I’m very worried about the Feenstras —Arend, Anneesa, and their eight children — on their farm in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.

Since returning from their long stay in Canada and the U.S., followed rather quickly by a puzzling visit to Crimea, there has been little news of interest coming from the Canadian family now calling Russia their home. What were almost daily reports have become less frequent, and those have dealt with the mundane details of life on a farm: tending the animals, or Arend fixing his tractor with parts he was only able to find while in America.

Then there was eldest daughter Cora taking us on a tour of their vegetable gardens, which have apparently not seen the best of summers.

But I suppose that’s life; it’s not always about travel and awards and birthday parties.

What has me concerned, though, is the report of Ukrainian drone strikes at the Lukoil NORSI oil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, overnight on August 25-26. Though no casualties were reported, the refinery — one of Russia’s largest oil-processing plants — sustained a significant fire, forcing the plant to halt all operations. This, in turn, has caused the temporary shut-down of all major Lukoil refineries across Russia.

In addition, Nizhny Novgorod’s governor reported that falling debris from intercepted drones caused damage to another industrial facility, several cars, and residential buildings in the region.

How close that was to the Feenstras’ farm, I do not know; but it feels as though Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” is suddenly much too close for comfort. And, aside from the threat of personal danger, this is bound to have an effect on agricultural operations throughout the region.

My other concern is for the eldest Feenstra son, Wesley, who has been out of the picture since the rest of the family left for their Crimean holiday back in the early part of the summer. He was reportedly left at home to tend the farm, but where was the happy reunion when they returned? And where is he now? In recent videos — unless I missed something, which is entirely possible — Wes , who has always been his father’s right-hand man, seems to be absent.

So where is he, and why aren’t we seeing him in the videos? Does it have anything to do with the war in Ukraine? Is he ill? In some sort of trouble with the authorities? Any of those situations would be too horrible to contemplate.

With the worsening crackdown by the Putin regime on social media and other means of communication, it is impossible to know what is really happening behind the scenes. It may be that everything is fine — or as “fine” as possible — and the Feenstras are simply keeping a low profile, which is always wise in Russia, even in the best of times. I certainly hope that’s all it is.

Under the circumstances, though, I have to wonder how they feel now about having left their native Canada, where the only “danger” was from what they considered to be an excess of “wokeness.”

But I’m not here to judge them, or to second-guess their life choices. I just hope they’re going to be all right.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/28/26