For about the last two and a half years, we’ve been spoiled by the nearly daily reports from Arend and Anneesa Feenstra — the Canadian couple who, with eight of their nine children, sold their farm in Canada and moved to Russia to find peace, harmony, and freedom to live their lives in accordance with their own conservative religious beliefs.

Okay, so that wouldn’t have been your choice . . . or mine. But it was theirs, and I haven’t been able to resist keeping track of their adventures.

So when their videos became less and less frequent after their return from a rather strange tour of farmlands in Crimea (where no mention was made of that little war taking place in the region), I began to worry that perhaps things weren’t going so well.

Also, with talk of a possible second military mobilization to replace the distressing number of troops lost in Ukraine, I was concerned when eldest son Wesley — who had stayed home to tend the farm while the rest of the clan was in Crimea — seemed to be unaccounted for.

But at last, two videos were released during the past two weeks, and Wes does appear briefly in one of them, though hidden behind a welding mask. However, the tone of these reports is different: more moderated, subdued, and not nearly as upbeat as those we’ve been accustomed to seeing.

Granted, life on the farm — in any country — is a lot of hard work, and not one big, continuous party. But there have been no reports of the usual trips into the city, or birthday celebrations, or gatherings with neighbors, or visits from distant friends . . . the sorts of activities that frequently arose to break the routine of farm life for the Feenstras over the past couple of years.

In the first video, released around September 3rd, Arend showed us the enormous store of hay they had gathered and baled for the winter; young Wes helping him with a construction project; some new hog pens with an impressive number of little piglets; three new heifer calves they had just purchased; one ewe who is not being bred because she is about to become food for the family; and a flock of ducks invading the sheep pen to snack on the abundance of flies plaguing the animals. Normal farm stuff.

Some five days later, the second youngest daughter — appearing very grown-up and poised — led us to the cow barn where one of the herd was giving birth to her first calf. She filmed and narrated the entire procedure; and while I will withhold most of the pictures in case any of my readers are sensitive about such matters, I must admit I found it beautifully fascinating. Here is just one screen shot, of the new mother lovingly giving her little girl her first bath.

Whereas their big, beautiful farmhouse has in the past looked well organized, the exterior now appears cluttered and in disarray. And there were no views of the inside — in fact, notably absent from both videos were mom Anneesa and eldest daughter Cora, with only glimpses of some of the other children, including adorable little Maddie helping to bottle-feed one of the new calves.

Missing, too, were their tenants, the Pulley family — though Arend did mention that Justin Pulley had been putting up fencing over the past few weeks.

He also said that he’d been working on fixing up their big family van in preparation for selling it, despite the fact that it’s been a great vehicle and is in excellent shape. But apparently he’s been pulled over by the police frequently because of the unusual size of the van, and has had to pay special fees of some sort. So it’s become a bureaucratic headache, and they’ll have to make do with something a bit smaller.

*. *. *

All in all, this virtual visit with the Feenstras — or some of them — was somewhat concerning. But with all that is happening in Russia today, it would not be surprising to learn that the restraints on communications, the shortages and other economic difficulties caused by the war in Ukraine, and the increasing counter-attacks by Ukraine on Russian territory — recently including a drone attack on a nearby oil refinery — are taking their toll. And perhaps the Feenstras’ Russian “workers’ paradise” isn’t looking so idyllic after all.

In the hope that their access to social media isn’t completely cut off, I will of course keep an eye out for further videos from them.

I do hope they’ll be all right.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
9/14/26