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gulfcoastruth

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Posts posted by gulfcoastruth

  1. Well, I can tell you that we women started out keeping up our makeup, washing our hair and brushing our teeth from the water wagon, and stepping around mule apples, but that didn't last long. Wear a hat to cover up that greasy hair, fresh washed make-up free faces started to look not so bad, chew on a blade of grass, and pretty soon you don't even notice the horse & mule do-do.

  2. I just gotta jump in here.....

     

    I actually DID travel from Colorado to Mexico by mule-driven covered wagon train.

     

    Here are a few notes from the trail:

     

    The wagon train started in AZ with 17 wagons. Traveld up thru TX into Colorado mostly on paved roads, but as much as possible, on back roads and thru Indian Reservations. Arrived back in AZ at the border of Mexico after 1 yr, with 4 wagons, in bad shape. They shook apart on the PAVED roads.

     

    We got bogged down in deep mud in Colo, finally had to call for tow trucks.

     

    No way to get across "Wolf Pass" safely. A very deep/steep valley. Again, had to break the rules and truck everything over.

     

    We stopped once a week at whatever local High School was near by to shower in the gym. Nevertheless, I got a badly infected thumb, and a horrendous case of Athletes Foot. Once a week is not enough! And Pioneers didn't even have once a week!!

     

    Someone had to watch the mule line at night. They were tethered usually in a nice enough pasture area, but were often loose and scattered in the morning. A couple of times the lines became very tangled and we had mules panic. One night a mule was bitten by a brown jumping spider and died. No need for an alarm clock, they would start "calling" for breakfast at first light!

     

    We had one run-away wagon, no one hurt, but wagon destroyed. Very dangerous.

     

    On the Ute reservation, some Indian men and boys came into camp and offered to talk to us about their lives. The women made fresh fry-bread for the whole camp. A gift.

     

    In the "Land of the Dine" (Navajo Reservation) Indians occasionally rode in by horseback, very friendly. One night they brought 2 truck loads of produce as a gift to us.

     

    I did the camp laundry at Medicine Hat trading post in AZ. Using washing machines and dryers it took me 3 days. The trading post was the hub of the Rez. I was invited to a wedding, and blessing ceremony at Shiprock. I carried laundy for a very old lady one day, and she called me "daughter"

     

    When given "leave" occasionally from the wagon train, (a van would take us to whatever town), most of the men would "whoop it up" and get very drunk in town. A few times had to be bailed out of jail.

     

    Personal stories were our main source of entertainment on the trail. No electronics for entertainment. One morning I was sitting around the morning fire with a couple of teenage boys who had helped me feed the mules. It was first light, and there was a red glow on the horizen. The boys got into an argument about what the red glow was. One boy said it was pollution from town. The other said it was the sun coming up. Finally they asked me what I thought. I told them "Well, that red-ribbon has been around a long time, even before pollution from town. The old Cheyenne would say that it's the shining moccasines of the Dawn Boys, come to tell the stars it's time to end their journey across the sky, and time for Grandfather sun to don his shining headress and climb the blue stairs of the sky " They both looked at me in stunned silence!! I had to laugh, but Sunday morning we let those boys sleep in. One of them came running up to me looking like he just jumped out of his bedroll and he was very uspet. He found me finishing up my breakfast and breathlessly exclaimed "You forgot to wake us up to see the sky!!"

     

    I was on the wagon train for 6 months. It was one of the great adventures of my life. It was tough even with modern conveniences, and I often thought about how double-tough our acestors had to be to make it.

     

    Thanks for letting me share!

  3. I've had great success growing pumpkins and winter squash on mounds of straw. I just scrape back some of the straw, spread in some compost and plant.

    As they grow, the straw is breaking down, and the worms are working the organic matter into the soil. After I harvest, I spread on some cow manure and let it continue rotting over the winter.

    When spring comes, I plant potatoes in the rich shallow soil the worms dug for me. I layer on lots of straw as the vines come up. I get a decent crop of potatoes, but not as much as in deeply tilled soil. After that second year of straw covering, the worms have deepened the soil even more. When I dig up the potatoes, I'm giving the soil in that bed it's first real digging. I find the organic matter worked down a good 6 inches or so. I layer on more manure and straw for the winter and come spring it's ready to be planted with anything but root crops. I usually do pole beans and cucumbers.

    Each year I've added a new bed to my garden using this method. I keep them all mulched with straw or leaves. My soil is getting very rich and I don't need to use a shovel. I just lightly stir up the top 3 inches when I plant seeds. The only time I take a shovel to it is when I dig the potatoes.

     

    I love the way Ruth Stout thinks. No-till gardening is such a blessing!

     

    By the way, Ruth Stout is my great-great aunt. I have a picture of her feeding her chickens. (Not the same Ruth stout!!)

     

    This is very encouraging! Thanks, Homemaker! I got some straw bales today and placed them where I want them. There is room for plenty more. I'm wondering though.....

     

    I'm sure the bales are supposed to lay flat (or loose), but I'm thinkin' of having them up on their side to help discourage moles, mice and rabbits. I don't know why it wouldn't work just as well..a little skinnier growing space, but deeper....any thoughts on this?

     

    Gulf Coast

  4. Thanks Missisippi!

     

    I'm going to get hay bales this weekend (September), and hope they are good and ready for next spring.

     

    I also live in the South. When it rains it pours, but when it's sunny everything dries out in a hurry.

     

    I'll keep y'all posted!

     

    Gulf Coast

     

     

  5. Gee I'm glad to see this thread, as I am planning to grow stevia too.

     

    I wonder if once it's dried, you don't need nearly as much. The first time I tried commercial stevia, I thought it was horrid, but found out you only need an itty bitty bit for the sweetness. Maybe the same with dried, home-grown stevia??

     

    I hope there is a way to make it useful!!

  6. Hey ya'll...

     

    I have been very interested in this forum and learning alot! Many of the threads go back a few years, and some of the links no longer work, or the page has expired. I was trying to link to info on "hay-bale gardening" and was re-directed back to the Mrs. S homepage. Does anyone have the scoop on hay-bale gardening that you can share?

     

    Thanks alot!

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