the wood pile chips to their garden, in hopes of getting the mycorrhizal benefits for their garden.  I found this "outdoor growing mushroom kit" Garden Giant Mushroom Patch and hope to use it for our new garden in a couple years!


Sunday, May 15, 2016

Home is where you hang your big _ _ _ sunflower wreath...

Future Farm plans...

I made this sunflower wreath to hang on the front door.  I had NO idea that it was going to be so BIG!  It takes up like almost half the door...this picture does not do it justice...
As they say, "Home is where...
  • you hang your hat."
  • your heart is."
  • love resides, memories are made, friends are always welcome and family is forever."
 For the past (almost) 5 years, our home has been a rented house in Moscow, Idaho.  It is an ideal location, close to the Elementary and Middle schools that the boys attend(ed).  At the beginning of January, the leasing company told us that the owner was thinking about selling the house we are living in.  He was to make a decision within the next 2 weeks.  At the end of the month, I went down to the leasing agency and put our rent check in the designated box.  Then, I asked if they had heard anything about our house being put up for sale.  They were not sure and reassured me that they were going to check in with the owner and let me know within the next 2 week.  The end of February, I went down to the leasing office and put our rent check in the box...same conversation.  End of March...same conversation...I think you can see where this is going.  I was getting extremely anxious the middle of April.  I needed to make plans for the summer and if we needed to locate a new house to rent and move....well, that was going to be a BIG event for our family.

Finally, we got the call.  The owner is going to extend our lease until March 30, 2017.  Whew...

Our original plan was to start looking for a house/farm/property when Mark turns 17.  Mark is currently 15 and his birthday is in January.  It would be silly to start looking for a place to rent for 1 year...(especially in March in a college town.)  So, it appears that our property search has been moved up a year.  In a lot of ways, I think this could be more beneficial for us in the long run.  It will give us plenty of time to get settled and have a full year to view the property and identify problem areas...weeds, water logged areas...anything that might need attention.  I would hate to put a chicken coop in an area the floods when we get 1/4 inch of rain...

So, we will be looking to take our big sunflower wreath to a new home next year!

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Sunflower plantings!

In the field...

Excited to get into the field and start planting sunflowers!  This post will be light on text and heavy on pics (but as they say, a picture is worth a 1,000 words...).  I have 6 - 100 foot rows this year and will be doing a bit of experimenting with planting seeds vs. sets.

I have a new place to grow and had to start brand new rows.  Henry (hubby) and I rented a sod cutter to make the rows (thank you, Henry!).

A little friend came to help us with the sod cutter...
 I flipped the sod over to be able to plant the sunflower seeds in the soil.

2 rows...

All 6 rows!
I have NEVER put together an irrigation system before!  It went smoothly and is working well.

First row planted with seeds...
Transplants ready to go into the field...
Second row planted with transplants.
Third row planted with seeds.  Let's see how this does!  I will have more transplants to put in next week!

The boys and I are headed to the forest to forage for morels today...