Mt_Rider

Stuffing paper in leaky doors...yup! Our old farm house I grew up in had that. We used newspaper sheets accordian-folded the long way...like a paper fan. Then stuff them into the cracks....and try not to open the door. My current old cabin has a leaky front door - the one facing down the valley to the SW. So sometimes with extreme wind blowing in, I hang a sleeping bag over the whole door frame. Makes it hard to get in/out but sheeeesh, that minus zero wind is unbearably. No storm door to help now [the owner's bright idea to replace the old, damaged ones with wooden screen-only doors. ] I'd forgotten the hot potato trick. I grew up in Iowa and knew of that way back then. But the NEW hand/feet warmers are reusable. [Available thru Emergency Essentials and other places] They have a metal disc that you 'ping' to activate. To "recharge", I think you have to boil them. Then the 'ping' will work again and again. MtRider [...Brrrrrr.....iffen I wasn't having a hot flash just now, I'd be shivering while reading this! ]

'Tis that time of year, isn't it? It was a foggy 38 degrees at 7am at my house this morning. Still topped out in the high 70's or even 80 degrees in late afternoon tho. We have vast hi/lo temperature differences. I told DH tonite that I change clothes more than 10 other 'normal' people combined. [..that menopause thing contributes too.... ] I use bubble wrap on windows that can remain closed up for the winter. Add some thick curtains and it makes up for the single glazing in this rented house. I'm thinking of trying double sided sticky tape for applying it this year. Pull back the curtains and it does admit opaque light. I really like our pellet stove [would love a wood stove insert instead but...rented house] because I can keep the heat down further in the house. As my internal temperature fluctuates, I merely go sit by the pellet stove and warm up. Otherwise I'd have to remain chilled [which I hate] or turn up the furnace for the whole house. We've gotten used to sleeping in very chilly bedrooms....LOVE the down comforter. I've collected a number of soft knit longsleeved shirts from Goodwill. I top those [and take it off and on and off and on ] with a down vest. I've decided that is my winter uniform!!!! I use light weight knit pants[like pj's] covered with heavy-weight sweatpants. I never wear jeans cuz they're worthless for warmth and give my impaired muscles more resistance when I try to move. As a drastic measure to combat waking up in the night F R E E Z I N G, I keep an electric heating pad on a shelf near the bed. It also works [like last nite at 2:30am ] if one of my muscles acts up and goes into total SPASM. No way to return to sleep til I can get it calmed down. For chills, it usually only takes a few minutes to warm me up again and abandon the heating pad to it's shelf. BTW ---- it's a safety one. You have to be pushing the spring-loaded trigger in order for it to heat up. So it you fall asleep, it SHOULD shut off. [Note: I have an MS-related oddity that locks my muscles in a tight position so I certainly can go to sleep with my grip on the trigger intact. AND I make sure I get the trigger mechanism off the bed, cuz you can roll upon it and it will activate the trigger too. Don't use this with children and use caution with adults!] I swear the cat can hear the trigger and comes running to share the warmth. Make sure you remove all totally full water bottles from your vehicles and certain food-with-liquid items from your car BOB's. I pour out a good third of water and leave the bottles in the car. The freezing won't burst the plastic bottles [never do this with glass] and I sometimes use the water even in winter. Ditto what Kappy said about headwear/gloves. When I'm in bed reading, I have a pair of those silvered gloves on. A bit tedious for page-turning but fingers get too chilled otherwise. A stocking cap always is a good warmer. Kappy, come to my house and warm it with some of your baking! [DH and I are on low carb right now and the thought of baked goods makes my mouth water!] MtRider [...winter cometh! ]

Hmmm, perhaps it's not the expiration date that's fake......if it lasts three years, mebbe it's the contents???? Just sayin'.... MtRider [thanks for the bump of this thread. I'm trying to redo my "favorites" AGAIN for yet a different computer. I wanted Alan H's sites just the other day but hadn't gotten around to googling them.]

Joining in these prayers too. MtRider

((((Annarchy)))) MtRider

Orrrrrrrrrrrr........you can keep it simple and just run the story according to your own choices. MtRider

Oh Wow.....I didn't know it's been a year already. What fun to have an anniversary party. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, Michael!! Yanno... if anyone does want to post an update or begin a journal of their homestead.....the offer is still open to go on down to Fireside and start your own thread about your Big Valley homestead. It could be done up here in Pioneer Living, but just understand that the 'corporate writing thang' isn't possible. I'm very absorbed into another [EMP] story I began last winter. It's been on hold for the gardening season but I've got the itch to work on it again. Mebbe I'll even have a chance while I'm sorta laid up right now???? MtRider

EX-Queen of Mice reporting in here. For over a decade in this old cabin, I've had an HORRID onslaught of mice every fall. Of those that get upstairs, the cat has caught THREE in a single nite. Dropped a LIVE one on top of me IN MY BED! Except this one. Unfortunately, it was NOT the peppermint oil on cotton balls that I tried last fall. I caught mice in traps set right next to HIGH-SMELLIN' peppermint balls. YMMV? But from my experience with Colorado cousins, didn't phase them. My solution which I SHOULD have figured out a decade ago...... {sheeeeesh, you'd think I had a major brain malfunction or something, huh? }.........was to close the access. I rather thot it was hopeless to try, being an OLD cabin and all. But I determined that last fall was THE LAST TIME I WOULD SHARE A RESIDENCE WITH THESE MICE!!! I sat down and really LOOKED at our garage door. We kept extending the door down further into the dirt but they'd just tunnel under deeper and deeper. So I ripped off all the extentions on the door. Got some cement patio bricks and laid them carefully under the lip of the door. Easier said than done; involved hammer/chisel to get enough of the crumbled-off garage floor out of the way so the bricks will set deep enough. THAT was the problem. The floor cement should have jutted out far enough for the door to rest on cement...not dirt. That front edge was no longer there. Well, I pitched a fit to the owners but the middle person was late in dealing with it and I just did most of it myself. Just so I'd keep them out for *this* winter. But WHENEVER the repair guy shows up, he can reset them a bit more evenly [with better tools than I have!] and go ahead and cement them all together. And waddya know? The top of the garage door shuts now too. But for now, I've seen NO EVIDENCE of mice in my garage. The End! MtRider [......I wish y'all a happy ending too!!! I SO detest the damage and the hantavirus threat in the SW region]

Yeah, that's definitely something that would confuse someone new to using ....ahem, [real food]. Seriously, if I remember, I try to warn someone if I give them my duck eggs. Their measurement in recipes is about one and a half eggs. If you need to be picky, one would have to scramble the raw eggs together and measure again. [mix well two eggs and divide into three equal portions - each portion would be like one 'store-bought' chicken egg. ] I'm certainly too lazy to do that. I do like Michael and just throw in more flour. But what about those scientifically tested canning recipes? Are they done with measurable quantities like cups or pounds? Or by 15 tomatoes..... ?? Any of those that would really throw off the acid content, etc so the times would be different? MtRider [....I also warn them that duck egg yolks are....cohesive. They are much harder to mix into the whites....more gooey. Just so they know nothing is wrong with the egg. ]

Well, IRL all the writers are off doing prep living and as everyone knows, this is the season for gardens, etc. It was inevitable that this exercise would dwindle out for the summer. As for a restart in the fall when Real Life activites begin to slow down??????? Here's what I propose. I took a vote from any current writer some weeks ago. My suggestion is for any writer interested in continuing their homestead in the Big Valley to go down into the Fireside Forum. Open a thread for THEIR OWN HOMESTEAD. If we get more than one Big Valley writer down there, those writers can write cooperative actvities between their threads if they both agree or each homestead can simply tell their own story. This is actually how I meant for it to primarily run when Big Valley opened.....with the journal/'Dear Diary' format. That way no writer is waiting for others because that format gets awkward in the single thread like we were running it. For instance, I prefered to write a backwards look over a few days or a week's time. {Dear Diary, we were so busy planting this past week...} Other BV writers prefered the day by day approach. {Dear Diary, today is was raining...} When we were all together in one thread, the timeline became hard to follow sometimes. So.....that's the shift I think we should look toward for any writer who wishes to continue telling their own homestead story. Any writer who'd like to begin now is certainly free to do so., or start up anytime you feel like you have the time/interest again. You might want to title your thread "Big Valley........{and then the name of your homestead or clan name}. That would help Wagons Ho/Big Valley readership to find those stories. Mebbe it will happen. Mebbe it's time has passed. And if you ask me if I might start up again later with Cleft in the Rock clan.... Depends on if I get itchy to see how my characters are doing. I just might, but not until late fall, I'd imagine. MtRider

Your DH tells the Sporting Goods store guy (with a roll of his eyes) ...... "Yeah, I don't bother buying my wife jewlry. She likes knives!" And the guy was impressed! MtRider [....who? Me? ]

Short cut for copy and paste...high light right click your mouse. I don't know if Mac's have that or not but of you right click you get the get the edit button screen with right mouse clicks. yeah, yeah....that's what DH said too. He works on an earlier version of PC. Well, this critter is Windows 7 and aaaiiiieeeeeeee.......... JUST TONITE I finally found the Cut/Copy/Paste button. Nope, it's not right-click if I'm in MrsS. It IS right-click in the Word processing. It's not in my email function...that's yet a third button. Tell me again why I bought a PC? Even DH is having trouble with this version. It's all in what you are used to AND how much time you have to cram new knowledge into your brain&fingers. I am improving. Lost some ability today when I did word processing on my Mac and now cannot seem to hit the keyboard correctly on the PC again. That is truly distressing to me. BTW, I don't have spell check installed that is working on MrsS either. Pardon spelling bloopers. Oye. ================= So sorry for your loss, CeeGee. Glad you checked in! MtRider

Okaaaay....my butt is in here, DARLENE....... Nice to see y'all again. So much catch up to do.....aaaaaaaauugh! [i MISS the smilie with the hair on fire... ] But as I noted in my post in RURR, I'm really struggling to even type legibly. HAL [from 2001 SpaceOdessy, I think] is not bein' very nice to me sometimes. He keeps taking over the the coursor and turning on things I DID NOT 'click' on. Merely trying to keep track of the "copy/paste" buttons from screen to screen is exasperating. But...this too shall pass.... I'll begin to catch up in here as soon as I can. If I decide to eliminate a garden this year, I mighthave more time. [since we're snowng and continuing to snow thru next week..... who can tink of gardening. Ach....HAL is stealing ltters out of mywords again [or spaces between them]. I feel like I'm typing on a manual Underwood again. The term "pounding out the keys" is supposed to be obsolete. So greetings to writers and readers.... MtRider [can someone go over and see if the gardens at Cleft of the Rock need weeding...mebbe my characters "carried on" without me?????? ]

Dear Diary -- Family Reunion on the HILL After staying for the night at Base Camp, our MtR family took their Conestoga wagon up the switchbacks early. The messenger had arrived to say that WT#3 was definitely doing the HILL today. There were a lot fewer people coming in on this train. We did hear about a whole new clan coming in with over 10 people. Assorted others. Even a few orphans. Our Clan folks would make up the largest percentage in this wagon train though, and we went up to greet them. MrMtR and our sons went on up the HILL on foot. I really did not feel well enough to climb that durned thing again so the girls and I stayed down in the small clearing. [Try to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem! ] It wasn’t long before a number of people began to very slowly and carefully pick their way down the steepness. Machela handed me the binoculars and YES! Among them was my parents, their friend John, and DD2 with the Grsons. A boy I didn’t recognize was with Denise. She was holding his hand. Over there! Is that Janet? She hasn’t changed much. She was a young teen the last time I saw her. Now a married gal. I wonder if DD1 is going to be riding down. Her long-ago injured leg is so chancy on this extreme terrain. I couldn’t take the binoculars off of my family. I saw that they all had one of the freshly cut walking sticks that are supplied for the descent each time. Most people take the sticks home with them as souvenirs of the Event. They are handy for hikes and such around the homesteads. Whooops, GS2 slipped a bit and DD2 is scolding him. She’s trying to make them slow down but GS2 is especially antsy. I can see them pointing and I wave. [Oh!….I am so thrilled to see them all safe and sound that I can hardly stand it! ] My new daughters and I meet them at the bottom of the steepness. DD2 lets the boys run down the last bit of the way with the older boy. Denise is helping her grandfather while trying to just be nonchalant and walk near him. He’s tired and getting a little shaky. DD2 is helping my mom for the same reason. John is leaning heavily on his walking staff. GS2 reaches us and announces that he rode all the way in a COVERED WAGON WITH COWS! He doesn’t stay still long enough for me to grab him in a hug. Boys! I tell them that I am their GrmaMtR. They say they know that…though it’s been too many years for them to remember except by pictures. I introduce them to their five year old “cousins”. Technically, they would be their aunts but….. we’re mixing generational ages here so cousins will be ok for this. Five year old ‘aunts’ when you are seven is ….too odd. Machela is introduced at Auntie Mac. The older boy introduced himself to me. “I’m your nephew! I’m being adopted and Bro is my dad and Denise is my big sister!” He said this proudly. I was able to at least give this bold one a hug. “So nephew, what is your name?” I asked. He stated very solemnly, “I am called Shalon now. It’s for my mother, Sharon and my father, Lonnie. They died and I want to remember them. But now I have a new family with uncles and aunts and grandparents and ….. “ He finally ran out of breath and just looked up at me. “Well Shalon, I think that’s a wonderful way to remember your first parents. They would be so happy that you have a new family to take care of you and love you.” He grinned very wide and then ran back up to the rest shouting that it was ‘just a few steps further’. Inwardly I was laughing to think that my brother had somehow fallen under the spell of this delightful hooligan. I’d just bet he’s a handful. Then there were so many hugs and tears of joy all at once. I didn’t think my parents were going to let go of me. We aren’t all that demonstrative but this was …….this was seeing dear ones you thought to never see again. AND having that hope nearly snatched away when we got the word of their capture. I was finally able to welcome John, whom I’ve known all my life. Then it was DD2’s turn. I was afraid she was going to turn a bit hysterical. But when we parted, I saw that a new maturity had grown in her….coupled with a tightness in her eyes. Grief I think. They had walked away from their whole life and love of the islands to come to a VERY unfamiliar location and lifestyle……. to hide away until perhaps the world settled down again. Or perhaps, for their lifetimes. We don’t know. I hugged her quick once more before I turned to grab my niece. She’s also not a huggy type but…..she’ll make an exception. She knows she’s always been dearly loved by this family though she also did not join us until she was about Shalon’s age. I could see he adored her and she was quite attached to him too. Awwww! Now she’s not an only child. Though she’s mostly grown up …..and I take a closer look at her. She’s always been pretty adaptable. I see calm acceptance and excitement in her face. Not the grieving like for DD2. Just different personalities; different reactions to the chaos and major life changes….and danger. She pulls her friend up closer and says, “You remember Janet don’t you?” “Of course! And congratulations on getting married!” I hug her and she hugs me back, whispering in my ear that she’s two months pregnant.” I widen my eyes at her and smile widely, giving her another hug and whispering another ‘congratulations’. “We’ll take good care of you all,” I say, keeping my eye on Janet. By now my other girls have introduced themselves and Macky is leading everyone towards the Conestoga. The first wagon is beginning to descend and we need to clear out. We set out the camp chairs and my parents gratefully slump into them. We’ve brought along a berry juice kept cool in stream water. Macky and I hand out drinks in various cups and durable Tupperware glasses. The day is already getting hot and I’m glad for the shade of the pine trees here by the wagon. As the children run and play nearby, the rest of us can’t talk fast enough. So much to catch up on. We sit close together and reach out to touch each other, as if to make sure we are really there. [….wishing we were together IRL! L ] I make sure to draw Machela into the conversation by asking her to tell a story about this or that. I was proud to announce the children’s surprise cleaning of the Maui caves. We did get some dubious looks but were soon extolling the benefits of cave dwelling. “You really aren’t going to get Bro far into a cave, you know,” warned Denise. “I figured that. He used to think our small cabin was too….close! But we set up a large tent under the shade of the overhang. We’ll see if he can tolerate that. He’ll have to do something by winter tho.” I answered. I turned to my parents and asked, “Are you going to be OK in a cave? It’s truly a NICE dry cave with no spiders. We didn’t have time to build your house yet.” I could see my mom was willing for ANYthing but my dad was not so adventurous. Yet, he’d made it this far… “Just wait till you see it,” I promised. Then the first wagon to descend was down. We’d been holding our breaths, as though that helps somehow. DD1 was riding while one of the B group drove her wagon down with no difficulties. The driver pulled up near us and was handed a cup of cold juice. I clambered up to hug DD1. She was a little pale…or green? “Hey! You OK?” I asked motioning for a juice for her. She drank it and looked around. “Is it all like that,” she shuddered looking up at the HILL?” “No, that’s the last of it. And the worst. Just some switchbacks to get the rest of the way down to the valley floor and then it’s rather flat. We’re in a valley that’s shaped like a gigantic football stadium, y’know. Much lower mountains on the western side but nothing but wilderness over there. We’re in the NE quadrant. Too far to head out today, I’d think. Unless this goes quickly, we’ll spend the night at Base Camp.“ We looked up to see DSIL half way down, skidding his wagon’s locked wheels as the cable playing out slowly, holding the descent to a careful pace. Now it was DD2 who was pale, watching her husband and gripping her glass tightly in her hands. I was glad it was Tupperware and not real glass. But in a short time, SIL was beaming and hooting with victory. His wagon was unhitched from the cable and the wheel-locking log removed. The log is dragged up the hill with the cable for the next wagon. He brought the wagon to us and jumped out. DD2 and sons ran up to him. Then he came to give me greetings and hug. This steady SIL was going to do fine in our Valley. He was talented in so many things and a hard worker. Good with plants and craftsmanship. He also cooks! The small clearing was getting crowded. We needed to get some of the wagons started down the switchbacks to Base Camp. DD1 said she could handle the team from here if I could ride with her. I packed up the little twins and asked Machela to stay as hostess. My parents, John, Denise/Shalon, and Janet would wait for their wagons. DD2 loaded her boys onto the wagon their father had just brought down. She would follow DD1 and I. SIL began to walk back up the HILL and would bring down another wagon. I suspect he rather LIKED the HILL. Base camp had volunteers for cooking the noon meal and we were ready to eat by the time DD1, DD2, Grsons, my little twins and I made it through the switchback trail. That section of trail wasn’t really any worse than some places in the wilderness route, but it was long. My older DD’s set up a couple of their tents next to ours and DD1 went in to take a nap. Driving that route is exhausting. I told DD2 to go ahead for a nap too and I’d watch the four kids. They were all between 4 and 7 and enjoying each other. I had the help from others in base camp as well. The long day finally ended. Our group was down in plenty of time but it was wiser to stay and rest. We’d leave in the morning and planned to be home by mid afternoon. Except we stopped to berry pick. I had been seriously hoping to do that. The berries are loaded on the bushes about 2 miles from our Three Sisters Ford at the river. Some went on ahead to begin the crossing but about half of us stayed to harvest. I finally got to see Grma’s Orchard on the hayrack. All wedged securely in and amongst the other things tied to the rack. The things Bro wouldn’t tell me about. Well, he was right. I was very pleased with all the horse-drawn farm implements from the museum. This could make a real difference in our survival out here. I hadn’t guessed how important these farming tools would be till I actually lived this life here, depending on crops/gardens. I was sorry to hear that he couldn’t quite talk Uncle into coming too. I knew Uncle was familiar with farming this way and enjoyed it. I stared at the huge donkeys and mules. They make MM and Jack look like miniatures. They are powerful beasts and Bro had been pleased with their training to pull wagons. It took him some time to learn to handle them correctly but the Rockin’ J folks were helpful with that. Bro was pleased to find that a Percheron mare was a part of the Jenson-Han children’s livestock. We can breed for more huge mules for field work. The supper campfire at Base camp was merry. I was introduced to the new large clan…the Daylily’s. They seem to be very knowledgeable in self-sufficient living. Our family told of how the Daylily’s had thought to look up some Pick-Your-Own places and stopped to pick/dry the produce as they traveled. One was close to the Rockin’ J. They’d graciously offered the chance to others to pick and dry cherries with their large dehydrating arrangement in their truck. So my family had gone cherry picking too. ….Of COURSE Grma bought some cherry trees. Daylily’s mother and mine became friends along the wilderness trail. I wonder where their clan will chose to settle? Bro likes that area south of us across the river. I thought he would. Well with gallons of berries picked, and a crew in our Conestoga already sorting the leaves and such out of them, we arrived at the Ford. The only difficulty was Janet’s pygmy goats, who are a bit small for crossing. We shoved the berry buckets and all of our overnight gear towards the front of our Conestoga and squeezed the herd in there to float them across. With Machela and twins to guard the berries! Janet rode at the back of the wagon to calm her goats and it went smoothly. Besides a number of horses, donkey/mule teams and the Pygmies, the only other animals were assorted cats in crates and the two dogs that belonged to Janet and Jeff. Grma breathed easier when she saw that the river was not going to wash her Orchard off of the hayrack. ….it was close though. While still on the south bank of our river, Bro, Nathan and Micah went over to inspect the Dexter cows. I could tell Bro was very interested and my boys enjoyed telling of the many attributes of this unique breed. They are smaller and very thrifty with feed. Can forage unless snow hides all the ground cover. They can be bred in good dairy lines or beef lines. Yep, Bro is definitely interested in participating in that project. Good. Cuz we need more fencing so we can rotate them to new pasture soon. Well, the new Valley members were installed in their caves. Sort of. My parents were quite impressed with their ‘apartment’. My dad kept trying out the doors, to see if they were really secure…especially the one that leads outside. [lions&tigers&bears…] My Maui adult children were quite grateful for clean floors [tho a bit uneven, of course] and solid walls. With the high ceilings, they announced that they didn’t feel claustrophobic at all. [whew!] Since we didn’t have the doors on those caves, they were too edgy to stay overnight though. They decided to sleep on our side until the doors could be done. Micah and Ben offered to sleep with Nathan so DD2 and SIL and boys could sleep in their cave room. DD1 was offered space with Machela and twins. Bro reacted as expected about the caves but thought the tent was fine. Rex, livestock guardian of that Maui side, adored my brother instantly. Bro has that affect, even on my shy cat. So he thought his group would be safe enough with him sleeping in the tent by the opening and Rex standing watch. GF, Janet and Jeff unloaded enough to begin life in their section of caves. Then they all discovered the large ‘hot tub’ on the patio ledge of the Maui side. Whooohoo…party! So much to do. So many people to bring through the coming winter. But….tonight it was glorious to sit with my family and friends. MtRider [featherbed…here I come! ]

Hi everyone. Some of you might be keeping track in Streams but...my DD1 was able to go home late Sat. Sheeeesh....home for Easter? Wow. I was NOT expecting THAT! But God is in control of this and THANK YOU all for your prayers. I was cut off from library access due to unexpected repairs [after driving here Thurs. I found them closed ] and then closed for the holiday. I havent' been back on line for a week. Thus, I had to post five segments at once. Not how I'd like to do it but..... I might be able to drop my laptop off to get looked at tomorrow. No one around here knows Macs. {sigh} I'm not sure it's cost effective to install a new internal modem....don't even know if that's the problem. With all the extra things going on for us personally .......2 separate out-of-town visits from folks, the FLU, my car malfunctioning, The SNOW, DD1's hospitalization, The WIND, Easter, the maurading bobcat,.... Sheeesh! Getting a computer fixed keeps getting a low priority rating. MtRider [going home with a FULL flashdrive ....ready to catch up reading a weeks worth of your posts! ]

{I'm not sure if my computer is going INTO the SHOP on Tuesday. If so, I don't know when I'll show up again. IF I'm not here for the HILL arrival, Daylily can just take her group in and Mt3b deal with N&P. But I'll catch mine up when I can. } Dear Diary - Another Arrival on Mother’s Lil HILL The rest of the family is almost here! I was seriously intending to stay home with the little twins and send the rest of the family to the HILL this week. BUT…… I’ve changed my mind. This is a very important time for developing our group into a new family. It is a time of making our history together. I believe that traveling to the HILL and being there together to welcome the rest of the MtRider Clan will make some of that history. And the HILL has become a sort of Rite Of Passage for Valley residents. It’s something none of us forget. Indeed, we still talk of it, don’t we? We all need to be there to witness their arrival to Big Valley. Besides all that, the break away will be nice. I haven’t even been going to the Lodge on Sundays for a couple weeks. Just using the day to catch up on SLEEP and REST. So we’ve enlisted the Witlocks, Tom and David again. They are earning their cows, for sure. They’ll be busier homestead-sitting for us now that our livestock has increased. We’re packing up to leave tomorrow. We’ve had word that WT#3 is close….should be arriving by Wednesday morning. As for being ready to host thirteen more people…… Hmmm…… We didn’t get my parents’ adobe house built, obviously, but my brother will do a better job of it. We enacted Plan B and scrubbed out the cluster of small cave rooms that my parents will need to move into. They are just east of our hot tub room. It’s got a large skylight and we’ve framed it with wood up there like Mother’s clan has done. So far we only have plastic sheeting to cover it but, hopefully they might have window glass or plexiglass. Dunno if they will have to winter there and build in the spring? We just installed their two doors yesterday. One to the outside ledge and one to the inside “hallway” …access to the hot tub and our area and to the Maui caves in the other direction. With the thick door in place, you don’t get much hallway noise. We had the little ones yell and scream to test it. Hmmm… might need a doorbell of some kind! We’d gotten a few of the Maui caves cleared out from ancient animal debris and accumulated rubble quite a while ago. Then that recent WIND came along and threw in a bunch of dirt and leaves and such. I just threw up my hands and figured we’d have a huge work party when they arrived. But those darling children surprised us this morning. They’d all been sneaking away to clean out the new debris. They have cleaned the large cave room and a couple small ones for the Maui group. And they cleared another large cave and couple small ones for the Bro clan. DadMtR and I were astounded and relieved. The children were so proud to be able to surprise us. Even Kaila and Kaylee helped and didn’t give away the secret. The darlings! They also dug up some wild flowers and got them planted in some….well, crevasses within the rocks. Natural planters, I guess you’d say. It will be a nice welcome if the flowers will tolerate the transplanting. They look fine so far. There are black-eyed susans, pale blue flax, sweet-smelling something that is yellow, etc. I’m not sure my brother will be able to tolerate the caves. He’s got the claustrophobia thing like Mother. I have claustrophobia but it’s only for tight places….not just cuz of feeling the ton of rock/dirt over one’s head. I love our caves. They make me feel very secure as long as they are nice and roomy! We light with the solar-charged yard lights that we brought. Just have to collect them and place them outside to recharge daily. We’d used them for years in Colorado as a Plan B for power outages. In the newer ones with the LED lights, the power usage is efficient and those bulbs don’t burn out. It is still a bit dimmer than I’d like…I like bright so my eyes can see better. But our log cabin was dimmer too. We’ll share what we have with Maui and Bro groups but I hope they brought a lot more. Their large inside hot tub area is totally dark. They’ll use the outside one for the summer and fall for sure. Mebbe winter? But it’s all so VERY dark out here on a moonless night for those who are used to city lights. The wagon train should be getting them used to that…..somewhat. I rather like it…until something goes BUMP in the night and you realllllly want to see what it is! I think Bro will set up a shelter (starting with a tent) under the ledge outside the caves. He might tolerate the big caves (our kitchen/living rooms) for periods of time. (We’ll see.) But NOT to sleep there. I’d imagine the Bro-group will be trying to do log cabins….[or adobe once they try their hand at that]….on their own land when they decide where. I’m thinking they’ll like that land just south of us on the other side of East River. Bro is more farmer than woodsman and North and East of us, the trees increase. Nice field and pasture area just south. Lesseeee, so much has happened and I can’t sit down to record as I would like to. Oh, we’re happy to report that the bedwetting has ceased. Hmmm, we’re not sure if the Official Family Day eased their anxiety or ……. If it returns, we’ll just deal with that again. The children are all moved into their bedrooms, tho not sorted out within. Hard to do that without any furniture. Kaila and Kaylee still sleep next to big sister but they love having their alcove for all their things. They play there but want their beds next to Macky’s. They all brought firm foam mattresses with waterproof covers. We’ll have to get bedsteads made by winter but it’s fine on the cool stone floor for now. Plastic tote boxes make up most of our furniture. And occasional stumps and convenient-shaped rocks. We split logs for rough boards and set shelves (on stacked adobe bricks) but we’ll smooth them better during the winter. Splinters are a common thing. OW! We’ve collected various stones that will work for sanding and smoothing. I even brought a hand-sized hunk of smooth coral that DH and I used in Colorado for wood smoothing. Well, I think we’re packed. Like a camping trip in our Conestoga. Even the little twins will ride their ponies till they get tired. Then the ponies will be tied to the back of the wagon. Same with Midnight for me. We’ll leave in the late morning after chores. Cassandra is going to be helping her son and nephew with the milking. She said she’d be happy to just use the milk for trying some cheese and that was barter enough to suit her. With four dwarf goats and three Dexter cows, she’ll have plenty to work with. And we really didn’t want to drop that upon the boys alone. If all goes well, the family should arrive Wed morning, do The HILL by Wed nite, and we’ll leave for our return trip Thursday morning. We should be back here by Thursday late afternoon. Looks like clear weather. Going to bed. MtRider […if I can sleep with the excitement…. ]

[Peeking in on the Wagon Train #3 ] Can we keep him? "Well, can we keep him?" repeated Denise to her dad, Bro. She wore her best pleading look. It usually works. "I want a little brother and I'll help make sure he's taken care of. He doesn't have ANYone!" Bro sighed. The subject of their discussion lay sleeping in the back of one of their wagons. A rascal by day, he was currently the 'picture of innocence'. "You are 19 years old. You'll go off and get married and I'll be stuck with him as a teenager. I just got you out of that stage!" he grumped. She stared at him like he had two heads so he continued. "Shall I remind you about that pesky kitten you got just before leaving for college?" He had her on that one, but in reality he knew he'd already lost this battle. Shalon [that's what he calls himself] had wormed his way into Bro's heart as well as Denise's. He was one of several more homeless children who'd been collected at the Rockin' J and sent on with this Wagon Train. Somehow from the first day out, Shalon had attached himself to Bro and Denise. "The kid's got survival instincts, for sure," he thought. Bro snorted and threw up his hands. "I don't know what we're getting into but YOU are going to help me!" Denise gave him a quick hug and a very big smile. Bro walked off grumbling about being too old for this. But he did go to speak with Mr Huges. "What do you know about Shalon's history and family?" "Pretty much nothing. The local sheriff deputy brought him to the ranch. He'd been scrounging food and living in an abandoned house. He'd even set up a garden there but some drifters moved in and tore the place up while he hid in a tree. After the sheriff's department rounded up the three men, a deputy began looking around to see who'd been caring for the place and planting food. Shalon wasn't too happy about being spotted and brought to the Rockin' J. " answered MrH. "Well he seems pretty excited to be going to the Valley." said Bro, confused. "I'm not sure he knew what he was getting into when they dropped him off with the Rocks," said MrH. "That makes two of us," muttered Bro. MrH laughed. "Can I assume you're considering keeping him?" "I'm getting outnumbered with Denise after me all the time. But….to tell the truth, he kinda grows on you," admitted Bro. "Yeah, he might as well make his home with us. He's very bright. And a good helper …….when he's not getting into trouble." MrH laughed harder. "He is a 10 year old BOY! What kind of trouble did you get into at that age?" "Hey! You've met my dad and mom. Not that much, I assure you," answered Bro. MrH just laughed all the more. Bro suspected he didn't believe him. Grma sat in a chair staring into the campfire. Grpa was already asleep in their wagon. She was so tired. She was so BEYOND tired that she didn't even have a word to describe it. She thought back to the days, decades ago in Iowa, when she and Grpa had worked day and night to get crops planted. She'd thought that was tired. Now in her early 80's, it just didn't seem fair that she was entering an even more difficult lifestyle with FAR less energy. Well, with four generations of their family living in Big Valley, she thought she'd just plan to do nothing more than rock babies and shell peas. No babies in the family right now but perhaps there would be more. She did a mental tally again…trying to keep the generations straight now that six more grandchildren had been added. Plus the original granddaughters and a grandson-in-law. This trip had surely given them all a chance to get to know each other again. Denise has grown into a fine young woman by now too. Grma's son and all her grandchildren have been very attentive to her and Grpa. If they could provide them with more ease, someone would see to it. Like carefully securing her comfortable glider chair into their wagon. Grpa had a comfortable chair too and since it reclined, he was able to nod off to sleep whenever he felt like it. These were situated just behind the driver's seat and one of the younger generation always did the driving. She and Grpa could sit and watch this beautiful country slide by slowly. Well, j-j-j-jolt and bounce by sometimes. J Their mattress was just behind the chairs and ready anytime either of them wished to lay down for easier resting. But she liked to stay up and watch. She'd already seen deer, elk, foxes, and even some mountain sheep through the binoculars that were kept handy. "I lived thirty years in Colorado and had to come all the way up here to see elk," she mused. { family joke IRL…Grma never spots the elk. } Sometimes she went to ride with Denise or Bro or one of the other granddaughters. They had all gotten very good with driving the oxen. Or was it that the oxen now knew this trail. The oxen were switched off each trip but there had been several wagon trains by now. Other than if the last of the Rock family were forced to retreat in the next few months, this would be the last wagon train. Mebbe. The pack mules would take occasional trips. John and Grpa have spent the whole trip so far talking and trying to work out any challenges of this new life. Grma kind of thought this trip was turning out to be a good mental exercise for them. They sat in the chairs in this wagon or Grpa might ride inside 'Bug' with John. Bug began as John's tiny, 8X16' aluminum trailer. The street wheels had been removed now and replaced with a set of large wagon wheels. There had been some attempt at adding a suspension system for this rugged trail. They also welded on a driver's seat and the hook-ups for the oxen pulling it. Now it looked rather like a stagecoach made from a large tuna can - sideways. But so far it was handling the trail and he had a nice place to sleep at night. Their covered wagon wasn't bad though. Except for the mosquitoes that found their way past the netting. And the lack of great restroom facilities. :rollingeyes: She was glad they'd brought a flushing 'camping device'. Grpa had picked up several of those, in fact. Grma started laughing at the thought of wrapping those 'devices' up for Christmas gifts this year. If they could just reach this Valley, she'd be ok. She could rest for a week, she promised herself. Arriving in August, they would be in the beginning of the harvest rush. Farming was a busy lifestyle and she'd thought she was retired from it. But, the alternative OUTSIDE was not even to be considered. Her thoughts drifted back to her family. She could hardly believe that they'd been able to gather everyone from all parts of the country after the chaos began. Up until they'd finally made it to this wilderness trail, so close now to Big Valley, she'd been regretting bitterly that they had not gone with their daughter and son-in-law on the first wagon train. But now that they had reached this relative safety, she knew the trip during winter would have been so much harder on her and Grpa. With the noteworthy exception of the Carterville fiasco, this trip was much easier in summer. But boy, she had thought they'd made a grave mistake when they hit Carterville. She made a mental note to personally thank Jerry's mom for raising such a fine son. Truth be told, she was pretty proud of the role her own son had played too. She wondered what it was going to be like to have all those grandchildren and great grandchildren around. Her daughter now has taken on those six new children. Some of them are not yet teens. Her granddaughter, DD2, has gotten them started on great-grandchildren. DD2's boys had been so young when they'd last visited Colorado and now they're 4 and 7. Kind of a handful but they've calmed down with so many adults to keep an eye on them and amuse them. So adorable and smart, too. Quite the entertainers when they weren't being hooligans. She looked up to see her aforementioned son approaching the campsite. "Are you still up?" Bro asked. She laughed. "I think I'm simply too tired to move from this camp chair," she replied. "But actually, I'm sitting here thinking of how blessed we are. Our whole family will be together. This Valley won't be easy but … {she shuddered}….it's better than back there. I'm SO thankful you and Denise and the rest made it." "We're glad too. I wish we could have talked Uncle and his family into joining us. But they have a good retreat place and have a lot of connections there. If it doesn't get too bad, they'll be OK." He added a silent, "I hope!" "Um…..," he continued. "What would you think of yet another grandchild?" "Are you talking about your GF's daughter, Janet or about Shalon?" she asked. Well, she got to ask both questions in one with that opening. J He laughed. "No I'm not talking about getting married to GF. Yet. So far we're good friends. Have been for years. We really don't know what will come of our relationship. So we decided to just let it ride until we arrive and get settled and ….then we'll see. I would have wanted GF and Janet and Jeff along anyway. Janet and Denise have always been friends. ….Uh, this isn't out yet but Janet is pregnant. Not very far along, obviously, so we have time to get them set up." He saw her look of concern mixed with congratulations for the couple. She said, "I wonder if we'll have a midwife out there? Joy Rock told DD2 and me that there are a couple RN's. I know our DrMtR has some special training for something involving birthing. If the baby isn't turned right. He learned an adjusting technique to urge the baby to get into position before the labor starts." Then she added, "but if you aren't talking about that, then it's Shalon. Are you going to keep him?" Bro just rolled his eyes. "Everyone keeps asking that…like he's a lost puppy that we have let up on the porch during a rain storm." "Well, he's sleeping in your wagon, isn't he? You kind of have let him up on the 'porch'. Life now is more than a mere rainstorm though. I think we're living in a tornado. And yes, I think it would be great to have Shalon for a new grandson. He's gotten very attached to you and Denise and he's quite the character. Reminds me of you at that age, actually," she concluded. "OK, OK….I give in BUT…. you have to promise not to tell him stories of what I did when I was his age. Deal?" "And don't tell Rebecca either!" _____________________________________ Shalon was nervous this morning. He mentally reviewed everything he'd done in the past twenty-four hours. Had he and GS's 1 & 2 done anything else they shouldn't have? He didn't think so. They all tried to be good but they just forgot when they were having fun. GS1 and 2 were younger but he liked playing with them. Why was Bro looking so serious? He looked over at Denise and saw that she had the strangest expression on her face. Was she….. Then his attention was drawn back to Bro. "We're nearly at the Big Valley and we need to talk to you," began Bro. "You are 10 years old. What was your life like before the deputy found you in that tree?" Shalon gulped. To remember back….back into the chaos….hunger….pain….. Bro saw Shalon turn pale and quickly asked, "Did you lose your parents recently after everything got so bad? I'm just asking if you are orphaned." He reached across and put a hand lightly on Shalon's shoulder. The boy nodded. "There's no one out there looking for you? Be truthful now." He shook his head hard and looked up at Bro. "Are you gonna kick me out?" His voice quavered. "No, we're gonna keep you!" answered Bro….and was instantly bowled over backwards, even falling off the log he sat upon, by the sobbing boy grasping him around the waist in a tight hug. He hugged him back. __________________________________________

{In fond appreciation [NOT!] of the three days I’ve spent trying to avoid being out in Chinook winds IRL..…tho I have to say it’s eaten up the snow! I hate wind!] Dear Diary - WIND Odd….I am gaining an ability to tell time in the darkness. I woke in that darkness that you know somehow is not quite as dark as it had been a half hour before. I still couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. But I knew that within fifteen minutes I would be able to. Hmmm, it appears that cave dwellers begin to have a altered sense of things. But I wasn’t focused on the finer details of light and dark at that moment. It was the wind. Even deep inside our Cleft….or maybe because of the tunnels that echo sound, the wind sounded horrible. ------- I HATE WIND ------- DH was already up and my morbid curiosity dragged me up too. We were supposed to load hay today and get it stored inside the livestock cave on Maui-side. Grrreeeaaat! The wispy stuff is going to be blown clear across the kingdom by now. I hustled to dress and get out to our ‘front door’. DH was standing in the lee of the outcrop rock, having a pipe. “Sheeeesh! This is nasty. I haven’t seen wind like this since the Chinook and this isn’t the season for them.” I could see DH was not awake from the slightly glazed look and brief nod of response. But now that I’m up, I’m awake and ready to worry. I continued. “I sure hope this isn’t normal for this end of the Valley or I’m moving down with Q and Mt3b! Has anything been blown away yet?” I saw that he’d thrown a few things like lawn chairs into the kitchen area and drawn the plastic front wall up tighter. Rural living has long ago trained us to keep our belongings tidy and under shelter at all times. Even if the weather is a clear starry night, we try to never leave anything laying out. Part of that is to discourage the danged raccoons and other curious and destructive wildlife from sneaking in and having a party while we sleep. Now we can no longer replace things. Our very survival dictates that we must be even more cautious – day or night. Odd though. The barometer didn’t tell me of any shift in pressure last nite. I went off to check it again. Well, it’s a bit lower than last nite but nothing significant. “It looks like it’s going to be a dry wind. If we have to have anything, that’s better than getting the hay wet,” I reported. “IF we can even find our hay,” grumbled DH. “You really want to try handling hay on a day like this?” Nathan had just joined us with a worried look. “Don’t tell me we just lost all that work in the hay field.” I snorted. “My mother always warned me about days like this. ‘Don’t marry a farmer’ she always said. This is why!” {IRL too….and she laughed when I read her that line. } That brought a chuckle from them. A weak chuckle. I decided to make pancakes with berries. Maybe if we dawdle over breakfast this wind will calm down. It did decrease a bit. Not enough to make this a good day. Now, at the end of it, it seems a little surreal. Like a nightmare that goes on and on. Owing to the possibility that rain was heading here by tomorrow, we had little choice but to try to salvage what dried hay we could find and get it under shelter. We arrived at the field we’d cut and raked and raked and raked as it dried under a faithful sun. Now we could see that the grass was blown and plastered against the bushes, trees and rocks on the eastern border of that area. Someone muttered that if it blew it far enough, it would tumble into the Maui pasture. In one respect, it was easier since it was clumped up in big piles wherever it caught on something. But it was strewn here and there throughout a huge area and some of it was still thinly spread over the field. It was hard to get the Conestoga wagon into some of the tight spaces between the close trees. MM and Jack could maneuver the donkey cart easier though so we’d transfer a full cartload into the Conestoga. The heavy canvas tarps held the hay down in the wagons but shoving it underneath was a tricky two-person operation. All that flapping about was VERY annoying and we all saw how each of us deals with our tempers. [i prefer to kick inanimate objects when I’ve “about had it”. ] We’re all usually ready to find humor but this was so intense that it qualifies as a situation that will be funny later….much later! There was less wind in the trees…. A bit less. At least the forest put up some resistance. Wind at that velocity is exhausting to work in. With MS, I’m nearly destroyed by the roaring and pushing me over and snatching things out of my weak fingers. It batters my unshielded sensory net as badly as if I was standing behind a jet aircraft engine. I kept ducking behind solid objects just to breath easier. I’d stuffed my ears with a bit of rag, just to deaden the sound. Of course after being on such high alert for danger these many months, it nearly drove me crazy to have my ears plugged. It felt vulnerable and I thought of Mt3b. But the others would be alert. That is if ANY of us could hear. The little twins burrowed down behind nearby rocks that block the wind. They had their usual dolls, stuffed animal friends, and blankets. And they had Nya-St.Pup to guard. They played ‘house’ and ‘storm’ and of course, ‘tea party’. They didn’t seem to mind the wind as much as the rest of us. After a while, I was forced to quit fighting the wind. I was shaking so badly I couldn’t see…..if that makes any sense. I was scrambling my brain. [DH keeps saying ‘I told you so!’ but I hate to leave them in such a bad situation without trying to help.] I joined the twins in their alcove, which they thought was great fun. When the first load was driven back to the Maui caves, the girls and I hitched a ride home. I just cannot tolerate the wind. I consoled myself by making bread. I’m not as good as DH but I had pretty good luck today. It’s so much easier to get a good baking result down at this lower altitude than our CO home. But we still add a bit of extra gluten to bread. The girls and I made cookies too. It had been so hot that we had not done much baking. This odd day hadn’t exactly dropped much in temperature but the wind sure blew away the oven heat once I opened the door a crack. At least we had a lot better meals at lunch and supper than usual. When I spend the day working in the gardens or fields, I just can’t do much more than throw something together quick. And that, only with help from the others. We also did some sorting of the “stuff” that is still sitting in the living room cave. The girls pointed out whose things are whose and helped to cart the box or bag to the appropriate bedroom. It’s nice to have more cleared space. Someday, I want a couch again! Right now our living room furniture consists of a few pillows and rugs I’d brought. Looks like the inside of Jeanie’s bottle. [ as in: “I dream of Jeanie” ] Well, today we’d brought in the fold-up chairs that usually sit outside on the ledge. There are three convenient sitting rocks too. Does that count? The …ahem, Dining Room portion has the fold-up table and bench seats made simply by laying a board over a couple of tote boxes. The rough wood slabs are covered with nice, Southwestern horse blankets though. Ah well, winter will be time enough to get things homey in here. Should have brought more rugs and horse blankets! The VERY weary workers finally came inside for the last time that night. They had battled the wind snatching hay from their rakes and out of their hands while they loaded it. But they said the effort had been worth it. They had recovered a lot of hay. Not as much as if it had stayed put in the nice and neat rows we’d been raking all week. But it certainly had not been a total loss. It was fortunate that the woods had been close on the eastern side to catch the wispy stuff in clumps. They also reported some bad news. The Maui caves, designated to be occupied very soon, were a mess. We’d done some cleaning over there when Nathan was here the first time. The wind angle had blown dirt and leave debris ALL over again. Well, at least it was “clean dirt”. {sigh} We need to work on doors but ….we’ll leave that for my contractor brother! They let Mac use the hot tub first and she brought the twins to play and get clean too. I’d taken some time earlier to get rid of the scratchy stuff that gets everywhere. I’m still brushing it out of my hair, though I’d had that tied back and under a tight hat. When the guys came in from their turn, clean and hungry, the twins and I presented the venison potpies. We used some of the early veggies like peas, a few beans, some wild onions and even some of the tender portions of cattail root. I’m not sure if that last ingredient mixed well but…. Everyone was starved and it disappeared fast. The cookies had been devoured at lunch so we’d made a berry cobbler. Seemed like the sort of day that sweets were a necessity. Everyone helped to clear the supper and we all staggered off to bed. Which is where I’m sitting while writing. My ears seem to be still ringing with the roar of that wind. But outside, all is quiet, finally. The wind has gone off to the east to pester someone else. MtRider [checking the barometer once more tonite ..]

Dear Diary - Doctor’s Pay and other bartering stories Welllll, it’s been interesting lately. DrMtR has been gone more than he’s been home. Ya KNOW…… I really thought that aspect of our lives was ending when we came to homestead in the Valley. It greatly affects what we can get done around here, especially before the children arrived. And of course, with the children here, we have our own share of boo-boos and owies. Nothing serious. Don’t know what is causing this rash of [thankfully minor] medical calls. Mebbe we all just need to be more careful. Mebbe we’re all getting tired…very tired! There were the two brothers who fell while roofing. That required some stitches and several chiropractic adjustments. A good thing healthy 20-somethings heal fast. A good thing their poor mother only THOUGHT she had a heart attack! Then there was the baby crying excessively and running a fever. Main problem there was teething. [New mom and dad...lots of worry/little experience.] The last one yesterday was old Stanford. He made a mistake he swears he hasn’t made in 20 years. He sliced his arm while woodworking. That needed stitches! Ow! Right now, DrMtR has set a standard fee per hour of his time. Including his travel time [if it’s not his usual clinic hours on Sundays] the patient has to provide the equivalent in hay. They can send a clan member to work our land for the hay or just bring us some in a wagon. Cuz…..that’s what isn’t getting done at our place when he runs to the medical clinic to stitch. J It’s working out really well. Stanford though……he doesn’t do much heavy work, being over 70 yrs old. So he traded the stitches for two of his hand-made hay rakes. He’s been producing them as fast as he can to fill orders. [Hurrying….now that’s the number ONE cause of accidents…folks gotta slow down and be careful! ] Most everyone is doing some haying right now. The weather is holding real well. Anyway, those rakes of his are dandy. DrMtR is sure hoping that the order of suture kits is going to be arriving on this WT#3. MrS&J stocked up a lot but felt another case of them would be a good idea. There are a lot of cuts associated with this rough, primitive life. Lots of abrasions too. Suture kits make the stitching easier. Doing it with a bent needle and any type of strong, thin cordage that can be produced…..well, we’ll come to that point and we’ll make it work. But he’ll still be hoping for that extra case of supplies. Oh, I forgot that someone traded him 6 qt jars of canned venison stew and a portion of cheese… I rather liked that trade too. I’ve done some trading of my own. Young Kelsey who fell in love with our goat babies wanted to barter for two of them. We’d planned that she could work it off. But her dad proposed that two does would be worth the commissioning of a small watercraft that he and the sons would make. Their family has no milk animal yet. Hmmm, that’s a good trade. We’re still discussing which type of boat. I would LOVE a kayak. I know kayaks and I can maneuver them well. But….I’ve a family now. So I suppose I need to request a more utilitarian craft. Something we can get up and down the river. He’s going to draw up some designs. Possibly with a sail? River isn’t wide enough to tack back and forth but if the wind happened to blow where you wanted to go….. Dunno. Right now we have the small inflatable boat that barely holds an adult and a child. The older boys have used it to fish the deeper areas of the river but being air-filled, it’s not very stable. Maybe we’ll increase the deal with a butcher-ready pig and get the kayak too. J Still on the topic of barter: I’ve heard that ‘Valley TP’ will soon be in business. One of the enterprising B group decided before we even left that Valley residents might someday like to barter for T.P. Actually, the name of their operation is kind of a joke. Not only is the man’s name Tony Peterson [called ‘TP’] but also their whole cottage industry includes all sorts of papermaking. They’re located on the SW end of the lake and have been experimenting with the various grasses, reeds, and even cattail fluff. “Real Toilet Paper” is just their slogan. You can also get their Valley-made paper for all the notes we’re sending each other by messenger too. Most of us brought a supply of writing paper, spiral notebooks, and such. But I don’t know any of us that still has TP left. So they are ready to barter….. They warn that it’s not exactly Charmin-soft. And it’s not in a roll. Kind of accordion-pleated in packages….neatly wrapped in paper, of course. This was a great long-term industry idea for our Valley. They described how they pour the slurry onto huge screens and sun-dry. They’ve built a drying shed for winter and rainy days using the solar gain, solar chimney designs, and a couple wood burners. The real trick has been in finding the right formulas for the slurry for different types of paper. The ingredients are fascinating. Everything from bits of cloth to dog hair. All sterilized when the mixture is boiled up to make the slurry. MtRider [resting from raking hay….we’ve been turning acres and acres ( ….or the same acre several times, actually) of the stuff this week but we’ll be hauling it inside the cave tomorrow. ]

{Hello Folks. IRL I drove allll the way to the library to post some of these on Thurs 4/1. BUT it was closed from repairs. AND it wasn't going to open again until today due to holiday weekend. So I'm sorry if this fouls up the "Daily Journal" format when I'm forced to post FIVe at once. Please take note that I have not read any of your posts since 4/29...last Monday. I put that on my flash drive device and read at home. ACK...I'm so behind on how your stories are going! These are an assortment of events and ponderings in our Valley. AND if anyone knows how I can keep from getting such WIDE spaces between paragraphs...PM me. It's happening as I translate between my flashdrive and copy onto the posting reply.... hpmh! } A Messenger Letter to Mother --- What do you have an "ono" for? [Hawaiian phrase: "ono" means 'good tasting' so it's asking, what you are hungry for/what are you hankering to eat? ] Dear Mother, I'd like to ask a question that requires a good bit of tact and wisdom. Since you are Matriarch of our largest Valley clan, I'd imagine you've had some thoughts about this. It is the issue of food distribution within our clans. I know you mentioned that you simply divided all but your baking goods in half…sending one half over to the new clan members on the south bank. Being diplomatic, I've got some rural/pioneer newbies arriving. Pondering about what we'd do if for instance…. If they run through their food too fast due to waste, over-indulgence, making things they like to eat with no regard for learning to eat new things that would extend the food through the whole winter, etc????? I used the Hawaiian phrase to represent Group A - the Daily Shopper type of meal planning. They are accustomed to simply buying what they want to eat that night on the way home from work, or whatever. They eat things that are fresh from the store. There is little experience with the need to use up food that could be nearing spoilage. There is no need in their style because they'll be at the store again soon. They never buy more than can be used in a couple days. They are completely gonna think they are on a different planet now! The other extreme is ….us! Farmers who store for the winter…and spring….and well into summer/fall until that particular crop is harvested again. Group A people are going to be a bit….. while trying to make that adjustment. They have to get to know the reality of this fact: The 'food store' is open right now …..our gardens and wild edibles are there for the harvesting. BUT we are not putting them in the fridge to eat in a couple days. We have to hurry and preserve great quantities of foodstuffs in some way. This "store" will close soon and will not open for another YEAR! Even dairy runs out unless you have staggered milkers; some drying up while others freshen. {sigh} HOW do we get that fact across? It is SO alien to most Americans in these past few decades. It will be such a culture shock! Will some new clan members refuse to see this and continue to eat in the way that is familiar to them. "We don't DO leftovers…." :frying pan: It is a fact that no one will likely survive this coming winter with the "Ono" meal planning method. We simply do not have the hours in the day to gather in that amount of abundance. And what about spoilage, rodent pilfering and polluting, insects (durned moths!), and other such calamities that can occur with the best of vigilance? What if it's a longer winter than expected? What if……. Obvious to all of the WT#1 members, we need contingency plans. Food and firewood and livestock hay. Top priorities!!!!! Oooops, back on topic: Do we instruct? Do we 'model' good food utilization? Hold clan meetings? Make a communal kitchen until education and compliance is achieved? Insist that members with a too-narrow selection of preferred foods be required/encouraged to to chose three new foods per week to try? Oatmeal, anyone? …..NOTE: I'm certainly not talking about those plagued with food allergies! Those are serious and must be accommodated. As a matter of fact, a child who INSISTS on a dislike of something like milk, often does have an allergy to it so we must be aware of that. I'm worried because some of our most basic foods are not ..er, 'fashionable(?)', as some might be used to. They certainly are not what those who habitually eat out will be familiar with. Children may be bad enough but I laugh to think of trying to serve some of Mother's wild edible dishes to some adults with preconceived ideas. No matter how yummy those foods can be….they are unfamiliar and under suspicion! What about careless, wasteful habits…..due to former abundance? This will be an issue with ANYthing here in the Valley but just keeping it to food topic. Within a clan, how will those of us who have fits over careless waste of good food be received? Heard? Believed? ………ARE WE IN THE MAJORITY in our clan so we can out-vote the uninitiated? Or do we, of the WT#1 have the right to call them into account, if they persist. It would be nice to believe that everyone we've ended up with [some folks were brought along and don't even know the original WT#1 members ] will be bright enough to see a good and reasonable thing happening when they arrive. But there are all kinds of people. Some are more blinded by their issues. Some will hold onto anything familiar with a death grip…cuz this is all so strange and frightening. Food has a strong emotional attachment for a lot of people. [ Just try prying their fingers off that coffee cup! ] I hope to do a communal kitchen for a while. The salad and stir-fry garden veggies will supply a lot of meals that will be acceptable to everyone….almost everyone. Perhaps offer a simple second choice like a sandwich if the main course is not to someone's liking? Eventually we might have four kitchens running: in our CO side, the Maui side, wherever Bro and company decide to set up, and perhaps my parents/John. Though the older ones might just ask what's on the menu and sign up to eat at whichever kitchen they choose? Hey…..can we talk Chef into giving Valley-style cooking lessons, heavy emphasis on the use-it-up/never-waste principles? Then it wouldn't just be coming from family members. On the other hand, perhaps the horrific experiences every has just getting to the Rockin' J these days, and the wagon trail through the wilderness will have caused some enlightenment????? Chef did not go back to cook for this Wagon Train #3 so I'm not sure how they are handling meals. But I hope the abundance that we're beginning to see from early garden produce and wild edibles does not give them the wrong impression. Point of information: I'm not really expecting ALL of these problems with just my group. I'm really opening this up to ANY group that might have these challenges. :curstey: Whatcha think???? MtRider [anticipating with great eagerness, and some trepidation for the uninitiated. ]

Dear Diary - Blending Families Our new [Jenson-Han] children have been with us for just over three weeks now. Overall, its been going very well. Granted, I am exhausted all the time. But then, I've been exhausted since way before our wagon train left in February. At least now, with the help of the older children, we are getting a lot of things done. They are no strangers to work and ranch living is enjoyable and normal to them. They still think living in caves is a neat adventure. For the most part… That said, we have a problem. Kaila has begun wetting the bed. It began just a few days…er, nights ago. I asked Mac about it and she said that's occurred now and then with Kaila when she's anxious. But she also said she'd found Kaylee wet this morning. So I called a conference with the three older children, DH and I. Ben and the twins went down inside the fenced Maui garden to weed a row…. and now were playing in the empty corner with their makeshift play tent and three affectionate barn cats. We sat down on "GRparents land" …..the spit of land that divides our "C" from the Maui "C" and will be the eventual site for my parent's adobe home. From this high location, we can see the young children within that garden's palisade fencing. We began to discuss the issue of this blending of families. DH and I have no qualms or regrets and we made sure Nathan, Mac and Micah knew that from the start. We already love them all dearly and think of them as OURS! They assured us that it was mutual. Macky said, "Nathan told us you immediately rejected his idea to merely sponsor us until he turns 18 next spring. We all know you want to be our new parents even when we're grown up." She was sitting next to me and wrapped her arm around my waist. "Exactly," I responded, hugging her back. "No one ever gets too old for family. How much do you think the young ones understand? Your parents adopted the twins as infants while your father was stationed in Korea, right? Do they know about that?" Nathan answered, "They know they had a Korean mom and dad before they came to our family. Not sure how much they understand at five years old." We nodded and he continued. "They obviously adore you both so that's not the issue." Micah began, hesitated, and then spilled out, "It might be that….the other family and your real daughters are coming." " 'Real' daughters?" I asked, confused. "But so are all of you ……" "…uh, you DO remember that they are adopted too, right?" said DH. Nathan must have caught on to what our quiet Micah meant. "Ah….that might be….," he began. "He doesn't mean that kind of "real". Not "real" in a biological way. You see, DD1 and DD2 are so obviously your …well, REAL daughters and we are still so new to you. I guess I can see that it might be a question whether their arrival will ….um, change things. ….Not that I have any doubt, you know," he rushed to add. DH was pretty stunned. He's the type that has to think a bit before knowing how to express certain things. Not me tho…. J I jumped right in. "OK, so when can we say that you six are our REAL children and you are REALLY a part of our family?" I asked eagerly in my blunt way. "I know we told Nathan we'd see how things go when he was here and first asked us. That really wasn't so much for Dad and I as it was for you all to decide if we could become a family. We didn't want to push the issue, especially with you older ones. But…..is three weeks long enough to decide or do you need longer?" Micah's mouth dropped open….showing that he'd probably been wondering about these things too. Nathan was still thinking and nodding but Machela hugged my waist fiercely and said, "You're my new mom and dad! I'll never stop missing and loving our first parents… " her eyes filled with tears at this, "but I certainly don't need any more time to choose you both for our next parents!" "Me neither," said Micah quietly but firmly. Nathan just shrugged with a big grin on his face and suddenly we five were in a big hug together. When we finally stood quietly, still holding each other, I said, " I want you to know something. You were our children from the time Nathan showed us your pictures. It happened like that with your older sisters too. Their picture was there among many others but we were both drawn to THEM! They have been our children since that moment. God can just tell you these things sometimes. We had to wait nearly nine months for them to arrive from Korea. For you all, it was only a long six weeks. " DH was nodding in agreement, tears in his eyes too. "None of you treat your little sisters any different than you treat your other siblings. You don't see any difference, right?" They agreed and I went on. "There will not be a difference for us either. We have long history with DD1 and DD2 by now. We have all the family times that we've shared. The six of you have that sort of history with each other and we are just beginning to develop that with the eight of us. Soon there will be twenty of us and …. ….well, that's just going to be crazy! I'm glad we've had this time to begin before all the rest get here." "Let's make it official!" said DadMtR suddenly. I agreed immediately. "Yeah, this Sunday at the Lodge! Lets do an official ceremony. Then we can call that date our Family Anniversary every year like we do with DD1 and DD2!" Nathan gave a long loud whistle which is a signal to gather. The young ones heard it and looked up at us on the ridge. "C'mon up," Nathan hollered and waved his arm. "I'm not sure if this is the cure for the girls but, I like the idea anyway," he said to us. "Thank you for ……." He spread his arms wide…." All of it!" We spent some time telling the excited Ben and twins of a new holiday we'd invent. Now our family had three anniversaries: The wedding anniversary for DH and I. The arrival of DD1 and DD2 over twenty years ago. And now the finalization of our newest children into the family. I did change my mind about having it right away this Sunday though. They all assured us that they won't mind waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. I told them their new grandmother would strangle me if we had our ceremony just before she could arrive and attend. Everyone would want to be there. So IT'S OFFICIAL, as DH likes to say. Whenever Wagon Train # 3 arrives, the next Sunday will be our adoption ceremony for these six wonderful children. We're sending out invitations for everyone in the Valley to witness our ceremony after the services and before potluck lunch. Mr. Smith has happily agreed to officiate. We also announce that if any of the other adoption families want to join on this day, that is certainly fine with all of us. Or they might want a separate day for their own ceremony. I think it's going to become one of those new Big Valley traditions. MtRider [ ]

Dear Diary --- The Orchard Prep Eeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuw! This bucket of fermenting fish parts is smelling RIPE! I'm surprised we haven't attracted a bear. Well actually, now that I think to look, I do see the marks of long claws on the tree we anchored the bucket from. It dangles way up high from a rope draped over a medium size branch. Like campers are instructed to do with their food if they are in bear country. Since it's fermenting, we can't seal the lid tight so we took the precaution of placing this way down near the Three Sisters Ford and way up in the tree. So why in the world would we take so much trouble to attract bears? Nooooooo, we want the fish parts for fertilizing the orchard. Especially cuz we'll be planting the orchard in the craziest time of year possible. August! My mother's letter told of it. In fact, everyone mentioned 'Grandma's Orchard On Wheels' in the notes Jerry brought in with the mule train. Apparently she chivvied the family into taking her to every greenhouse and garden supply store that was still open before they left Colorado. [security-guarded garden stores are doing well OUTSIDE…no small wonder with food scarce!] As they traveled north with the armed caravan, she managed to find another small garden shop that wasn't so picked over yet by hungry hordes. She bought up every fruit tree; every nut tree; every fruit-bearing shrub that she could find. For every nut tree and long-term fruit tree, she would say. "This is for my grandchildren". But she also had bought dwarf fruit trees, berry plants, bushes, brambles and canes. Then she would say, "These will produce in my life time!" She does well with plants. She kept a close eye on them while they traveled, keeping them all well watered. Most of them were in pots or small plastic bags of dirt, already budded out and ready to leaf when she made the purchases in June. By the time they'd been stopped in Carterville, they were in leaf. She had arranged them throughout their various vehicles and trailers so that the plants would have indirect sunshine. DD2 reported via her letter, that Grma had fussed a lot about her orchard while they were locked in the school. She promised dire repercussions for the brigands if her precious cargo died while sitting in the parking lot! But [providentially – thank YOU, God!] the weather was rainy and cloudy the whole time they were captive. The very first thing everyone was set to do upon their release from the school was to pull out every one of the plants and trees. Among the strawberries plants, there was about a 10 percent loss. L But she'd bought a lot. Many plants and trees were looking wilted. Everything was watered again and repacked until they reached the Rockin' J that evening. It was expected that the care she could give the plants before they all began the wagon trip would restore most of them to health. My brother, assigned to figure out the best way to haul them, mentioned that they will be tucked in here and there with some equipment [he said I'd be pleased with this "equipment" but wouldn't say what it is…the rat! ] he's bringing on a hayrack. They'll drape a porous shade cloth over the whole wagon on sunny days and a waterproof tarp during storms. The horticulturist at one garden center had told her she'll need shade cloth, especially planting so late in the season. The strawberries had to be transplanted into some plastic tubs or be lost. Everything will be fairly root-bound when they finally arrive here in the Valley. So we in the Valley are charged with the task of preparing an orchard space so that they can be planted within 24 hrs of arrival. [Arrival at Cleft of the Rock, that is - they don't know about Mother's Lil' HILL. Actually, Jerry told my brother. ] We'd been saving all 'fish parts' anyway for the vegetable gardens. With more mouths to feed, we have increased our fishing and the big bucket is nearly full. This yummy stuff will be great fertilizer. Those poor plants will need all the help they can get. They'll definitely need shade from the direct sun of August. I'm not sure they brought that much shade cloth material but we can rig something. Perhaps the netting the children's mother used to cover her fruit trees from the birds? With grass strewn on top? The first order of business was to decide on a location….but that was easy. The Maui-side cliffs have the hot spring outside and it spills down the pasture forming a nice creek, cooling as it goes. It is not highly sulfurous. It's just hot. It's located midway in the wide area between the west and east spits of land that form the "C". Grma's Orchard will be up close to the reflective heat of the stone cliffs, which will make this warmer than any other location. [Peaches and cherries and plums! ] The creek running through will ensure moisture, though we may have to divert/irrigate more in midsummer. This is also the eventual location of the large greenhouse. No one mentioned in the letters, if they brought greenhouse plastic [uV stable] or insulated clear plastic panels, but I'm hoping. That's the reason we have not yet begun our greenhouse construction. We need to wait to see what they have. Our greenhouse plastic roll will be used there if they didn't manage to bring something. It was one of the top things on my "Wish I'd Have Brought" list that I'd mailed back to my family early after our arrival. These past couple weeks, the sheep (plus faithful Rex, though he can jump it, of course.) have been fenced in the portion of the pasture that will soon be Grma's Orchard. We NEED that thick grass mowed down! Macky had always used solar charged hot-wire fencing to move her sheep from place to place as they grazed down the grass. We fenced them immediately ontp the Orchard location upon receiving the letters. The large flock of sheep has done a good job and now it would be nice to set the goats in there to finish the weeds that sheep ignore. But with the tiny goat babies, we need to keep them close to us. Perhaps the 3 milk cows? Nah! Don't want the fresh 'cow pies' in there. EEuw! We were sent the complete inventory of the various plants/trees. Oh my! If even half of them survive the first winter, we will have a very nice orchard for the twenty of us. My DM wrote that she bought more plants, expecting not all would make it thru, getting such a late start. Wise! We also have to protect them from marauding wildlife. Rabbits chewing bark during winter…girdling it will kill the young tree. We'll have to wrap the trunks. Deer…. They are realllllly pests! Making venison usually solves that problem. Sun scald from bright winter sun reflecting off the white snow. Can you tell we've been poring over our reference books on orchards? We've been up to view Hobbit Hole's orchard/vineyard and talk with them too. Thank for the suggestions. We've mapped out exact locations for digging the hole for each tree/plant. We pounded in stakes, which are clearly labeled. We've had enough rain so the ground is soft without being soggy. Irrigation is possible with some effort, by temporarily putting down plastic sheets to drain in a spreading pattern downhill from the creek. We expect the arrival of Wagon Train # 3 sometime within the next two weeks so we'll keep an eye on the moisture issue. Don't need to dig in dry ground. Meanwhile, the wooly lawnmowers are still at work. Now, back to haying….it's a SUNNY DAY and the barometer is rising. MtRider [ have to rely on wild fruits this year but this is an abundant Valley! ]

Hi everyone. At the library again. As the original writer of this scenario, I fought to keep the "location" a myth instead of picking out a particular site. Because we all need to be thinking of a location we are in or could bug-out to survive in. I had other things in mind to learn besides gnawing on bear fat and so I chose a Zone 5 area. I wanted to know what it would take to resettle [think Little House on the Prairie style] a fairly lush area with a community of people. Cuz....I am already aware that in my region [Zone Zero at 9,000' in the arid Rockies] I have ZERO chance to survive with growing much of anything. Tho I still try to push the envelope each year. That said, it's obvious that we have many bloopers. Traveling distances are not at ALL as they appear on our wonderful map. The buildings are going up WAY faster than would be realistic. The amount of work to just care for animals and ourselves would prohibit even going in to attend services on Sundays. In fact, other than dips in the river, some of us might just tumble into bed [i'm still trying to get DOORS, and surely don't have a bedframe for our wonderful down matteress!] without trying to bathe in cold water. Trying to cook anything...trying to keep the cook fire going....trying to keep the wood for the cook fire..... YES, we have many bloopers. I will say this again. DO NOT TAKE ANY OF THIS FANTASTIC WORK OF FICTION LITERALLY! Our stories....for all the bloopers....are here to urge any of us [writers] and any of you [readers] to do some intensive research for your own intended areas. We cannot possibly do adequate research on all the subjects that we deal with. In some areas, we have already had experience. But the value of our posts is to inspire more ideas and definitely, more research.....INDIVIDUALLY. If our readers agree to these parameters, it will ease our minds as the writers. We do not want to be responsible for someone getting the wrong idea about what is possible and probable...from our very impromptu fiction. [example: I'm about to plant an orchard in August. How realistic is that? I AM stating we expect grave losses. Would any survive even if I've surrounded the orchard with heat-sink rock cliffs? I don't know and I will not even be able to put much detail into the planting cuz.....I've never had an orchard. Never even one tree. Always WANTED a big one! So while I will not be a good reference for planting an orchard, it won't stop me from trying one in our Valley.] As for using up the Valley resources with our hordes...... I can only say that the minute we entered, the area began to change. That is a given. Sorry Mother, but I am not going to worry about that. In a catastophe of this magnitude, there will be a resurgence of the adaptable wildlife as the human race dies off. [too grim? ] Some species might have trouble but some will thrive. We in the Valley might have to hunt further up into the hills and make elk/deer hunts a multiple-day trip? I've given us pretty much an unlimited space of uninhabited forest/meadow land. Frankly, I'd be ok if the durned deer and elk would quit coming to munch on my gardens and lay down in my wheat fields! The fact of the matter is......we HAVE to evolve from the hunter/gatherer mode to more pastoral/farming mode as the population increases and more specialties are then possible. That has always been the reason for inviting more people along. Throughout history, the hunter-gatherers have needed very low population density to survive. AND they needed to be nomadic. We are not planning to be nomadic.....well, MtRiders are not. So we are moving into the farmer mode. I don't think you can have both. A fact that the "I will live off the land" type NON-preppers should take into careful consideration. I will tell you that we all have quite different ideas of WHAT our Valley and surrounding area looks like. I can see the regional differences coming out. That's a blooper I can live with cuz the area we live is what we do need to be prepared for IRL! But to just to clear up one thing....... [i KNOW it's hard to keep all this straight! I had to search for an hour to figure out what I named my other twin girl! ] Dear folks, the 2-3 week trip through the wilderness area is, as yet, still uninhabited wilderness. This is the only place we are taking the wagon trains now, between the FAR END of the Rockin' J ranch and our Big Valley. [our WT#1 was the exception, going thru towns, etc] The hordes are not plentiful up in the area of very large ranches [like the Rockn' J]. That pre-chaos population density is very low. No major cities nearby. The only other ranch within the wilderness wagon train route is the Canyon's End Ranch. [Remember the blizzard? The ranch with the cool greenhouse...empty when WT#1 traveled there but the family is back and was rescued from their root cellar by WT#2] So we are not even thinking of being overrun by hungry hordes from the OUTSIDE. [cuz I'm not ready to go there...... ] but that is a very good reason not to point in our direction with the aircraft.... That is what I've always maintained as the reason MrS&J never carted in a lot of stuff....or tried to make a road. As Mother mentioned.... So we DO have a lush Valley [i would not have a reason to leave home, otherwise] We have Zone 5. But we DO have to worry about less yeild per acre than modern farming methods produce. I think someone has mentioned that. I am not personally worried at all about how many trees are going to be cut down in the Valley plus the sides of the mountains around us. [perhaps because of where I live in a dense forest with dang-near unending trees.......until a forest fire destroys acres and acres of them...no, there is NOTHING totally secure IRL or Valley life.] However, I have heard folks saying they are trying to chose carefully where they cut on their own 80 acres. That is a very good idea. Our population density is very, VERY low. Balance that however, with the fact that we are living in primitive conditions. We come in sort of as hunter/gatherer stage, and as I said before, it requires very low density. By increasing population, we'd eventually be forced into establishing a pastoral/farming stage. I see this as a GOOD thing tho. Anyone really want to live in a very small band of people that cannot afford any specialists like medical cuz EVERYone has to be a hunter and/or a gatherer of food? As a disabled 50+ person, that could NOT be my choice. [and I am talking about IRL here!] I HAVE to think of survival that has enough population density [throughout the community] so that my mouth and knowledge can serve the community...rather than my disabled/old body. Mother is right that the amount of hay needed to get livestock through a winter is going to be far more than I'd like to imagine. [remember we keep cutting more hay?] We DO have an enormous amount of animals and I suspect more than one ox is heading for a very long stewing [they're too old, by definition of 'ox' to be tender]. The MtRiders original amount of livestock was not hard for me to estimate cuz it's pretty close to what I already have IRL. But adding children and then 'going whole hog' to add the rest of my family.....oye! It does make it very tough. Only my brother is bringing in livestock: horses [real], mule stock[fiction] , and pgmy goats [real]. Without the option of adopted orphan's livestock, our clan would likely starve...or become better hunters while the supply of deer, rabbits and trout is close to hand. It takes a good deal of energy to hunt as well as process. For survival one must always count the amount of calories taken in and compar that to the amount of calories it cost. You will not survive if it costs more calories than you gained. If disabled, this is more difficult cuz normal tasks require more energy....a fact many of us live with 24/7 already. I think deer, rabbits, squirrels and fish will be sustained quite easily with our population density. Elk will migrate, a bit tho they live within my REAL LIFE much higher population density [about 2-4 people every 5 acres] and there are many hunters here - seasonally. Dunno anything about mountain sheep/goats but I think they are more skittish. Be careful of shooting other kinds like beaver that might represent a more fragile species. Elevation of Valley is 3,000 feet and the surrounding mountain peaks are 4-5,000'. As reported by Mother, the valley FLOOR is approx 10 miles by 20 miles. [Drive that distance by car and count your population density to get an idea....] Then there are the very big areas of the valley 'bowl' sides. MtRider [off to post now...and read the new posts in the story after I get home with my flash drive full again. ]

OOooooooo! Did I read we might have another writer? GREAT! I just am going to take a couple minutes to make a comment. I have to hurry up and drive home cuz the danged snow has started again. We are so deep in snow in my driveway already. But spring will melt it all soooooooooon????? I was able to take a copy of this thread home on Monday [transfer to my computer via flashdrive ]. I spent THREE DAYS reading everything you all have written since I started the new thread that Wednesday nite ....before my Internet went Bye-bye the next day. I had not read ANYTHING since the FIRST POST OF THIS THREAD! All the posts I've sent for Mother to post or posted from library have been working "blind". I hadn't seen yours. WOW! I just cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed reading everything. What creative folks we have and dedicated to this project too. Despite REAL LIFE interrupting, y'all have been so faithful to keep posting and creating and following your characters thru challenges. We are all pretty aware of the issues involved in surviving the coming winter in our Big Valley. I had to laugh because my posts talked about so many of the SAME TOPICS that all of you were posting about. Great minds.... But we know we've got to address certain issues and everyone is really working your characters half to death to survive. Anyway, a big thank you to all of you and esp. to Mother who has been trying to make sure to keep an eye on this until I can get back to Internet access....without driving into "town". Soon, I think DH will have time to install the NetZero disc. I'm praying that will fix the problem. Then I have to pop in as see what RURR has been up to...... Miss you all! MtRider [rushing home before the snow covers the tracks up her driveway.....ack, it's snowing harder already....... ]

{OK...one more and then I'm running home before the snow starts... Miss you all! } {based on my IRL experiences….YMMV} Dear Mt3B -- Ducks/Geese I received your note! It's so fun to get mail, isn't it? I used to get excited over Email, for pete's sake! I love this messenger service. Their families are sure going to benefit now that we can all give the riders 'tips' ….in the form of our garden produce. I handed Calvin a bag of broccoli. I doubt it will make it to his house though. He doesn't like it and he's got a message for those at Hobbit Hole. I expect he'll try to trade the broccoli for something they might have extra….something more to his liking. Look out, Mother, it's the veggie-hater Calvin on circuit today. Calvin's mother likes the veggies we send though so he might bring the broccoli home. As to your question about ducks and geese: Lets see, the big thing is that they need to always have water deep enough to dunk and flush out the nostril holes in their bills while eating. They can be raised without water to swim in but this is a must. Ducks and geese never met a body of water they didn't adore….even the lowly mud puddles. Even ICY water is fine for them….as adults, that is. Ducklings/goslings do NOT have the oils in their downy feathers that keep them dry and warm. That only comes when they have fully grown out their adult feathers. If raised by mamma, her oils will transfer somewhat. She will take them for short swims if water is available. She will also get them out and dry/warm at proper intervals. They can all swim but staying dry/warm is the issue. If they are human-raised, don't give them any chance to dunk themselves in their water container. Fill it with rocks and leave only spaces for their bills to poke in and drink. Keeps the water less FOUL a bit longer too. If you are raising them, they are the messiest of birds. [They are not called water FOUL fowl for nothing. Hope for a large cage or else you might clean it up 3 times a day. They soak everything. Sheeeeesh….brings back memories! Mamma-raised is best but keep her and them protected from predators. Any turtles in the pond? Look out, they like duckie dinner! Any hawks flying overhead? ….. Now this is something I will address that is neat. Not the ducks…you have to protect them. But the geese that are in a band together will protect their goslings from aerial attack by getting them into the middle of all the adults. Each adult goose sticks his/her neck way over the middle like spokes on a wagon wheel. That group effort covers the little ones so that the attacking bird cannot see or reach them. Pretty cool, huh? Ducks are not that group-organized. Not that the birds will always work nicely among themselves. Sometimes bird will take a dislike to another, even a baby….and they can be unmerciful. Can kill the baby or injure each other. Males during the spring mating season are quite pushy and prideful. If they will ever bite you, it will be in this season. And it does HURT though they have no teeth as such; only serrated bill…it is more of a pinch! OW! Never make their aggression worse by excessive action against them. But don't take it from them either. I snatch their snaking head and gently hang on while they discover it's not nice to mess with me. Don't jerk and misalign neck bones! Let go and see if that will teach them. Keep repeating it but if they won't go away, I have dunked their fool head into a water bucket and held it there a few seconds. They can hold their breath, being grand swimmers and divers. But the loss of control bothers them. Let them go and calmly go about your business and they will fuss and preen and try to restore their dignity. If they are really getting out of hand, and you know how to do this in a way that is safe for yourself and for the bird, I'd pick them up and hold them for a minute. Oh the indignity of it! Be careful of their legs…they can be fragile because they are hollow. And the wings are also. But the wings [especially geese] are very hard and can batter bruises upon you. AskMeHowIKnow… To pick one up for discipline or care, carefully wrap your arms around the whole bird pinning the wings SECURELY to their sides. [Note: this is if you can't get rid of the pesky thing….not that you should chase them around to catch them!] Maneuver the bird onto its back…tummy up. This will have a sedating effect on the bird….don't ask me why. I wouldn't leave them in this position too long…the sedation effect might slow down heart rate, etc too…dunno. Just takes a minute if you are making a point to an aggressive male. Domestic geese are heavy so make sure you CAN do this without losing hold on those nasty wings. If you do, let them down gently and start over. Be careful! If you need to do some bandaging or even just to put an I.D. band on their leg, sit down with the bird [works with ducks too…dunno about chickens????] on your lap. Once settled, you MIGHT be able to let go of the wings or you might need to hold while someone else does what needs doin'. Remember to release them to the ground gently so as not to injure a leg. Eggs: Ducks/geese usually lay eggs by 10am. Some breeds of ducks [Khaki Campbells , Indian Runners ] lay nearly all year. They might take a short break in the fall while getting new feathers [they drop the old ones – molting - and you collect the quills for future pens! ] and a short break in late winter just before the full-on laying of springtime begins. Changes in weather sometimes throw them off for a day….like subzero weather sometimes. [but in subzero weather you often find completely frozen eggs that are cracked vertically from point to point and therefore are contaminated with feces… L …lot of those this winter IRL] Geese and many duck breeds are normally seasonal layers. They begin in Feb or March and lay loyally one egg per day until it begins to taper off in early July for geese. I believe some breeds of ducks can continue till Aug or Sept. I put the last month or two of eggs in a solution of one part waterglass [see Lehman's catalog] and ten parts water [i think] and it will keep unrefrigerated for 6+ months. Eggs of both ducks and geese have a proportionately larger yolk than chickens so bakers love them. The average duck egg is like a very X-large chicken egg and I count the goose eggs as 2 chicken eggs for recipes. They also have a shell that will remind you of Wilma Flintstone making breakfast for Fred. Get out your chisel…. The inner membrane is quite tough too. The yolk also is more gooey…so you have to beat harder to mix it with the whites. The only way I truly like scrambled eggs is lightly done from goose eggs. Geese are grazers…they like the grasses and will roam the pasturelands more than ducks but certainly spend a lot of time in water if they can. The heavy breeds of both will mate easier if deep water is available. Large breed males of ducks should not mate small breed females. The mating could injure the female, especially on land. Do NOT have an excessive number of males. They will kill the females in a frenzy of mating behavior…driven worse by the competition. [it ain't pretty ] About one male per 3-4 females is good. Geese pair off but are ok with up to about 3 females per male. The male might have one preferred female though. They mate for life but can take on another mate if theirs dies. Sometimes. Ducks are fully water critters. They eat bugs and …even salamanders….I swear, I've seen them gulp them down whole while outrunning the rest of the pack who want to take this treat for themselves… It's like a rugby match! But for plant life, they are best supplied from the pond bottoms and creek edges. They will nearly get lost following a creek on and on…and they do NOT stay aware of what might be nearby wanting THEM for dinner. Remember: It never has been a compliment to call someone a Bird Brain! Pretty dumb! Especially ducks! Now for preparing to keep them this winter in the Valley….I have usually fed mine a "waterfowl' pelleted food which we no longer have available. Hmm….. My reference books [some in our Lodge library too] list proportions of foods such as milo seed heads, corn, soft wheat, soybean meal [for protein], alfalfa [also protein], dried skim milk, Brewer's yeast, oyster shell [can LIGHTLY toast their own egg shells], salt, cod liver oil, and add molasses. Rye, wild celery, wild rice, garden/orchard leavings, bugs gathering around a [solar] light, milk mixed in with something dry [otherwise they just play in it!], hard-boiled eggs. Always have grit available. Like sand/stones on the ground] for their 'craw' and calcium for the egg shell production [ground limestone, oyster shell or their own toasted egg shells. This will be a first for me too, doing proper proportions myself. I do plan to continue free-ranging them during the daytime [except in bad winter weather] since I'm sure the river will not completely freeze over. They are quite safe as long as they are on open water that is large enough for them to be out of reach of the edges. They are healthier if they can forage some of their own food and bathe at least sometimes in winter and daily in summer. Remember that while domestic ducks/geese do fly….it is not far and it is often more of a glide from a high place. I have had 1) a goose split herself open across the chest by hitting a smooth wire fence [died of shock…birds go shocky easy]. 2) I've seen one glide down from the hill top and slide UNDER MY HORSE'S HOOF…naturally mare stepped down just then. [no damage to bird's wing cuz I quickly talked the horse into lifting foot again]. 3) But the funniest flying incident was when a drake took off from the top of a hillock, not computing that there was a chainlink fence between him and the pond [i assume that was his destination]. His flight ended abruptly three feet later when his whole beak rammed tight into one of the holes of the chain link. And STUCK! There he hung [birds often go limp and somnolent when under stressssssssss ] until I yanked him loose. Not hurt at all but the Wright brothers had better luck than him! They are bred for things other than light aerodynamic bodies and …..brains! So they are not safe on the ground. [Guinea fowl are the exception to this in domestic poultry ….they fly very well and roost in trees. 'Course I don't think you can train them to come in at night…. dunno ] Wow….you know, with this letter writing, we are going to have to figure out how to make our own Valley paper! Someone needs to begin that cottage industry or we need to write in erasable pencil and reuse the note paper. So glad to meet everyone's new family and friends at the Lodge. Mt3b, I've heard you have two young ladies taking Rural Lessons from you. If they are apt students, it's a win-win. You get help and they get knowledge. Good for you! Good luck with the ducks/geese. Hope this helps and send any specific questions by messenger. MtRider