Mt_Rider

SIGH.......Mother keeeeeeps saying that. But I don't know WHAT she is talking about. IRL we've been snowing and snowing and snowing....which makes my reprieve yesterday to fill the horse water so DELIGHTFUL. Actually, its been quite pretty and warm (kinda) and only accumulating a few inches at a time....feather-like. No wind. So as snow goes, it's been mild. So do I feel like I'm in the mood for a nice sunny day in UNreality? Ya just never know, do ya? MtRider [overly busy telling story from THREE points of view right now......SHEEEEEEEESH...what did I do? ........and I might ADD that it wasn't ME who put a TORNADO into our beloved Valley now was it...Q? I'm innocent!!! ]

IRL snow has been mostly missing us....until now. Whatever is hitting you, Mother, has already passed thru here in the West. It's light fluffy stuff but makes me slip and stumble [can't SEE the uneven ground and my MS doesn't allow my feet to send me back the data... ] So I come in EXHAUSTED from doing the chores. Whew! But I had a WONDERFUL provision from God today. He allowed *JUST* enough sunshine hours this morning [between snow fronts] to heat up the 350 feet of hose going downHILL to the horse water tank. Sooooo I could get it filled. It was empty nearly to the level of the tank heater coils. The alternative would have been carting jugs and buckets down there with the car.... not with His & Hers back issues right now! OW! So I was just so delighted to wait until it was good and heated up....turned the water on and it flowed all the way thru without slushing up due to COLD hose. AND IT WAS SNOWING HARD AGAIN before it was even half full. But that's ok then. Miz MM and "Roan" have water to last a week again. Whew! Thank YOU God!!!! Of course staying up all hours of the nite looking into my "writers screeing glass" to see what the various characters I've recently added are up to.....that wouldn't be why I'm so tired. Well, I'll try not to trip over anyone else's post...for a couple days, anyway. Frankly, I've been TRYING to see how I can get my family outta that bad bridge situation..... [can we say "painting yourself into a corner"?] But finally, I have some ideas. Welcome back CeeGee!!! Once you read the novel this has become, hop in and tell us what your clan has been busy doing in Big Valley. And are you expecting packges or people on Wagon Train #2?????? We've MISSED you! Now if we could only get CrabGrassAcres back toooooooooo......? But she's had her hands full of good things happening IRL. Steph too. Michael, I wish you would post again toooooooooooooo! MtRider [....of to read posts and cause trouble..... ]

Hail storm Mr. Hughes looked out across the hills towards the southwest. “Well, the good thing is, we DON’T have this wagon train down in some of those ravines or mountain passes yet.” “Yep, answered Chef, standing beside him eyeing the ominous weather building up on the horizon. “Be nasty flash flooding down there for sure.” “But the bad news is that we’re up here high in the wide-open meadows,” continued Mr. H. “Lighting,” grunted Chef. “One day on the trail and we’re running right into this mess!“ Then both men turned to hustle the camp into action. They had to make it to the shelter of the rocks and down off this high ridge line before that storm hit. About 3 hours from now, give or take. --------- Machela urged the team of oxen to move faster. Their long cart, loaded with poultry cages- covered with a tarp, was lagging behind again. But she was new to driving the strong oxen. Nathan rode up beside her on their late father’s buckskin horse, Amigo. “You OK or you want to trade with me, Macky?” At 17, Nathan knew he was a lot stronger than his 14 year old sister. Machela’s twin brother, Micah, was driving the team with the next wagon...the one with all their household things and their 5 yr old adopted twin sisters. 10 year old Ben was on his horse helping to herd the sheep and goats owned by anyone in this wagon train. In another half hour or so, Nathan was going to tell Ben to put his horse with the herds and get into the wagon with Micah. This incoming storm was making all the animals so edgy. “I’m OK. I have to keep after them though. Are we going to make it to somewhere safe?” asked Machela. Well, I’ve done this trail going out to Big Valley and coming back. I’m pretty sure the valley we’re stopping at is still nearly an hour away at this pace. It will surely be close since we’re moving toward the storm.” Just then Mr. H came riding by and pulled his horse to a quick stop by Nathan. “Your wagons doing all right?” he asked quickly. “Just checking that, sir. Yes for now, but I’m a bit concerned if the storm gets on top of us.” he said glancing at his sister. “We’re going to be taking the herds of livestock on up ahead of the wagons. We’ll need every spare rider to push them down to the lower valley and get them off this ridge. Come help with that and I’ll send you back here when that’s done. Kenny will keep an eye on your sister and brother.” Kenny was an employee of the Rockin J that was driving their third wagon. The hay wagon adapted for hitching to oxen. It was hauling their hogs. Above those cages was some fencing laid out flat for use each nite to contain Machela’s sheep and the hogs. Kenny was driving two spans of oxen [4 animals] for that heavy load. Later in the trip, he’d need all 6 oxen to pull it up the mountain trails. “Yes, sir” and Nathan spun his horse to follow MrH back to the herds. ---------------- Though the wagons continued at the fastest pace they could manage, the herds of horses, cattle, goats and sheep easily passed them. They moved each species separately or there would be real chaos. The horses were moving fairly well and the beef cattle were quite used to this. The dairy cattle acted a bit put out at being told to move quickly. But those trying to move the sheep...and those idiot goats... Even with the herding dogs, they were having a lot of trouble. After getting the horses and cattle into the wide box canyon, down quite a ways from the high ridge they’d been on, several riders were sent back to help with goats. By now the sheep were moving better. Nathan was among this group sent to herd goats. He kept his eye out for the wagons to make it around that far bend. He was getting nearly frantic with worry for his siblings. Parents dead and being the oldest, they were his sole responsibility...at least until he could share it with Dr & Mrs MtRider when they arrived at Big Valley. The MtRiders seemed like they were truly pleased to be taking in his whole family...adopting them as their own and sharing whatever they had in the primitive conditions of that remote place. Nathan saw Ben working the sheep so smoothly on Whistler. That horse had been his 10th birthday gift....graduating from his pony. His young brother had scarcely been out of the saddle ever since. It was one of those strong bondings that sometimes occur between an animal and their human. Well, now at least Machela’s sheep, their Border Collie dog - Pax, and Ben on Whistler were down to the relative safety of that valley. Their family’s extra horses and some Dexter cattle were down there too. Nathan snorted as he urged the buckskin to cut off escape yet again for that goat with young triplets. His family didn’t have any goats, a fact that currently pleased him, considering how much trouble the goats were giving the riders. Machela was going to fall in love with those four dwarf milking goats of MtRider’s though. He spun to chase that stupid doe again. A very strong gust of wind slammed against him with a scattering of rain drops. He stopped to button the top of his oiled canvas duster. The thunder was getting closer. He looked again, hoping to see the wagons arriving down off of that ridge. It was a bit steep going down this way and if the oxen were frightened, would the older twins be able to control them? They’d been raised with ranch livestock but they were only experienced at driving the small pony cart when they were kids. “Lord, we need help here,” he began. “Please hold us closely and keep us from all harm. Especially my brothers and sisters.” And then he could only concentrate on pushing that lop-eared-monster-she-goat forward down the final few yards into the box canyon. By now, this box canyon was one of the regular stopping points on the way to Big Valley. Permanent latrine sheds had been built...tho the holes were filled in and sheds moved to newly-dug pits each trip. He’d taken part in digging the new ones for this second wagon train while on the way back from Big Valley. They’d also dragged over enough brush and timber to form a blockade across the wide opening into the canyon. There were high walls that would likely soon be cascading water. But it was wide enough across that flooding was no danger. The lightning would not be nearly so bad as exposed up on the ridge. As the last goat finally entered the paddock, he wheeled his horse and flew up the hill to check for the wagons. The first wagon was beginning the descent. “C’mon...hurry,” he coaxed under his breath. The wind was lashing at the tree branches now and the rain had increased. He rode carefully along the side of the first wagons so as not to excite the oxen. His family was near the end of the long train. When he finally reached them, he dismounted and tied his horse securely by the halter/lead rope to the rear of the wagon. He dropped the bridle off just inside the back tailgate. Then he leaped up to the seat in front. He took control of the oxen and told Micah to run up and help Machela with the smaller poultry cart. The cart that MtRiders’ donkeys had pulled all the way into Big valley some months earlier. He’d brought back the cart and their oxen to use again on this trip. His little sisters popped their heads out to hug him. “Not now, babies,” he said. I want you both sitting down inside where I told you.” “We’re NOT babies, Nathan!” “We want to see out...ooooooooh,” Kaylee squealed as the lightning cracked across the sky and the thunder was close behind it. “Get INSIDE and sit down NOW!” he ordered firmly without turning around. They ducked back behind the drawn material that covered the wagon ribs. Fortunate that it was a GoreTex waterproof material in this modern time. “God keep them safe and make them stay put inside,” he begged. He’d felt the oxen jerk when that thunder crashed. They had arrived at last at the final descent. It seemed too steep. They were all new drivers and hadn’t counted on such challenging conditions this early in the trip. “God help us!” He didn’t have much time to look around for the storm now. He had to remain focused on applying the wagon driving lessons he’d had. He did watch that cart ahead of his wagon...the one with the precious cargo of the older twins. He hoped that together they would be able to handle the oxen and the sliding wheels of the cart. The rain was now turning the ground into a muddy mess. But in the way of some twins, those two coordinated together without need for words. If Micah held back the team and Machela handled the braking of the cart..... His heart jolted as the cart slid again. Perhaps they should leave the poultry cart up here and just get people down to safety. But they’d entered the narrow section. One more turn and the trail leveled out. The tarp covering the poultry cages scraped along the right side as his siblings made the turn a bit wide. The load held tho and he focused on completing his own turn. Finally both wagons were on level ground and were pulling into their spot in the wide circle of wagons. He caught a glimpse of their former hayrack-turned-hog hauler. Kenny had gotten it down just fine as well. Orders were being shouted. It seemed like mass chaos but the final wagons pulled up and completed the somewhat irregular circle. The livestock herds were in the relative safety of the far end of this canyon. People were to get into the wagons and stay put. After warning the little twins of the peril of disobeying his order to stay where they were, he climbed down to unhitch the oxen. These animals would stay within the circle of the wagons during the storm. Hopefully they would be calm enough. Macky and Micah ran up to help Nathan after releasing their oxen. “I want to check on my sheep,” said Machela. “And WHERE is Ben?” Nathan looked up, “Oh good grief!...he was down here when the sheep came in. I forgot him!” He looked ready to panic. He took a deep breath to regain control. It’s something he’d had to do a lot since his parents died. “Macky, please get in the wagon with the girls. They’re scared. I’ll go find Ben and bring him back here.” “I’ll help Kenny with all those oxen and maybe throw the tarp over the hogs,” offered Micah. Then the hail began and they were all thankful for the protection of oilskin cowboy duster coats and leather cowboy hats. --------------------- MtRider [...looking in on Wagon Train#2...]

OOOooooooooooooops! I didn't realize that Quiltys had already posted for today. I thot I'd gotten in first. Oh well, another blooper. We don't care if Q has two posts for the same day... Sorry gal! MtRider [...running around trying to keep track of characters! ]

MtRider is sending around messengers..... BAD WEATHER ALERT FOR LATER TODAY. Be aware, the barometer has been dropping significantly! I collect barometers from the thrift stores [cuz they don't work WAY up in Colorado altitude, but I didn't know that and kept trying to get a working one...they ALL work at lower than this altitude! ] so I'm sending our some extras to y'all. Learn to watch it from day to day and you'll know when to PREPARE FOR STORM! Whatever is coming [with this season it will surely be wind, rain...flash flooding?....thunder/lightening.....hail in places?]..it's a heavy weather front! Flash flooding...remember we are in a BOWL......water will RUSH down and each rivulet will add more and more water. STAY AWAY FROM EVEN SMALL CREEKS....and don't enter water on foot that is getting near to knee-high. You can be swept off your feet faster than you can say "butterscotch" [as Mt3b's would say, lol] . Get EVERYTHING battened down for strong wind or put inside. Tie it down good. Don't be standing out next to the tallest thing around...lightening rod effect. Livestock: THEY will sense this coming and get edgy. They make good barometers, actually. Expect larger herd animals to bunch up with butts to the oncoming wind [ coming from SW in this season]. Horses are much more flighty than cattle ...and goats even worse. However, weather bothers animals less than humans normally. Unless there is a near lightning strike. Animals can be struck by lightening so they also should not be allowed to bunch up under a lone clump of trees...as they do to shelter from the rain sometimes. In the middle of a forest of trees, it's not quite the issue. Generally, goats do not like to get wet. DON'T tie animals up during storms...esp goats/horses. Our crops....she wails. OK think of which ones might be flooded and you might have time to construct some small drainage ditches to divert water...or drain off water. Think of plants that might be flattened by heavy rain but will bend and raise up again. Like corn. Those are ok. Now think of those that have more brittle upright stem. Like sunflowers that are still too small to be strong. [i'm going to try to shove some tree branches between the rows of sunflowers - deeply anchored so they don't come lose and cause more problems. Something for the plants to lean against. I don't want to lose those precious oil seeds. Vines should be ok in wind. Low to the ground....UNLESS they are pea vines, etc that are staked up. Either carefully lay those stakes down (worse for hail) or reinforce the staking. Make sure your surrounding garden fencing isn't going to come loose. Look above your barn/home....any dead or dangling limbs from trees? Remove them before this hits. Now if there is hail...... {groan} and often there is with strong weather fronts, violent storms.... Well, pray first. You all with sod roofs will do well with hail, I would think. Lots of padding. But for the crops, try to cover anything delicate. With something that won't blow away or squish the plant dead. A blanket [held down with rocks] can pad the impact IF the plants underneath won't break from the weight of a waterlogged blanket. Something like lettuce which can be turned to mush in heavy hail. Even wrapping a tomato plant in a plastic garbage bag [if we still have any] will help to blunt the impact of hailstones. But increase the wind problems...like a sail. I'd expect anywhere from 1//2 pea size to 1/2 inch diameter. [i've seen much bigger but God is going to be merciful today.] Remember that LOTS of 1/2" hail being THROWN at you with the force of 30 mph winds can be quite damaging to humans thin hide. OW! So get stuff under cover quickly and get inside yourselves. [for coordination of our story...this will begin about 3pm with some wind and rain but increase quickly over the next hour and continue for several hours of storm....trailing away during the nite to sunshine in the morning..... ] You CANNOT protect it all. Prioritize WHAT you need most to try to protect. God gets to chose [well...IRL. In the story we get to chose... ] what is damaged and what slides by with minimal problems. Good luck, the next few hours will be busy adn the next few may be frightening. RULE ONE FOR SURVIVAL: SAVE HUMAN LIFE FIRST. Please take care, everyone! Don't even *think* of risking human life for livestock or crops. [Harsh farmer reality here.... shrug: ] Animals second and crops third. The messengers will be around in the EARLY morning to check at each homestead...report if there is any damage we have to come to help. MtRider [ Weather Watcher...it's gonna be a big one ]

(((((Poor Quiltys))))...... HUSH, puppies! If there is anything I'm well practiced at, it's yelling that the dog to SHUT UP! Ooooops, That's not good for Q's migraine. Shhhhhhhh, and don't laugh either, Q. that will hurt. I get migraine-quality sinus headaches and whoooooeeeee...not fun! Mt3b...that's the easy thing about the Dear Diary format. We can always catch up talking to our diaries. LOL Leah. At least in UNrealty, we get to CHOSE which family makes it into the Valley. Wormie.....y'know, those numbers are staggering. I wonder how many hours of typing they represent? No wonder I don't get anything done IRL. But then, this was started during the late fall and winter...when I have little energy to be up and about anyway. We can't promise this will still be a daily diary once springtime and gardens IRL start to call us..... MtRider [....hey, I think we're getting snow.......I was gonna plant more spinach today! Is anyone else mixing up which season we're in {UN time and IRL time} due to typing here????? Or am I the only one who will need therapy when this is over.... ]

The Phone Call. Nathan jumped when the cell phone on his belt began to jingle. His new mom, MtR had given him both hers and MrMtR's cell phones before he left Big Valley. "Maybe there are messages on them from loved ones but we haven't had service since we began up the mountain pass in April," she'd said. There had been messages. Several from the MtRiders' DD2. Since the MtRiders were "adopting" him and 5 his siblings, DD2 was his new big sister. Some of the messages were old enough to have been covered in the letters he'd brought out to them. Letters had arrived earlier at the Rockin' J. That things were getting so bad on Maui.... That DD1 & 2 and family had gotten passage to Calif. on a cargo ship with their vehicles and whatever they could pack into them.... That they'd arrived and were driving to Colorado.... and had arrived there at their grandparents house. Near the beginning of June, the message explained that DD2 and her family, DD1 and MtR's parents were all going to try to make it up to the Rockin' J and on into Big Valley. They were packing, and gathering winter clothes and other things they didn't have from Maui. Things they'd need for primitive living in Big Valley. DD2 commented that a couple letters MtR had sent to GRma had been helpful, since she listing things they found most useful and things they wish they had in the Valley. GRpa and SIL were making room for the rest of the bucket stored-foods and a few other things that MtRs had to leave behind when they left. At the request of the MtRs, Joy and Jacob had listened to the messages with Nathan. It was the last one that had made all the commotion. It was DD2 again: That message had been left three days ago. Calling the number back was not successful. Not even to leave a message. So when MtR's phone rang again, Nathan signaled to Joy at the other end of the picnic table. Both of them headed for the quiet of the office nearby. Nathan answered it as they closed the door. "Hello?" [male voice] "Hello....uh, .....I was trying to reach MtR. Do I have the right number?" "Yes, this is her phone," Nathan replied cautiously. "Who is this?" Joy leaned in close listening too. "I'm her brother and I'm trying to reach her. I finally got to a phone that works. Can I talk to her? Is she all right?" "Yes, she's all right but she's not here with the phone," replied Nathan. "I'm going to give you to someone that has more information." He handed the phone to Joy while he ran to find Jacob. Months ago a code system was set up so that those at the Rockin' J could verify if the loved ones of Big Valley settlers contacted them. Many family members had been given enough data to get them to the pick up point at Willow, Montana. From there, someone would arrive to lead them in from that location. Now Joy quickly referenced the codes for MtRider's friends/family. She spoke carefully into the phone. "Hello, ....The JOY of the Lord is my strength." Then she waited. "Oh...um, .....oh yeah! The civet cat comes from Iowa." was the man's reply as he remembered his code line. Joy smiled. "Verified and Welcome! Are you trying to come here, MtR's Brother?" "Yes. But first we go to Colorado to get my parents. Denise [MtR's niece] and I and the rest of our group have only made it to Iowa though. It's really rough trying to travel. You have to wait for security caravans. It's like waiting for city bus service on a grander scale. We're with my dad's brother now. My cell phone company quit and my uncle's phone only works now and then. It finally worked today and we're ready to leave. No one is answering at our parents house. Does MtR have any idea why? When can I talk to her? " By now Jacob and Nathan had joined her and Joy turned up the phone volume so they could hear. She whispered, "MtR's brother". "MtRiders left here in April and have been out of phone service since. They recently thought to send their phones back with Nathan, the young man you first spoke to. He arrived back at the ranch last nite with instructions to try to handle any messages they might have gotten." Joy took a deep breath. "We've got some information to relay to you. MtR's daughters and Son-In-Law and grandsons arrived to your parents home some time ago. Then all of them joined an armed security caravan to begin the trip up here. ...... Yes, your parents too. They and DD2 sent letters up here before they left Colorado telling of all this too and MtR is aware that they are coming. Last nite we listened to these phone messages. The last one was three days ago from DD2." Joy went on to explain the last message left by DD2. Bro was very distressed to hear of his parents and nieces in such danger. "I don't have much time to talk. Our next caravan is starting their vehicles and I have to hand the phone back to my uncle. I probably won't find another working phone but I'll call again if I do. I'll head straight to Carterville as fast as we can cross Iowa and get up there. I can see it on my map. " Bro replied. "WAIT!" exclaimed Joy. Jacob took the phone at this point. "This is Joy's other half. Look, we've got a team on this situation already. Go on up in that direction but don't get entrapped like your family is. We don't know yet if the outlaws are from Carterville or if it's safe to go into there. But I'll give my lead man your code. If he asks for it, you'd best be prepared to give it fast and give it accurate! He'll give you the same code you got today. He's a professional and he'll handle this. That bridge is the only one for 100 miles so no one needs this kind of gang blocking it. Hopefully, our man will have it under control by the time your group gets to that point. They'll wait for you. How many in your group....without saying names?" "How will I know where to meet your man?" "He'll find you once you are near." answered Jacob gravely. "I'll relay this to him. How many are you?" "Myself and my daughter. My GF and her daughter and SIL. And various horses, cats, dogs, donkey.... You need what we're driving?" asked Bro. "Nope, that's be enough. About four or 5 rigs then?" asked Jacob. "Five, hauling trailers" "Most folks are hauling nowadays. You'll be welcome when you get here. Your sister will be very glad of news from you. We'll send out word with Nathan that you're all on your way. He's your new nephew, by the way. Your sister and DH are taking in him and his siblings cuz their parents are gone now." "Sounds like something they'd do. Well, tell Nathan I'm sorry for his loss. I'd appreciate him telling them we're fine...so far. We'll move as fast as we can. Your man is good at this sort of thing then?" He couldn't help asking. "VERY good at this sort of thing. He's already headed down there. Don't worry. " Jacob didn't add that he prayed the situation was still at a stalemate. "OK, thank you all very much. I'd have been going the wrong direction if I hadn't reached you. I need to pull out now, so we'll see you as soon as possible." "Go with God's blessing and protection. We're already praying. " Jacob broke the connection and sat down heavily. For a moment, none of the three spoke. Then Joy began to pray and Jacob and Nathan bowed their heads as well. "Almighty God....watch over those of MtR's family at the bridge, for her brother's group, and for Jerry and his team......." MtRider

I wanted to say that I had a fun conversation with my mother last nite on the phone. Since I've been reading her parts of this since WagonsHO began, she's up to speed and has contributed ideas. Now that I've decided she and my dad are coming to Big Valley, she's getting more excited. She is a storyteller [says she doesn't call herself a writer but one who writes down the stories she has to tell...] and likely where I get my "storytelling". So last nite I just asked her to list what she's packing in her wagons.... Well, they get to drive vehicles to the Rockn' J but still have to travel by wagon over the wilderness. She kept saying she was bringing LOTS of canned goods. I said, OK...which ones? And we began to make the list. Then she went on to list other types of things needed: garden seeds, fruit trees, other trees?, tools, radio equipment? [bringing two electronics experts with her. {If anyone can get reception [not transmit, for safety reasons} from that Valley, they can!], clothing, candles, etc. We ending up hanging up after midnight. After concluding that the wagon(s) were gonna be SO heavy! While it's great to have such fun, she is also catching the prepping bug....In Real Life. And for that, I am grateful. After life on the farm all those years, it's not anything but going back to that mentality anyway. So stay tuned to see some of our new characters...MtRMom [with MtRDad dragged along. ]. Maybe she'll even write me something to post? MtRider [...as usual,running out to milk, feed...IRL ]

Cool! Thank you for the comments, AMartha. Feedback is helpful since this is new territory for us. It's been fun for all of us but it's always great to hear how it's affecting the readers. I might take a moment to remind readers that 1)..... this is fiction so sometimes we veer off of our UNreality...stretching things a bit to get a storyline. OR we run out of knowledge on how we'd have to do it the primitive way and decide we "cheat" and use a modern way. The temptation is always there in UNreality. 2)..... that anything you read here [or elsewhere] obviously should be researched to make sure you understand any pitfalls or details in the procedures. We're often giving a brief overview so as not to bog down the storyline. 3) .....while the authors of this story have some amount of personal knowledge and experience, we are all STRETCHING to make this story of actually LIVING the primitive life. Something none of us have done to THIS extent. So we are putting together the pieces we do know---and doing a lot of research ourselves to verify our facts before posting or to just figure out how we'd need to solve the problem we have in Big Valley. Just saying that we'd like to encourage everyone to do your own research as well, on any specific topic. I'm currently researching adobe cuz until Annarchy began with that in the story, I'd not fully realized how useful it might be. Now I want to know how it's really done. And have copies of that data in my binders. If you find anything interesting while you research, let us know here in Comments. Some of you do that already and the writers find it helpful. MtRider [...who is also thinking I haven't taken enough notes while WagonsHO/BigValley has been written..... {sigh} ] AND I HOPE SOMEONE HAS SAVED A COPY OF THIS WHOLE THING SO IT DOESN'T GET LOST IN SOME WEIRD MRS.S GLITCH.

Cleft of the Rock Homestead Dear Diary I'm not going to have much time tonite. I seem to have more hours in my mind than hours in the actual day. [iRL tooooooooo!] Somehow got a late start. Was still eating when I am usually out weeding.... Tho it's still pretty cool out in June, my MS does not allow for anything over 75 degrees. That's including the direct-sun effect. So I've already started my summer protocols of staying outta the sun thru most of the day. NOT efficient. Hmph! I gotta get things done I and here I am dancing in and out of the shade. So glad for the overhead ledge. Anyway, I was trying to rig up a way for the water to pour and I could wash the dirty duck eggs. I'm quite fanatical about cleaning eggs. After all, poultry only has one hole for all uses. Poo and egg...down the same chute. ICK! Even those nice 'clean' eggs are covered with microbes...some can be quite harsh on the human body. Not gonna go there. But I wanted the dirty water far away from other uses too. I'd been thinking of this dilemma for quite some time. Wanting it more efficient. [ I use that word a lot when I feel like I'm behind in my goals. Be more efficient and catch up!] But sometimes it just takes some time to make a repedative chore more efficient. I'd found a hollow log down by the river and fetched it out last week. It was only about 4" around and about 4 feet long. Somehow.....before Winter made going down to the river to wash eggs too cold... Gotta get a better plan.... Oh well...I'll just do them in the river today. I use a facial scrubbing mitten or glove. I made sure I stocked up on them...tho I've been using a couple for years and they aren't even showing wear. And they get the eggs very clean. We stocked up on waterglass too. To keep the eggs preserved without needing a fridge. Just the cool part of the cave will do fine. Keep for 6-8 months easy. Even longer but the whites get watery. [iRL I do this and keep them in the basement. Have used this for years with good effect. ] But don't scrub the ones you put in waterglass. Used the "clean"-looking ones. Scrub as you use them. Have I mentioned how I reallly don't like scrubbing eggs? [iRL I spent some time trying to raise the hose for the basement utility sink up so that my strained back would not have to bend over for the water while washing a couple dozen eggs this morning. 1 in 4 was cracked cuz of freezing on our subzero nites. {sigh} But they restarted they laying in January this year so, I won't complain. ] Made Hawaiian sweet bread in my GRAunt's dutch oven. Not the camping kind with legs. I tried cooking bread in the wood cookstove oven for the first time. I watched it like a hawk....and it turned out rather well. I had a lot of coals and kept some more going on a campfire nearby. With a shovel to shove some in if the temperature began to drop. Once I had to shovel some OUT ...got too carried away. I was really sweating by the time it was done. Hey, I love this bread. Did some work training puppy...she'll have to have a name one of these days. Or she'll think "puppy" is her name. Mostly still such a baby tho. Awwww DH decided that he's not really fond of being a farmer. He's supposed to have "doctor's hands". But he likes to eat and....weeding needs doing. Tomorrow we'll begin stacking bricks for the framework of a greenhouse in front of the "garage cave". I've been making some every day. I use the donkey to haul the fairly dried ones by travois up to the hot cave for further drying. I also lit a fire in the middle of a small square of them to see what that sort of firing would do. Some cracked. Some...I dunno...Wish I'd studied more about this. So many possibilities. I need a kiln! I NEED TO GO TO BED! MtRider [..trying to borrow from tomorrow to finish today....not an efficient plant ...IRL toooooo!]

Ugh...musta been trying to do toooooo much lately [ya THINK?] cuz I got flattened for a day or so. [not IRL ....til tonite not feeling well...sinus... blech! ] So anyway, Mr.MtR has continued to plant some things as he can. Y'know...acre for acre..... I have NO idea what yield we might expect from the basic grains like wheat and oats....or potatoes. I've lived in Maui [ZERO garden due to bug population ] and 9,000' Colorado [ garden problems obvious! ] for so long that I'm nearly jumping outta my skin to see how things are gonna do way down here at merely 3,000' AND Zone 5. I love the feel of the soil here!! After the crumbling granite...wow! I hope the yield is goooood in this soil. So nuthin' much to report except the Witlock boys came by the next day to see if they were in big trouble over the prank with locking me inside the fencing. No, privately I admired how sneaky they'd been about it. This pair were cousins [their dads were Witlock brothers] and are 17 yrs old...both born in November. ....I wonder when our son Nathan's birthday is? He's 17 too so likely will be joining this pair of rascals. I asked if they'd met him when he was here briefly and they had. It would be good if some of the heavy responsibility of the younger siblings came off of our boy and he'd have some time to just be with guys his own age. These two went straight down and made me a decent garden gate that day too. Well we did make it into services and potluck at the Lodge today. DH put on his 'Dr.MtR hat' and had quite a few folks wanting his chiropractic services. SO much heavy labor going on and inevitable strains, pulls, and spasms. One badly sprained ankle. He sent that one to get a poultice recommendation from Mother, Q or Annarchy. I think M's DD was able to help the woman's DH find [accurately ID] some appropriate plants outside to bring down swelling and for pain. Dr.MtR really had them lined up today. We were so glad the medical wagon was able to transport one of his pneumatic adjusting tables [non-electric] as well as the light portable one we have out at Cleft in the Rock. Between his adjustments and the 'hot tub' springs, I'm doing better than we'd hoped...most of the time. While waiting for DH, I talked to Mother's DD and asked if she was ill today. No, Mother and MrM just stayed home for birthing of a cow. Yum, more milk. Wow, more goat babies and sheep and .... Iffen ya got extra milk, I've dried up my milking doe until they all four give birth.....ah.....WHEN did I breed them? Dang, where are my goat notes? How many months/weeks has it been since we were traveling thru the ranchlands? [seems like a year or two...] I neeeed to figure this out. Anyway, as soon as the Montana kids get here in few weeks, they are bringing 3 milking cows. If they can keep them milking during the mountain trip here. With so many children/babies coming on this wagon train, they'll have to take it slow tho. I think the goats are due about the end of July. Then we'll have a lot of milk. Yum, cheese. Mebbe Doc MtR can do a Hobbit Hole housecall to give adjustments and such in exchange? M'sDD told me that they'd remembered some bags of buckwheat and millet to plant for the short season. Whoooeeee..THANKS! I've got both of those along too. My buckwheat is definitely "plantable" cuz it's birdseed quality. Not human standard with the black stuff [tannins?] rubbed off. So that's good, right? And buckwheat is about the highest thing for Vit. C. Good pancakes but I'd have to get more recipes besides that. I've got animal-grade millet too. I have NO idea how to plant these so took some notes while M'sDD explained what they had done. Now lesseee...what else do I have odd like that? I was picking up animal grains here and there... I told her about my wonderful forest of sunflowers. Well, it might be a forest if they get really tall. I had a lot of BOSS [black oil sunflower seeds] for the milking goat. So I got some of those planted early. I had asked a friend back in CO to save me her panty hose to cover the flower head when it goes to seed. Keeps birds and hopefully squirrels from stealing all the seeds. If we can just catch up to weeding the first crops while still planting the final ones.... AIIIIIEEEEE! I've never done so much in rotation before. With a mere 60 days between frosts in CO...you plant it ALL as quick as you can and then the season is over. {sigh} I need to get over an visit Mother at Hobbit Hole sometime. I just don't seem to have a chance to breathe half the time. While our population explosion will solve some issues, it's causing us some real tangles until they get here to help. AND THEN....trying to break in a lot of new folks to rural, primitive living Big Valley style! Our new children are certainly up to speed, thank goodness. More than us in some cases, like sheep and cattle and the hogs. My folks have lived it...grain farming with outhouse, etc. My dad farmed with horses in his youth. Even my DD's have lived somewhat primitive too, back in Korea. If they recall that. Oh...drat. I meant to get some more Chinese cabbage direct seeded...even if it has to finish in the greenhouse. [my brain just took a zig-zag there.... Thinking of the stone jars for kimchee making in old-time Korea...and wondering.... ] I still can't figure out where to put the greenhouse. That large garage door-sized opening with the garage size cave [leading to the barn cave on the left and the main LARGE winter-warm cave on the right] is currently set up as a summer kitchen. Nathan helped DH lift the cookstove down from the wagon finally, when he was here. I've finally gotten to cook on it...and it's fun but it takes the knack. DH is applying his scientific mind to the draft and such. He's catching on to it too. He's our main baker. [ We pull bramble *thorny* bushes across it each nite like the African villages do....but Big Dog sleeps just inside there and is on guard....need to solve that problem better too. ] So that is actually where I want the greenhouse. In front of, and encompassing the "garage" cave. It's blocked to the west by the rocky hill but full east and south sunshine. Lower winter sun should shine under the rock ledge 'ceiling'. Fortunately, the higher summer sun is being blocked nicely. But all that rock still does heat up and it's driving me inside or into the shade for the hot part of the day. Or else I go play with adobe down by [and IN] the river. I'm improving my adobe block technique and getting a collection of them drying. YIKES....it's beginning to sprinkle so I have to hop down and tarp over those sun-baked bricks. But I sure am glad to see the rain on our gardens/fields. Carrying water....even in donkey panniers is a pain! MtRider [slithering down the Maui hillside quick to rescue my adobe efforts....]

sorry to hear that news IRL, mo3b. Your story line about Aiden is pretty cool. And you've been bringing up some points about how it would affect someone living in primitive conditions. But it's not so great to meet these challenges in real life. I know some of the hearing difficulties are not helped by a hearing aid. I hope technology can assist in some way. MtRider (((Mo3b)))

Thursday "Mud" Well I decided to try my hand at making some bricks before our newly acquired knowledge left my brain. Oh my. Y'know....that is a very messy way to build a house. The Annarchy's made it look so easy. They'd gathered the materials together before we'd arrived. I went out to the fields and gathered up the grass that had been mowed by the Witlock boys with a scythe. It was dried nicely by now. I may have to chop it up smaller so I kinda stomped around on it while loading it into MM's panniers. [large open saddle bags] Decided since the river and the clay were in the same location....and the sand bar on the river was just a short ways from that, the bricks would be made down there. On the riverbank in the Maui "C". Found a patch of wild strawberries there too so I was careful not to track thru them. Not many berries left but I've got the notes from Mother/Annarchy about the leaves. I harvested some before I got all muddy. So one mixes clay, sand, water and straw....or manure. Um.....I heard that manure actually helps as a bug repellent. If it's humid or something, is it gonna stink? Miz MM was very obliging about dropping some raw material RIGHT at the worksite, sooooooo....I'll work that in with the straw ...thankyouverymuch. [mumbles...have to ask Annarchy about that stink factor. ] AND NOBODY TELL MY FOLKS WHAT'S IN THE WALLS OF THEIR HOUSE! The sandbar was not hard to wade out to and I shoveled a bunch into the big plastic hunter's sled. The other end of the long rope was attached to donkey. Donkey made it quite clear that the rope needed to be long enough so her precious hooves did not get wet. WHAT? You just had them painted? Sheesh, donkeys! ...Speaking of which, need to trim MM & Jack's hooves soon. Easy for DH to do that. Just watch for correct angles. Horses are more complex. [iRL...just tried a new farrier today. He gave MM a 8.5 rating for behavior out of 10. Not bad for a first meeting. Donkeys are wary of strangers. And now hopefully, my horse's shoes are on properly....the last guy messed her up! ] OK so now MM is willing to drag the heavy sled with wet sand over to the clay pit on the banks. Bribes help. I have to keep finding wild plants in season that she likes for that purpose. Hope we have a LOT of carrots to harvest. She'll do most anything for a piece of carrot. Wonder if she likes turnips? We'll have lots of turnips. I have a bit of tarp and I gathered some small willow strands and made a mat to act as a drying rack for bricks. Ready to go? Dump onto the tarp: 50% sand and 35% clay. Gooosh around with bare feet. [wonder if stomping grapes was nicer? ] Ow...rock. Was I supposed to screen out larger stones? Add a bit of water....more goooshing. More rocks...definitely have to ask about that. Or do they add "character" in the walls? Gooooosh,goosh,gooooosh, YIPE!!....*splat* Oh for petes sake. I slipped and now *I* look like adobe. This stuff really gets slick when you have the water with it. Might as well use hands and knees to gooooosh. It's safer! Ooops! Did I mention that I brought the puppy down to "help". Actually, I'm keeping puppy outta Big Dog's way. Till she gets more used to the idea of having The Pest around. Well, the pup was off a little ways exploring but heard my yelp. Came FLYING back to see what I was having so much fun at.....and joined me, of course. Puppy is definitely amused by playing in mud. What a clown! What a MESS. We are both going in the river when this is done. Mud wrestling, pioneer style. Wheeeeee.....give a push and pup slides across the tarp and recovers to gallops back for more. I'm laughing so hard I can't breathe. Suddenly I hear that I'm not the only one laughing. Another pair [how many cousins of this teen-early 20's age are there? ] of Witlock clan boys are nearly busting a gut. Oh.....I didn't know ya'll were coming today. Well, they decided to help get the fencing up around that garden so that the new livestock wouldn't get at the veggies. I tried to wipe off the mud from around my mouth..unconsciously cuz it itched. From their renewed howls of laughter, I could tell the effect was... unsuccessful. {sigh} What's a middle-aged woman to do? ****SPLAT**** SPLAT**** Nailed both of them with cob blobs! Wellllll, they retreated but they didn't stop laughing. Returned to working on the palisade fencing but...now I had to be a bit more dignified in my gooooshing. Hmph. Youngsters! With the straw added -- and I am SO glad to have had hands-on experience at Annarchy's new home, so I knew how much to add --- I began to form some bricks. Hmm, I might need to let this set for a while to get the right consistency. Besides, I really do have to make some forms so the bricks are nice and even. So pup and I got cleaned up in the river. Pup was not as enthusiastic about a bath as mud play. But mission was accomplished. I headed up to release MM from duty, grab some more seeds and went back over to plant in the "Maui" garden. I ignored the snickers from the fence builders. Tom wasn't telling David that he was still wearing some cob-blob on his forehead. After a long afternoon of pleasant weather and steady work, the boys said goodbye and headed for home. I thanked them profusely for their work. I had a bit more daylight left and I wanted to plant another long row of bush beans. Finally I finished, gathered up my tools, untied the sleeping puppy and ....... ....twirled around and around....looking for an opening in the palisade fence to get out. OH! THEY DIDN'T! They DID! They fenced me IN! And they'd both kept such perfectly straight faces when they'd wished me a good evening. The scoundrels! And DH is up planting one of the fields above the caves today. He'd never hear me. ...well, I *could* fire a gun but..... I think I'll get myself outta this. Dang, they've done a really good job on this fence too. Quite sturdy. I had to really yank to get a few of them back outta the ground and squeeze out. Gate! That's NEXT on the priority list! Need gate on Maui garden. Hmph! MtRider [heading for the river once again for a wash before supper...]

Goodness....what DAY is it????? Lesseee, Tuesday DH and I followed Mother's clan over to the Annarchy homestead for the big barn raising. We wanted to help since we'd not been able to travel down to Q's barn raising. But the A's live right across the way from us. AND we were dying to see how this adobe construction worked. It's wonderful. Not that I'm giving up my caves, mind you. But it DOES solve a problem I've been chewing on ever since those Rockin' J riders came out with letters from home. My parents! I realllllly cannot see them living in a cave. I wasn't sure I could visualize them living in a rough-built log cabin either. Clay-moss chinking or whatever.... [What we need is my brother to show up....but I haven't been able to reach him since before we reached the Rockin' J. He's a contractor and good at improvising. ] So I've been pondering and praying for some insight. THIS is good. Nice clean lines. Able to ward off bugs with nice tight doors. Might have to fire some tile roof pieces but....this is acceptable for them. ......on that grassy knoll overlooking the river. Not tooo close to the traffic areas of our tribe [once they all get here]. So I poked my nose into everyone's business and took notes how the process was done. I turned out some respectable looking bricks. Asked about what kind of clay...and we have the same stuff along our riverbank. Made sure Mr.MtR was paying attention on how to brace and all that. I'd really like to begin working on it....to have it ready when my folks arrive. This trip will be severely harsh....cuz they aren't as young as they used to be. Entering their 80's. But basically healthy, {thank YOU, God}. Here's a family joke. And now, I've just discovered, the joke is on me. Somewhere in my childhood, I began to tease my mom about being old enough to have arrived in the covered wagons. Even in recent years, I've had chances to slip that in and it's just a joke between us...as I'm now older than she was when I began this. Well, turns out *I'm* the one who has arrived in the covered wagon. They will arrive, at least as far as the Rockin' J, in a Ford Truck. [Please God, guard and guide them. Escort my family safely here. ] I find myself praying that a LOT now. Before we got the update on how BAD it's getting out there, I just kinda blocked it out. NOW...I know they are traveling..... Well anyway, it was quite a day over at the A's. And learning things from Mother and Annarchy about the herbs and plants too. I grew up in a zone 5 climate but it's been decades. I needed a refresher course. Thanks you two! I had brought my plant identification books and I marked up a number of pages...and the index. Now I know what I'm looking at. Some I just wanted to be sure of the ID. And we have acquired a new Saint puppy. I was holding my breath to see what Big Dog would do. But in the normal way of animals, she acknowledged that it was a pup and ignored it accordingly. The pup has to be contained or tied until it gets used to our area. It did a lot of crying the first nite. I allowed it to crawl next to me and that was all it took. It was so tired that it immediately fell asleep. Poor little thing. Misses it's mommy and Big Dog isn't a substitute. Sure is cute! I had a Saint as a child. Mebbe my folks are going to like this pup too. The dogs that Nathan's tribe are bringing are all working dogs for the livestock. This pup will be a childcare dog. The young twins, Ben, and my Grandsons, in particular. So today is Wednesday. More garden work and fencing around the garden in the new village. DH and I took a good look at the fairly flat area between our "C" of rocky cliff and the "C" where my Maui ohana will live. Where they join is the grassy knoll and it overlooks the river. Plenty of room there for a nice adobe house. Hillsides are steep but not dangerously so. Good walkway back towards our cliffs/caves... Well, it will be a good walkway if we clear out the brambles of gooseberries, that is. Just a few yards but enough to give them peace and quiet. Mebbe... Pleasant sights and sounds of the river below, anyway. I need an army to put to all these chores and projects. I send up prayer again for the returning riders...especially our Nathan. For the other children waiting at the Rockin' J. For the rest of my family...wherever they are! Then we get back to work again...on EVERYTHING! MtRider [ ...missing that donkey cart we sent with Nathan. It's handy. Wonder if we can make a goat cart someday? For now it's the wheelbarrow and the travois and the pack saddles on the donkeys [can haul 100 lbs each] . ]

Well, as nice as the break was yesterday, we ran thru today like our drawers were on fire. I think MrMtR and I are a bit ..... about what we have stepped into. Not just the new kids but the huge challenge when our FIRST kids come with their kids and my folks. It's the population explosion that has us up before dawn and out planting those new fields/garden spots. We were so grateful that the Witlocks decided to return and help plow again. We set the two of them up in the grassy area in front of the Second Village [the caves our kids/Grkids will inhabit]. We need to get gardens going over there. The soil is rich, tho a certain amount of rocks is inevitable. For protection from critter invasion [small varmints like rabbits, etc. Not the burrowing kind like moles tho] we'll have to cut a lot more small saplings to drive into the ground. At least we can harvest them where we need them thinned out. We sharpen one end with a hatchet and drive them into the ground like a picket fence [or palisade]. We're weaving some [very prolific] vine material in and out of each one to bind them together. We had to experiment with the natural materials here and this one remained strong when it dried out. At around 4', they have kept our dwarf goats out. Hopefully it will keep Machela's sheep out too. A higher solid fence would block the sun too far into the garden space. As it is, we plant lettuce, spinach, and other things that do not like hot direct sunshine near the fencing. There is a wide walkway all around the edge as well. You have to leave room to kneel down to weed/harvest...as we found out the hard way in the CO garden one year. [same garden that had horse-harvested turnip greens....he reached over the fence to "self-serve"... ] However this palisade fence certainly doesn't keep the deer out... Harvesting venison keeps the deer out! But we've only taken one deer so far. We can't stop to process all that meat when there is so much HURRY-UP planting to do. The garden spots within our first "C" [caves where we currently live] are additionally barricaded with rail fencing about 3 feet outside of the palisade fence. To keep Miz MM, Jack, & horses from pushing on the palisade walls and trying to reach over. {grass is always greener} We'll have to do that in this pasture too. The Montana kids will be increasing the livestock which is good but..... Time for that rail fencing later. It's just made from tying tripods of poles together to support the horizontal rails. Our quick-job rails are also just smaller trees or straight larger limbs from downed trees. Not fancy split-rails yet. I've been wanting to try getting two tall vertical poles into the ground a few inches apart. Slide some horizontal rails between them and another set of verticals at the other end...and so on around the larger gardens. These areas are out beyond dog and human watchers and wildlife can ravage them in a hurry. Would need to put spacers in so that the rails didn't block out the sunshine tho. Can't remember....is it 15 feet to keep deer out? The rails could be skinny... Deer won't barge thru. BUT...there are moose and elk here too. Not sure WHAT is gonna keep moose out...but they mostly like water plants, I think. I've had elk in my CO garden. BIG-FOOTED monsters! They make large craters even if they didn't eat anything. But it IS really cool to see the males. Beautiful. The homely cow elk have these puny heads upon such a large body. Odd looking. They ALL just need to stay outta my gardens/fields. So we've been planting as we get more plowed and prepared. Today, Witlock boys did the skinning of the sod off of the new garden space and setting that aside for a chicken house [now that Mother has explained that type of construction ] cuz chickens arrive in a month. Then Witlock boys plowed and used the disc and got a good half acre garden spot prepped. I kept bringing back more saplings from the near woods and along the river bank. I rode MM and took Jack to haul them travois-style. Took Big Dog too. Stayed pretty close to home tho. Managed to get quite a stack and began to sharpen the ends. I'll say I've become pretty good at sharpening tools by now in this new lifestyle. Sat in on some lessons during the wagon train here. Wish I'd picked up that skill earlier. Meanwhile, DH has been doing the planting. He's moved into root crops. We need to get more mulch done in the peas and beans and the first potato areas. Ack...I wish our troops were arriving tomorrow! Suddenly two of us are doing the farming for FIFTEEN of us. Good thing I brought a LOT of seed. Not sure how well turnips and beets will be appreciated. I hope our Maui kids will bring some seeds from the types of things that they like to eat. I did get some daikon radish planted. And we'll have Chinese cabbage, bok choy, and lots of garlic. And hot red peppers. Well, we'll see how spring planted garlic works. First thing I planted actually. I'd had to dig UP the garlic I'd planted last fall...when we heard we'd be leaving on this trip. Good thing it was deeply mulched and I was able to get at it. So I've got my fingers crossed. All of those things are needed to make kim chee. Our new kids will eat that perhaps more than our older ones. I'll have to get used to the pungent smell - again. I grew to like the smell before but it's FAR to hot-spicey for my German tongue to bear. We've got a LOT of spinach, onions, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi planted. I had started those in small pots as our wagon train neared the Valley. Direct seeded more for fall harvest. They all like cooler temperatures. I'm planning to shade them soon.....if I get the energy. I was SO excited to plant sweet potato but...I couldn't get any plants shipped. Good thing actually, since they probably would have frozen in our blizzard. Nathan says they have some sprouting in their root cellar. Hadn't had them planted before their parents were killed. Sweet potatoes need about 100 days. If kids arrive the first week of July....with plants in containers......oooooo, that's gonna be close. But we HAVE to get some started in the Valley. Even if we just harvest enough for seeding stock next year? I've never grown them so I need some veteran advice. Well, it's time I sleep....can barely keep my eyes open. SO appreciate our 'hot tub' for spasms and sore muscles. Glad I have my own chiropractor in residence too. I HAVE to keep in mind that I'm over 50 and....just cannot lift as much as I used to....ow! MtRider [ ....need to get out to harvest wild edibles toooo.... Note to self...talk to Mother about that! ]

QUILTY.......BEHAVE! I am SO needle-phobic. I have this LONG & EMBARRASSING history of passing out...even when my DOG got a shot!!!! I nearly dropped the computer off my lap when that wretched picture came jumping out TO GET ME! SHEEEEEEEEEEEEESH! [i outta use my mod privileges and delete that one! ...Should we, Mother? :darth duck: RE: the maps. OH....so THAT's where you all are down south. I never quite figured it out. Thanks for the maps, folks. Much easier to understand. I'm the "R"..you know. Very close to Annarchy then. [ across the trees and meadows to Annarchy.] ?? What change, Annarchy? You mean the part where the script writes in new refugees and orphans? BTW, I've had that in mind from the beginning...or nearly. Thank you, dear Mother. Flattery will get you anything...... not! She's been cajoling me and begging me for the past weeks. Finally she got down to two specific requests...so I posted to answer one and ....fell in love with this again so that I"M UP WAYYYY PAST MY BEDTIME EVERY NITE WRITING INSTEAD OF SLEEPING..... You're a bad influence Mother. But this is so fun..... Don't think I wasn't thinking up storyline while I got too frantically busy IRL to post for a bit. Just wait till you see what ELSE I've been plotting. And since my own mother has been feeding me ideas too.....yeah, the one who actually came up with that storyline about the helicopter disrupting our wagon train cuz of the two runaway teens -- her idea! ....SINCE she's been coming up with them, I decided to PUT HER INTO THE STORY. I brought my laptop over to their house today and she spent some time reading the story. She's enjoyed it as I've been reading parts of it to her all along. So don't blame me if something happens. Blame Mother....or MY mother..... MtRider [going to BED!!!!! Good nite! ]

Also, don't forget the Wagons Ho series going on in Pioneer Forum. We are going to be bringing in another Wagon Train of people into the Big Valley. So if anyone wants to come into that story, just pack your wagon and c'mon! It's a corporately written story....each of the participants writing from her/his own perspective. About the lifestyle of post-modern "pioneer" survival. After the hooey is hitting.... And our escape to an isolated valley. No great writing skills necessary! Just make up journal entries. It's fun. And we're learning more than I'd have guessed. By now, these months later.....yes, we've been writing this series for several months now....we can FEEL what this might be like. And that tells us some things that we might not have realized otherwise. Like how much DH and I would NOT want to try this alone without our extended family members. Come join us. Catch the next wagon train leaving from the Rockin' J.... MtRider [who might have time to catch up in Fireside if I wasn't writing for Wagons HO.... ]

Sunday DH and I can't believe we only met Nathan 2 days ago and already we feel anxious and sad to see him go. We can't WAIT to see him back again...and meet the rest of our new tribe. We've done this adopting thing before tho. It's quite exciting but, in reality...kids will be kids. Imperfect and not always sweet. They will find out that parents will be parents too. Imperfect and not always right. But somehow....it all works out. We kept a list.... Well, ok *I* kept writing more on the list I was sending back with Nathan. Things to try to bring. Things to remember about wagon trail life. I also sent back some letters. I couldn't send any to my parents or DD's since they were en route to the Rockin' J. I tried another one to my brother. And one to my niece's university. Not likely that she's still there tho. Not from what we've been hearing. It is just tragic that her generation is going to be cut off, denied so much like completing higher education. 'Taint fair! ANYway....I have been wondering where they might be. Did they stay on the east coast???? Did they try to make it out to CO? They knew we'd left on the wagon train and they know how to contact Rockin' J. I sent my cell phone back with Nathan. It still has some paid minutes on it. If Verizon is still in business???? So I sent a letter to Joy and Jacob. I let them know about our DD's clan and my parents. That they were on their way from CO to the Rockin' J and to be looking for them. Then I reminded them about my brother/niece and the code words they would use to identify themselves. I asked them to try to contact any or all of them if possible and give any messages to Nathan. Included all cell numbers. Couldn't think of anything else I could do. I asked Nathan to see if he could dig up any fruit-bearing plants from their ranch. Or young fruit trees? It would not be a good time to dig things up but it was worth a try. He said they have a lot of raspberry, blackberry, etc. I told him we'd ask Mother about how best to handle those things for the trip out here. He said he'd ask an old neighbor of theirs about it too. Their family had planted a large garden, of course. We discussed transplanting some things like tomatoes and peppers into containers and bringing them. Not sure if the transplant shock would be too great. If the risk was too high and the space and weight would be better served in other ways.....and we pretty much decided it would not be a good idea. There are some friends of the family who will be glad to take over the tending and harvest of the garden. They would pick and use anything that came ripe before they'd leave tho. I was especially anxious for him to transplant some of his mother's herb garden tho. He promised to ask the neighbor for help with that too. "Make sure you bring chicken wire for the trip here. Your chickens are going to be crammed in those cages while riding on the cart all day. They have to be contained in a larger area during the night." "Yes, Mom," he said in that patient voice that informed me that I was repeating myself again. We both laughed. They have lots of chickens.... Their family has camping equipment and often did camping while they traveled around to visit friends. They have tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, backpacking stoves, water jugs [and Katadyn filter], and Mountain house foods. Seems like they're set for the wagon trip. We discussed having each child wear the emergency whistle, etc around their neck... But then Jacob Rock was the one who'd outfitted our children and adults with a chain to carry a tiny pulsar lite, emergency whistle, and for adults - a neck knife. Most of us are still wearing that small kit. Kind of a part of the uniform around here. A fire starter and emergency mylar blanket should be always carried too. Nathan began to laugh and pulled on a chain around his neck. Yep, that's one of Jacob's kits. Nathan had driven the donkey cart with the two female oxen to the Lodge. Dh and I had the horses. Between the donkeys and Big Dog, the livestock in our pasture should be safe. Big Dog has been so enamored with saving her goats that she is now compliant with staying to guard. Good, cuz she's still not very socially appropriate with other dogs. It was so much fun to see everyone. Mr.MtR & I have missed a few Sundays here and there. Our energy is so scarce sometimes that we've just had to focus on resting. So the remainder of the week we can work our tails off. DH wanted to check on young Jaime Witlock...make sure he showed no sign of relapse. A number of others met him at the Medical Clinic too. It had become part of the Sunday routine while many gathered. To have the Clinic open for checking on symptoms, getting an adjustment, or whatever. Q drops in for part of that time too. Mother, Annarchy, and others been dispensing their herbal medicinal knowledge too. A lot of folks just gather around a table in the Lodge and take notes as a bunch of them talk and show examples of what to look for on our lands. I know I've got a whole notebook of notes already....started along the wagon trip. LOL ....see, Dr.MtR is used to getting his herbs outta bottles and capsules....already processed in doses. So he's been taking notes too. But once identified and processed, he's got years of study on WHAT they are used to treat. You should hear that table buzz with comparisons and "war stories" when all of those Medical folks get to talkin'. But today, the focus was on those leaving to bring back WT#2. Tearful goodbyes and hugs....including the MtRiders and Nathan. This has reaaaalllly brought out the point that family is the first thing you pack when coming to live in the wilderness. All the rest is of lessor importance.....until it comes to providing food/clothing/shelter/education for those loved ones. We also had a meeting about the new folks arriving in about a month. How will we be prepared to get all of us through the winter? Community gardens, expanding our own fields and gardens, finding wild edibles, reminders to hunt only the male animals so the females can care for the young. We discussed how to pass around the plowing equipment and found that each area was doing that pretty well already. Neighbor was definitely helping neighbor. This is an abundant Valley so hopefully we can organize some wild food foraging parties. Someone suggested Sunday afternoons might be good. Someone else pointed out that the cool mornings might be better and have services in the later afternoon when it's too hot to be getting mauled by raspberry thorns and mosquitoes. It was a great time catching up with Q, Mother, Mo3b, Annarchy and all the rest.... I showed off the pictures of Nathan's family to everyone. LOL...like I once did with a well worn picture of two other Korean girls..holding each other's hand and looking at the camera with pleading faces. [iRL too] Everyone tried to guess the personality of the child thru the photos. Nathan had been frank with us about his siblings...and even himself. We had that advantage over our last yet-to-meet-them adoption. I am so excited. The other households are expanding too. Either by family groups coming in and/or children needing a home to come to. As the situation grows worse, this will definitely be a ministry of our Valley. A refuge for some who need the shelter as much as we do. But it will change our lives once again. Drastically change at Cleft in the Rock Homestead. When everyone arrives, we will jump from two adults to 7 adults [i think] and 8 children ranging from 4-17 yrs. AM I REALLY READY for this? Well we're back home and ...it does seem a bit ....quiet. We've all three been jabbering away for the past couple days and now.... whoooooooo. But it's time for bed and more planting tomorrow. I think the Witlocks are returning to open more ground with their plow/disc. I'm going to try to get some plants started up by the caves. We'll see if we can keep the durned rabbits and squirrels outta them. I want some containers for that project.....but may have to try my hand at some clay coil pots. I tried to get information from Q or Mother about firing clay pots. I've got some sticky red clay located now on the banks in the larger "C"...where the Maui ohana will live. If I could fire some correctly, coil pots are not complex to make. Just get the clay into the right consitency to make long thin ropes and begin one long circle like a braided rug for the bottom. Then begin to climb the rope up to make the sides of the pot. When done, carefully smooth the clay together so that there is no gaps between the coils..inside and out. Carefully, without toppling your creation. Put in the drainage hole if it's for a plant. [Now where did I put my pottery tools...that I haven't used since college? I KNOW I packed it with other craft-type stuff! ] Yes....that's worth a try. Cuz I didn't bring any sets of dishes. Only metal and graniteware pie plates and wooden bowls. I told Nathan not to bring anything glass/breakable...unless there just was no choice. So we need more plates and bowls and cups and some......ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Mooooother....how can we keep doing that? I pulled up Journey IIII and saw no one had posted since this morning. And in the time it took me to paste my previously written post and hit "Add Reply".....you got yours stuck in first. This is getting tooooo funny. Especially since I've been working on this VOLUME off and on all day. And just now decided to post. And YES we had a blooper. But I hit Edit and shifted our day around just a bit. Whew.....saved it again. Y'know, if we lived in the same house, I'd just bet we'd run INTO EACH OTHER constantly and we'd both be sitting on the floor. Hopefully laughing. Anyway...about the IV or IIII..... REALLY? I don't think I've EVER seen IIII before. Mebbe I just never noticed. I remember WAAAY back in grade school laboring over the IV & VI.... which is which??? Cuz I'm right/left dyslecsic [why do they have such a difficult word to spell for those of us who have it ] and I can't get them straight. And you can keep any IV's away from my needle-phobic self too....[pardon pun] And while I'm not the ONLY one who shifts plot and shakes our UNreality....I DO have a tendency to do so, don't I? Anyway, I still have to read the REST of Mother's post.... MtRider [still can't believe we did it AGAIN!]

[OK...yeah this is a volume and a half....but I'm trying to make up for lost time. I've never tried to describe our place much yet..... oye, this is loooong. AHEM.....HOW did you *just* sneak that post in as I was pasting mine to the page? We keep doing that! ] Saturday Cleft in the Rock Homestead My head is still spinning. I hardly slept last nite. OUR FAMILY IS COMING!! Oh God, our fervent prayer is for their safety and provision as they journey. For DD1, DD2/DSIL and GrS1&2. For my parents. For my brother too, and neice...wherever they are. And now also for this family of recently orphaned siblings. Young Nathan here to petition for them all. Micah & Machela, Ben, Kaylee & Kailla. What I really want to do is pack up the donkey cart and go back to Rockin' J and fetch them ALL home! But the trip out here nearly killed me ....on a number of occasions, truth be told. The exertion alone took a terrible toll. So, no....I will wait for them here and prepare. Hey! We can send the other two oxen and the donkey cart back with Nathan. They can pack more things that way. Poultry fit nicely on it. We'll send the cages too, if they don't have enough. He can leave his horse here. One less animal to get over that mountain ridge twice. What else can we do to make him more prepared? I finally hoisted my stiff body out of the wondrous featherbed and wandered out of the cave. I walked across our "patio" of rock ledge to the edge of the gently sloping hill. We'd been putting "spare rocks" [one has a lot of spare rocks when you live in a cave... ] along the edge where the stone meets the soil and grass. Eventually, a wall to keep out marauding livestock. Well, ducks maybe. The slope and the grassy bottom land near the river is our main pasture for our assorted critters. Last nite we'd given our new son Nathan the tour of Cleft in the Rock Homestead. Miz MM trotted right up the hillside to greet us with that HEEEEHAAWWW bellow of hers. Expects a treat, of course. Nathan is already hearing MM stories. Her cohort is Jack, a male donkey and new love of her life. From the patio, we could point out our horses, Roan and Midnight. We'd let his horse, Chet, roam with them and all seemed well after an initial period of shuffling for dominance. Midnight still reigns on this slope so far. It's a very large area but eventually we'll have to build fencing for more pastures. We'll have to rotate to make sure the grass isn't cropped too closely. But this has been easy to contain them with a few rail fences. It's nearly choked off anyway by the rocks at the east and west sides near the river. Not that they couldn't swim the river. It was about 20 feet wide at this point and moving slowly. 8 -10 feet deep. Besides the equines, there are 4 dwarf goats [not as liable to roam far in their greatly pregnant state], dozen ducks, and Cotton patch geese [good for garden weeding]. The geese are still setting eggs. All were kept under the watchful eye of Big Dog. She particularly loves her goats, which is what her kind was bred for. The donkeys are also quite protective. Our two were seen running a coyote out of the pasture and up the hillside four days ago. [iRL ..MM and 'Roan' ran a big white dog outta their pasture today. ] Big Dog continued the chase for a while ...and fortunately came back safely. A big pack of them would be dangerous to her. Wow, you should have seen my 140 pound dog scramble up the rocks after that pest! Big paws with toes splayed out and gripping....it used to give me a heart attack until I came to trust her skills. Well, that's our inventory. Well, 4 breeder meat rabbits in cages in the "barn" ['barn' is now that first cave opening with the water seepage trough and we decided to live in the Great Room]. Not much compared to the livestock this lad's family owns. But together, I think we'll do just fine. I'm relieved to hear they have milk cows. With all those children...and my grandsons coming, we'll need more than four dwarf goats can provide. We're making do with a little powdered milk in recipes for now. I was also very glad to hear that the older children all are skilled at milking. Cuz my old arthritis hands were worried about milking my four all at once. We showed him the series of caves that open onto the rock ledge. He didn't seem to mind that our home was literally a rock "castle". He marveled at the Hot Tub Room. The Great Room...one of the first we'd found....has central heating and sky lights. The rear of the cave was very warm....too warm for me to spend much time there in summer. Obviously, there is a very hot springs behind/under the back wall/floor. It all seems very warm. For winter, the front of the Great Room should have a wood burning stove/fireplace. We'd picked Annarchy's brain on that day she'd stopped by. She promised to come back once things slowed down, to show us how adobe bricks could be used to build many things. And we DO have to climb up and plug the so-called 'sky light' [aka: hole opening to hillside] before winter. We have a list of things for Nathan to try to bring. Glass, clear plastic sheeting [uV stable], and rigid clear/tinted plastic are high on that list. Since they plan to board up their ranch house, he might be able to take out a few small windows... frames and all? It depends on HOW much stuff they can haul. DH and I have not forgotten how difficult that route is. At least Wagon Train #2 will not have snow to deal with. Flash flooding, lightening strikes, and ....the bears are no longer hibernating. Since Dh and I had never finished exploring all the caves, this seemed like a good activity for this afternoon. He and Nathan had been up early and the Three Sisters garden patch is now weeded. No need to water...God has been doing that for us regularly lately. Thank YOU! Then Nathan ran up to tell me that two of Mother's clan brought down the plow. So DH, Nathan and neighboring Grkids took turns with the plow. Nathan thot it was great fun. He also realized that his dad had been collecting "antiques" and he only now knew what some of them might be. DH told him to be sure and have Jacob take a look around for things on their ranch that might be vital here. So they all worked hard to clear a bit more land. Far more than DH or I have dealt with before. Far less than the fields of the Iowa farm I grew up on. Every little bit helps....especially now. It was nearly two when we waved goodbye and thanks the kids. We still wanted to explore the caves so we got out the oil lantern, flashlights, and headlamps. Off we went. Several hours later, we had dragged our way back to the Great Room cave. We'd been ALL over. UP and down and into the very "bowels of the earth" ...as they say. I like caves ....big roomy caves. Crawling-on-ones-belly type caves...NOT! I didn't go in that kind. There are so many twists and turns that we should have used bread crumbs. Next time, if I can find some of that white chalky rock, I'm going to mark the intersections. We found a lot of old evidence of larger animals using the caves. Nothing fresh. Big Dog startled the heck outta us a number of times when she'd suddenly dart forward snarling at small rodents. Once it was a porcupine and ThankYOU, God....she did not "engage" that one. It decided to evacuate the area. There was a bat cave too. No batmobile but hundreds of bats. Good! They eat bugs. The river could draw a lot of bugs. The batcave was much higher up the hillside ...and way over above the next "village". That's what we decided to call our "C" curved grasslands next to the river and ringed by the shelf rock with caves. We thought ours contained a great set of caves. But when our "C" curve of rock ledges ended on the eastern side, another one began....and it was much larger. A much larger grassland was enclosed by this larger "C" of rock. The patio ledge continued on around to the next "C" but we had never seen that. A huge section of gooseberry [those are the ones with the thorns, right? ] had hidden the access to the next area. The overhead stone ledge ends however, so visiting the next "village" of caves would involve getting wet in the rain....unless you use the cave tunnel. Yep, it also follows all the way around. Iffen we can even FIND that route again. Well no, it's really not that bad. But it's a lot more extensive that we realized. I know every day it's too rainy to make fences or plant, we're going to be mapping cave routes and making an inventory of features like spring water or hot springs or...TOO hot springs. We found several of all three. We'll have to mark the hazards too, and somehow block those off from exploring children. Sheeeeeeesh! Something else I just thought of. While it's great to have plenty of room for expansion of our "tribe"....trying to secure the entire interior of the hillside from larger predators [bear/lion] and smaller pilfering varmints [weasel/raccoon] will be crazy. And I for one, do not want to have Smoky the Bear come visit me while I'm flippin' flapjacks for breakfast. Oye! As it stands right now, DH & I are still going to set up in the first "C" with the 'barn' and Great Room and hot tub room, etc. It's got plenty of space for the children and us. Livestock will have to be spread between the two areas. That will be easier when our Maui and CO people arrive to keep watch. They will settle in the eastern "C"...or "village". Haven't figured out where my parents are going to be. Maybe they want to be in town? Maybe they want an "apartment" cave near but not so near that the racket of the 'tribe' is disturbing ALL the time? There is the one area toward the middle that looked quite promising. [THEN I try to picture them in a cave at all and....... dunno, but they have to be somewhere. Hmmm, Mother? I need one of those adorable pups if you are still handing them out. If they are herd watchers, I've got more herd than I ever planned to be responsible for. Or rather, Nathan just told me they have three herd dogs...one for Machela's sheep, and two Aussie Shepherds for the cattle. OK, Saint pup for the children then. Please? [got to remember to ask her on Sunday.] Nathan asked if the children should call us "Dad and Mom". I asked him if they would be comfortable with that ...having lost their parents so recently. He said they'd called their parents 'Oma' [Korean for mother] and Papa. ['Apa' is Korean for father] Well then, Dad and Mom it is! DD's are going to be real surprised to find out they've acquired a few siblings. While exploring, the three of us exchanged stories about our families. I feel like Nathan can bring back stories about us and we have a lot of information about the children. Like interests, strong qualities, not-strong qualities , fears, hopes and favorite colors. Kailla's favorite color is green and Kaylee's color is blue. Except the next week she'll say her favorite is white. Nathan was concerned about the amount of work it was going to take us to plant while he was gone. Well, we'd had some help there. Last week little Jaime Witlock came down ill in a big hurry. The severity lasted for four days and all were afraid the fever was going to damage him...or worse. Dr.MtR spent five days straight at the Medical Clinic trying to keep that persistent fever down below dangerous. Thank goodness he learned that odd technique. Meanwhile, young Teddy Williams [b's] came up to help me "hold down the fort" here. Finally the fever broke and Jaime was making a recovery. I was sure glad to see DH and Roan trotting back up to Cleft in the Rock. I was also very glad to see a team of 4 men show up the next day with the plows, discs and teams. "Where do you folks want a field, Doc?" They were all related to little Jaime. Witlocks are a large clan. Boy, did they set to work on that flat stretch out behind our hillside. First they used a scythe to cut & then raked the grass to dry & put up for some hay. Not real long yet but why waste it? Then they began to plow and disc. They showed up for three days straight. Dr.MtR and I tried to shoo them away. "You don't owe us THAT much labor, for pete's sake! {chuckle} I think they got into a contest for the best/fastest fields. They certainly prepared a lot of ground for us. Good neighbors. Double thankful now with this recent news. Dh and Nathan have gone over there now. I think young Nathan is going to begin the planting yet this late afternoon. DH might help but I know he's tired. He lost a lot of sleep last week. More wheat & oats. We're feeding more livestock and people this winter. Potatoes, beans/peas for drying. We're going to have to switch to the root crops this week. We're running out of time to plant grains. Carrots, beets, sugar beets, turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, ..yum! Wish I'd set more tomatoes in containers. We don't eat them much but the rest of my tribe probably will. Well, I put in some. I am soaking in the 'hot tub' cuz I am going to feel the muscles we used exploring. {snort} I am SO glad I set some rice, dehydrated veggies and canned beef to 'cooking' in the fire pit this morning. I used the large Dutch oven - heated the contents up to boiling. Then lowered into the hole we dug...lined already with heated rocks from the breakfast fire. Cover the hole with burlap, then dirt to insulate the heat. [pretty much Hawaiian imu cooking...except they didn't have iron pots] Well, we've shoved into this day about all that it could hold. Our lives are about to change forever. That's ok. I think this will be a good match. But I'll be grateful that their older sisters/BIL will be on hand to help us out. Heading for the Lodge tomorrow with all the oxen [and their yokes/harness packed along. Nathan will be driving the donkey cart with two oxen hitched. We've rigged harness for four if he ever needed them. I've sent enough food to see him easily back to "civilization". He let us keep the photos. I sent back a couple for him to show to the other children. MtRider [ ...gonna hate to see this pleasant young man heading for that steeeeeeeep exit from our Valley..... {sniff} ]

ATTENTION ALL READERS...... This is another invitation to come and join us in Big Valley. I have no idea how long we will keep this thing going. When winter is over IRL and we all begin our gardening and other projects....this may fade away. But dunno about y'all but I've still got quite a bit of winter left yet. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A LONG-TERM Mrs S MEMBER TO JOIN US IN Big Valley. We're not exclusive. And you don't have to be a writer. Just journal a diary if you like. But you should probably try to read at least all of this last WagonsHo thread. The Journey IIII. [speaking of bloopers, Mother. Shouldn't that be " The Journey IV " ?????? Or....Big Valley I ????? ] So if you want to join the fun, C'mon! If you've been reading, you know how we're living. And you know it doesn't matter if we have a blooper or two...or five. Part of the fun. We just to ask folks to keep away from any false information ....cuz this is a learning tool. Make sure we aren't passing on something that would get someone in trouble if tried IRL ["In Real Life"...if someone doesn't know this abbreviation] Example would be that Quilty was careful to put cautions on a few of her canning instructions like the pectin. Old time methods not strictly approved by today's health standards. That's the proper way to write that sort of thing. The another rule is no one dies. But we've sent a few to the hospital. A slightly tricky part of this thing we've called "Corporate Writing" is to not place a real person [Me, Mother, Annarchy, Q, AH's, Mo3B] or their families into a situation that will mess up their posts that they might be working on. It does happen. But we've gotten rather good at a quick rewrite when we've posted at the same time as someone else. [Haven't we, Mother? ] Anyway, ...for instance, don't announce a birthing of their cow or something like that. but we've done visiting and such. Just stay a bit vague about real folks so you leave them wiggle room. If you need a person outside your own clan, the B-group, [aka: Benefactors group...see previous threads for who they are] people can be created and molded to whatever your storyline requires. Need some strong muscles to make your plowing more realistic? Watch my storyline. I'm about to give some poor B-group child a bad fever....just to get some help with plowing fields!!! {NEED help...Dr.MtR and I are too OLD for acres and acres of plowing! } We're all trying to keep it SOMEWHAT realistic. We all slip on that sometimes cuz....well, it IS UNreality. I'm adding in family members that realistically, I should not be expecting to make it. But....I just couldn't help myself. It got tooooo lonely in big Valley without our clan around us. Right Q? Even an attempt to adopt some fictional family didn't keep me from wanting MY REAL-LIFE kids/Grkids/parents out here safe with us toooooooo! And that is a real issue....if the real hooey ever hits the fan [iRL]. A big issue for MrMtR and I with our kids across the ocean. So, if you want to arrive in big Valley with Wagon Train #2, post something about your wagon(s) and your clan (if any) and about waiting at the Rockin' J ranch....gateway to two weeks of wilderness travel thru mountain passes and ravines [watch those flash floods and wild life]. Regular BV writers, in a bit we can start posting here and there about our family members coming thru the route we took....if you want to. I'm not going to be able to spend a lot of time on that. But if you want to flash to a family member you intend to be on this train...go for it if you'd like. MtRider [busy planting even more food and ....exploring the rest of those caves next where we plunked our stuff down...gotta get organized before our personal hordes of kids arrive! ]

[...ok...IRL, I did not quite plan for this turn of the scenario for us. I've been plotting in my head, a family of kids we could take on....cuz DH and I will NEED more than the two of us out here in Big Valley. That's become quite clear...even in UNreality. So I was set with my imaginary kiddos and then....I just couldn't do it. Tho it would be improbably that our Maui family [and my parents] would join us in such an adventure....even in UNreality, I found as I typed that I just could not leave them out of our Valley story. So suddenly....they are all coming....... What's a writer to do? ] Dear Diary There is two more things that happened today. They involve Mr.MtRider and I personally. The first is about our DD1, DD2 and SIL with GS1 (age 6) and GS2 (age 4). From their letter which we have already reread many times. It was sent over a month ago. How they crossed the Pacific on a cargo ship. NOT a pleasant trip, evidently. Crammed in like "immigrant steerage" in the ships of olden times. But they were able to carry some goods with them, including their pickup, SUV, and van. They found a trailer when they landed in CA and hauled their things across the southern route - CA, Arizona, New Mexico and up to CO. Better for the weather but nearer to the border of Mexico. That border area has been in severe unrest. I don't think they will ever tell me all that happened on that leg of the journey. Just as well. They are safe enough for the present in CO. My parents also sent a letter. It also was dated last month. THEY have finally decided that it will be worth the danger to leave now. They so did NOT think they could travel like we did; by wagons in winter. Probably right. But now is more dangerous to get to Montana. The wilderness will be the least of their worries. However, they have found out that it is not only the truckers who are banding together to travel safely on the highways. Anyone can sign on for an armed security-protected trip. For a steep price, that is. So when their grandkids/great grandsons arrived [unexpectedly...the mail did not get thru to say they had left Maui] , my over-80 parents decided they would go too. What use to be left behind? There is no estimate as to whether they will reach the Rockin' J by the time Wagon Train #2 leaves. Doubtful. They'll probably have to catch the next one. Wellllll, I'm somewhat relieved to hear about the armed guards and "wagon trains" of private cars traveling together on the major highways. But eventually, they will be traveling on their own. They will have three pickups, [one with a trailer], a van and DD1's SUV. I wonder if they can haul as much as our conestogas? I wonder if they can get gas? I wonder about my brother and niece from way out east. [i'm finding myself wringing my hands....God help and protect them, pleaaase!] I wonder what on earth they packed????????? These are not rural girls! Camping trips did not go well with them. Oh, my...... But my folks are practical. And farm folks....long-retired farm folks but they will probably be very valuable for their knowledge. Even if my dad does fall asleep while watching TV these days. The trip will be so rough on them physically. Even driving the highways. I hear one does not make good time anymore...even on the interstate highways. {sigh} Anyway, my folks will know what is needed. And I sent them a list...both of what we were advised to bring and after we arrived, I sent a letter back saying what all we WISH we would have brought. Or wish we could have brought. Like plexiglass and more crop seeds and fruit trees, another hand plow, tea/coffee/chocolate/pipe tobacco, more tools, more footwear, Meds and OTC stuff, and ....... Well, in this letter they said they'd tried to get most of that stuff. Wasn't specific on which items they had been successful. Now if they can make it here. Oh bother! I can't see my parents living in a CAVE! For that matter, I'm not sure I can imagine either of my DD's living in a cave either. Mebbe some curtains.... OTOH, after what the kids have been thru, Cleft of the Rock homestead might look like a grande fortress. We do have a whole string of caves right here. DD2's letter was way too brief. My mom's letter gave me more details. Doubtful we'll hear again until they arrive....or don't. Mebbe Wagon Train #2 will carry another letter of their progress. Ok, that's 5 more adults and two small children joining us. [fear, joy, trust...all mingled together to put butterflies in my stomach!] God help them! Help us to bear the waiting! --------------------------- Now for the second half....or rather, we found out about this first. Before we opened the letters. The messenger rider did not arrive here alone. With him was a 17 year old boy named Nathan. Nathan had been told by Joy and Jacob to seek out the MtRiders. So after hearing all the messenger had to tell, we fed the both of them rabbit stew and pancakes....[wasn't expecting more for supper and pancakes can always stretch a meal quickly]. Then the messenger had gone on up river to Mother's clan. Hobbit Hole. We sat down with young Nathan to hear his story....and his plea. He pulled out some family photos, carefully sealed in waterproof packets. He lingered just a moment over each one before passing them to us and explaining who we were looking at. His parents on their wedding day. Dad was in the Army, stationed in Korea. Mom was Korean. Nathan is their firstborn. Twins, Micah and Machela are now fourteen. [will be fifteen in 8 months, he assures us....very mature and helpful!] All were born in South Korea when Dad was still stationed there full time. They lived mostly in Montana after Ben was born. Ben is now 10. But they still lived in Korea part of the time. During their last long stay in Korea, Mom and Dad adopted Kaylee and Kailla as infants. The girl twins just turned five years old in April. All speak fluently in both languages. Dad retired from the Army four years ago and the family returned to their Montana ranch permanently. As the national situation worsened, they began to stock up and prepare for the worst. But on a simple trip to town three months ago, Dad and Mom were killed in the crossfire of a robbery attempt. Social workers are scarce but there has been some talk in their community of putting the younger children in the orphanage. Nathan has been insisting that he's old enough to care for his siblings but the violence is increasing. Someone from their church put him in contact with Jacob and Joy. "So here I am," he'd concluded. "Mr & Mrs Rock said that you've already adopted and raised daughters who were born in Korea. I have come to ask if you would consider sponsoring me and my siblings until I turn 18 next May. It's a full year till my birthday. Then I'm able to claim my 40 acres here in the Valley." He continued, "My siblings and I have been raised by a military dad and a Korean mom. We've been taught to be respectful and to do our share of work. The girls...Kaylee and Kailla are little but we can make sure that they are taken care of. Micah and I could be a lot of help to you here. We're strong and willing to work. We are all rural kids. We'd be bringing our own horses.. [ponies for the little girls], and three milking cows and their latest daughters, ....hogs if we can figure out how to get them here, and my sister...Machela, has sheep. She's won ribbons at the fair thru 4-H for her sheep and her weavings. Micah, Ben and I show our cattle. I'm not sure how many of those we can bring. But we could bring our breeding stock for sure. My father had begun a good breeding program with cattle. Mr Rock is trying to sell some of the cattle for a decent price so that we can be equipped to come here. " He'd said that all in a rush, trying to convince us. We were his desperate hope for refuge. {snort} He already had us when he showed us the family pictures and told the sad ending of his parents. Especially looking at those adorable twin girls. So like we'd envisioned our DD's must have looked like at that age. When would we ever see our DD's and their family again??? [remember, we had not read the letters yet....had NO idea they ALSO were on their way here. ] Yes, of course we'd help. And he didn't need to think that they would all have to move out in a year either. We could be a second set of parents for as long as they needed. [of course, being a parent never does end...does it? ] Nathan was doing a great job selling his little family. SIX kids....wow. We'd better hope they were a family that functioned well together. Or DH and I had just bitten off a huge mouthful. But young Nathan was going to have his hands full just getting used to this wild land. "Do you need Mr.Mt.Rider to go back with you to help bring you all out thru the mountains?" That would be problematic for me being by myself and we had to keep the crops and livestock tended. No, Jacob Rock had assured Nathan that others would help the children get thru the wilderness trek. ....Meanwhile, DH and I will be busy planting more gardens. Nathan will stay with us until the group is ready to return on Sunday. How did you know, God? That we've been wanting more children around us? But...five year olds????? Oye! Now You will have to give us the strength for that. I hope they obey or how shall we keep them safe?????? Excitement, fear, but also Peace. This thing is to be. Later, we opened the letters from DD2 and my mom. Oh.........my! We need more cave space explored. And MORE gardens. What have we gotten into? I never thought they'd leave Maui. I never thought my parents would leave their home...... And there is my silly husband....grinning like a cat. YOU are the one who likes your privacy and space remember! Go find us a nice cave for our own. Shoo!...while I try to figure out some logistics. Lemme see. The kids are hauling rather a great deal of rice all the way from Maui. My mom reported that. She said they had ...... and if we plant..... and .... oye.... But hey! DD1 is a teacher! We've got homeschool handled. Note to self: make sure Nathan brings all their books, etc. He mentioned they were homeschooled. We could invite Mother's YGS down for school. Our GS1 is about his age. And once the others get here, there will be a whole clan to help watch the young ones. .....ok, quit hyperventilating. This will work. MtRider [....who may never sleep again until ALL her children .....and her parents, are safe in Big Valley! ]

[iRL...once again I'm behind in reading the posts. I catch up and then y'all are posting your hearts out here. I so enjoy them when I catch up. But I'm gonna get skinned alive iffen I don't get this one posted so....here it is.... Hoping for no drastic bloopers.... ] Dear Diary A messenger on a fast horse came thru today. Told Mr.MtRider and I that another wave of Big Valley immigrants is getting ready to leave Rockin' J. It will include a daughter and a son of Joy and Jacob Rock - plus their spouses, children and a few in-laws thrown in. Many other folks have gathered at the Rockin' J and have been awaiting a departure. Some of them are friends and relatives that were expected. Some have providentially found this departure point. Evidently, even in remote NW Montana, the scene is getting harsh. There are bands of bandits. Organized gangs are a huge problem in many urban areas. There are rumors of a resurgence of organized crime. Nearly everyone now is carrying firearms and traveling in groups for safety. The local law enforcement are being assisted by local militia. The military has stepped up to assist in many large cities. Martial law is in place but, it is difficult to enforce it so one area may have a totally different set of rules than a place just 20 miles away. Travel is, naturally, restricted. But folks are still getting through. News stations are reporting the worst but there are many, MANY acts of kindness and generosity out there too. It's just that even if most people are still trying to be decent, law abiding....the struggle to merely feed one's family is putting tremendous pressure everywhere. Disruptions in the electrical grid are not helping the situation. Anytime there is an unannounced blackout/brownout, people panic. Riots are becoming common. Staying holed up in one's home is common, especially in densely populated areas. With the warmer weather, deaths from lack of home heating sources have diminished. But there are so many homes with plumbing lines broken [in the winter weather without consistent heat] that city water pressure is constantly effected. They are trying to shut off any point of broken lines so that other areas may be still served. Truckers are signing up in caravans [like wagon trains] with hired armed escorts or the National Guard. Supplies are moving throughout the country but with none of the efficiency as before. Gasoline prices are dear. Basic goods are bought, sold, and bought again and again in a system which is more black market than normal commerce. UNBELIEVABLY, once the trucking caravans began, a lot of the goods ordered by our wagon train members actually got thru to the Rockin' J. Companies are trying to stay in business, thinking that surely by next year, things will have settled down to normal again. The five young men and two gals who came across the mountains to deliver this message brought a good portion of those parcels. At least the ones that were small enough for pack animals. AND they brought mail. The US Postal service is getting through....eventually. We even got mail from Maui.....or rather, Colorado. Our Maui family has migrated....and, will be trying to come here. Oh my. I am so excited and yet....so sad they had to leave Maui....reporting conditions so bad there in the middle of the Pacific with little to no shipping and zero tourists. AND I'm horrified that they will try to travel thru this mess. They are staying with our friends for now. Sheeeesh, I wish they were here already. One of the main national problems is that agribusiness has nearly come to a standstill. Gas/diesel prices are horrific. Even if they can get fuel, seed shipments have been hijacked repeatedly. Farmers that did not already have seed, have been set far behind in the season and are switching to oats or soy bean instead of corn [ due to it's longer season requirements]. A late frost down in southern states had devastating effects on some fruit growers. [Must have been the remnants of the blizzard that hit us!!] So usual things as well as the abnormal things are happening. But there is some talk of small rural communities [including those around the Rockin' J] trying to plant gardens and small fields by hand. Round the clock security is required tho, since pointless vandalism goes with the chaos of the times. The Rocks have been teaching some neighbors and small town folks the art of Victory Gardens. They've contributed a lot of seed which they had stored for this purpose. But, they are also worried enough about the situation in general to begin to send their family members to the Valley. They are hoping to be able to remain on their ranch. Two other sons and some other relatives are staying also. But they are ready to evacuate at a later time if it becomes necessary. The assignment of the 7 young folks, besides making contact with us and the parcel delivery, is to drive back any oxen that are not in use here. They are needed to be used for the next wagon train. So we're sending 3 of our five back. They're just getting fat and lazy here. We'll keep 2 females as we planned to send them down for a visit with "the Bull" when the time is right. The young people will also bring back the 2 conestoga wagons that were left at the top of the BIG HILL. It's been more difficult than anticipated to obtain any kind of wagons and teams for the new immigrants. At couple [mebbe more?] of the young folks from the B group have signed up to go back and help bring Wagon Train #2 into the Valley. There is to be some compensation in land acres, I believe, for their help. Wonder if any more will help with that? Wellllllll, there is certainly plenty of land yet available in this Big Valley. I hope that we are able to provide the food for the newcomers. I decided to get some more vegetable seeds started. Especially the short season varieties. I know there have been some larger fields of wheat, corn, soy bean, and oats planted in the flats on the western side. Some of the B group were farmers recruited to do just that. In anticipation of late arrivals. I wonder HOW MANY will come? Every one of us has loved ones we'd like to see safe in this refuge....ones that might have changed their plans now that it's getting worse instead of better....like our family members. {sigh....this is one time I'd liked to have been proven WRONG! ] I REALLY hope that the new immigrants have brought the proper supplies, tools and attitude. I hope they are immigrants to this lifestyle and not just expecting to sit around waiting for someone to provide for them. We could certainly use more skilled workers or willing labor but....... I guess we'll have to trust Jacob and Joy. They are definitely good, solid folks. I hear Mr Hughes will be going back with the young folks and the oxen. He'll be the wagon master again. That's good. I hear he set up his cabin somewhere over here on the eastern slope. Further north than Mother and us. So far, he has not had any family with him. I wonder if he's expecting anyone in this batch? MtRider [a LOT to personally ponder in the MtRider camp tonite....but more on that in the next diary entry] [iRL...now that that's done....I get to read and find out what y'all have been up to.... Any of you expecting more family to finally arrive? ]

I brought some mother-of-vinegar: red wine and apple cider. I got them from a MrsS member originally [iRL ] So I can share that. Also some dry yogurt starter [Lehmans] Lots of yeast, of course So some Sunday-at-the-Lodge, all the families can share their starters? Or begin to develop a specialty product? I needed back up tools, I think. The thot of breakage or loss....each tool is so needed. I tried to back up things like the jiggling thang for Sherman [my canner]. I certainly brought a lot of various knives. But until our society gets more skilled in the fabrication of such things [Michael and the other metal workers?] these initial tools need to be take care of. I think we need a big two person cross cut saw. Extra ax...but not really for me. MORE spare blades for any saws we brought. More pairs of work gloves....again, until we have goat hide and sewing folks with "gloves-capability". I'd guess by now even my excessive amount of bandaids will not be a year's worth. Strips of cloth tied into place may or may not stay in place. I'm a klutz! [Anyone learning about something they need to stock IRL due to this exercise?????????] MtRider [when's that next mule train due..... overdue? Bummer! ]