Mother

Annarchy, don't you dare worry about getting on the same day. I'm not always sure what day it even IS. LOL. You are doing great and I love your Adobe addition to this. I'm hoping that you'll have a drawing of what it looks like so we can "see" it. I'm learning so much from this thread and there must be a lot of others out there learning too as we now have over 266 views per page in this thread compared to about 216 for the Wilderness, 234 for the Ranch, and 257 for Town. I would say the views are ranking on top for this thread, we must be doing something right. We're missing a few of our ranks lately. I hope everyone is okay and will be back with us soon.

I'll have to look for it in the store but I wouldn't mind learning how to make it. Or is it just concentrated puree? Paste?

This morning found us all with sore muscles but the feeling of accomplishment from yesterday spurred us on for today. Mom had simmered the prairie chicken bones most of the evening yesterday and into the night. I heard her get up once to stoke the stove and was glad that we'd moved the wagon closer to the kitchen for ease of getting to the stored foods. She didn't have or want to use a gun and I would worry if she had gone far from the wagon in the night. As it was, I watched her through the window and until she came back to bed. This morning she used the broth to make a savory oatmeal for breakfast. The chickens were starting to go broody so we were leaving their eggs for them to set on and this was a nice substitute. As a change of pace, after breakfast we started planting the grape vines as our DS had already platted out his mini vineyard. He had a number of varieties but tried to stick to heirlooms as much as possible when he chose them. He was careful not to have us plant them where they would have wet roots but close enough on either side of the spring on the second plateau down so they would be easy to water. On that plateau they wouldn't be in the cold down draft of the valley floor. His grapes were one reason we chose this higher area. It was ideal for growing them and the other fruit crops. The grapes weren't difficult to plant. We removed the sod from a three-foot square area, cutting it in have and using the two sections to start a small 'fold' for the sheep and geese inside the solar electric fencing. Then we loosened the soil in the square and planted the vines. Later we would put up supports for them to grow on but for now we only had to give each one a good drink. With all of us working the planting went fast and by noon we were ready to start on the red raspberry, blueberries, huckleberries, black berries and other bushes we'd brought. They went on the next plateau down. We figured we'd find wild berries in abundance but these were varieties that we loved and enjoyed, especially the heirloom red raspberries. We planted them the same way as the grapes, removing the sod and using it for a second shelter on that plateau as we would most likely be grazing the sheep and cows in and around all the bushes once we had them protected from their nibbling teeth. We were careful to plant each row far enough apart that we would be able to tether animals between without them being able to reach any of the plants. If the grass did became too high in any of the area we were hoping to cut it for hay for the winter. While we were finishing up watering the bushes several of the guys went back to the plowing to see what they could get done in the couple of hours left of the daylight. With the watering done I made my way slowly back to the main drive intent on going up to the home plateau but when I reached the river I was drawn to the plants growing nearby. I found a really nice patch of amaranth. It was an escaped herb from the tropics centuries ago and I knew it was found as far north as southern Canada but hadn't thought of finding it here. Some people call it pigweed, some call it other names or mistake it for lambs quarter but by any name it's a good pot herb when young like this was. I still had plenty of time to cook I for supper. I knew that Mom had put on a big pot of beans and rice and it would go nicely with them. I usually cook it about twenty minutes and then drain it. I would fry a few strips of bacon and toss the cooked greens with the bacon grease, add a splash of vinegar and then crumble the bacon on top. We still had bacon left and I was smiling as I gathered my long skirt full of the greens. They cooked down pretty much so it would take a lot for our family but I could see there was plenty in various patches so I wouldn't be harming them. It was almost full dark when the family came into the 'kitchen' but they weren't too tired to eat and I was glad to see the amaranth go over so well. I would have to start keeping my eye out every day for fresh spring greens. When I took the left over rice and beans to the dogs I realized we'd have to hunt again tomorrow. We still had dog food left for them but not a lot and we were trying to make it last as long as possible. I stopped to play with the puppies a while and by the time I got back inside everyone but Mom had gone to bed. She was setting in her rocker sewing and I settled down beside her in my own chair to knit a few rounds on a pair of socks. Soon I would have to have the guys put the spinning wheel and the loom together and we'd have to shear the sheep. I was pretty proficient with the loom but not nearly so with spinning. I had some good books though and we were all planning to learn. It was nice, setting there with Mom, talking over the day and making plans for the morrow. We had let the stove go out to conserve wood so we didn't set there long. The night was almost cold when we made our way to the wagon.

Thanks Annarchy. I bet my DS will love this. Tomato bullion? Concentrated tomato?

Tuesday night,,, Today was a very productive day. DSIL and three of the grand kids went to the field right after the chores and breakfast were done. They plowed and planted most of the day switching off jobs so that no one got too tired of any one thing. They switched off teams ever couple of hours to keep the oxen fresh. DSIL had an idea to try the Three Sisters planting but with a twist. Instead of planting in hills they are planting the corn in rows with pole beans planted between the corn. Winter squash and pumpkins, all in the same family, were planted in rows between the corn rows. Because the soil fertility was very rich they planted the rows close than normal and the squash closer together so that one plant could be trained one way and the next the other to make a blanket to cover almost the entire field. We are planting a wide variety of each of those vegetables to see what does best. One of the corn varieties is what we took from the homestead and I hope that it will be easily grown in the area. As its pollinating time is unknown we planted it on the other side of the field from the known varieties. The others we planted are staggered by time, not distance as we have used these together before. We are cautious to make sure that each variety is planted in blocks within the rows though as corn really does better grown that way compared to just long rows of one variety. The bean varieties in the field are all intended for dried use and we will allow them to mature on the vine. The rest of the family worked in the gardens. While some were digging more sod the rest of us were planting. We had no garden plants started so everything would be by seed until fall and by then we'd have seedlings to go in for winter vegetables. We would have to soon start putting in the bare root plants and trees we'd brought along as they were already starting to leaf out but they were keeping well especially now that we'd put them into one of the caves. Once again, we opted to plant in blocks in the garden rather than rows. We usually only do that if we are double digging or amending the soil regularly but we figured this first year the soil would hold up fine and we hoped that by planting this way the weeds would be discouraged. Even the green, yellow, and string beans were planted this way using blocks that we'd be able to reach across easily for picking. The pole beans for fresh eating would have to wait until we had time to cut brush or branches for them to grow on. By lunch everyone was ready for a rest and I insisted we take at least an hour. It's true we have a lot of work to do but we can't afford to get sick. Mom had helped plant seeds for a while but then headed to the 'kitchen' to get together a quick lunch. She wanted to help again after lunch but I had her set and cut potatoes to plant in the fields the next day. By then or the next day, there should be an area ready for them. We were very careful to hold back half of all seeds in case a crop failed but we couldn't do that with the potatoes. They were already sprouting almost too long to handle. We would just have to hope that we had enough varieties to ensure that at least some of them would do well. We moved the piglets after lunch, giving them another area to 'pigorate' and then raked over where they'd already tilled the soil to a fine crumble. Because of the possible contamination from fresh manure we would not be planting those areas now but would make them the base for 'lasagna garden' beds that should be usable for winter crops. We were back at work in the garden when a gunshot echoed in the field below us. Startled I swung around just in time to see DGSIL pull his shotgun down from his shoulder and start walking towards the deeper grass at the edge of the tree line. No one in the field seemed alarmed, not even the oxen were disturbed by the shot so we just waited to see what was going on. He walked around in the grass a few minutes, looking for something and then turned back to the field, giving up the search. I turned to go back to planting peas but DD went to where the dogs had been tied and unleashed the two herd dogs. They were both part lab and I realized what she intended to do. She sent them over the bank to the field with one command. Once they reached the field and had been directed to the tall grass it only took them minutes to find the kills that our GSIL had made, five good-sized prairie chickens. They proudly brought the birds to the DGSIL's feet one by one and then went back for more. Later we found he had seen a whole flock running towards the taller grass and had just taken a chance with the shot. There isn't all that much meat on one of these birds but if it tastes as good as grouse, which they are related to, we'd feast tonight. Mom and I plucked and cleaned the birds and then put them into cold water to thoroughly chill before cooking. That decreases the enzyme action that can lower the quality and tenderness of the meat. We would cut it into pieces, bread it, and then oven fry it later. The entrails were divided up between the dogs and cats, a much needed protein source, but I tossed the heads and feet to the pigs, just to make sure the dogs didn't start getting the idea to eat what they brought in. The rest of the day went smoothly and we accomplished a lot of planting before dark. The 'chicken' was a welcome change from dried and canned meat and we determined that we'd find out from Mr.H if the prairie chicken population was strong enough to stand some hunting during nesting season. I had thought the species was endangered but perhaps not in the valley. Still, it would be a shame to take more than was good for the flock health. We talked about taking time out to hunt for fresh meat each day. We could certainly use the fresh meat but I cautioned them to take no rabbit that didn't look healthy or was not running. I didn't know if rabbit fever was possible in the population here but didn't want to take chances. I'd rather eat rabbit in the winter when those chances are low. Truth be told, most animals would be having babies this time of year and it always bothered me to think we were making orphans. Still, I wouldn't turn down the meat. We needed to eat right to stay healthy and our supply of vegetable protein such as beans and corn combinations would not last forever. Our guys weren't vegetarians at any rate and preferred their protein in the form of meat. We went to our beds early knowing that the morning would come sooner than we we'd like.

It was a very productive day despite the rain this morning. We started in on the walls as soon as breakfast was over. The sidewalls were to go up first so that the front wall would rest against them. After manhandling the north wall so the base was sitting on a line that would be where the wall was supposed to set, the guys tied ropes to the bottom and tied them off to a couple of trees growing behind the wall to the north. That would anchor the wall, keeping it from slipping, so we could raise the top into place. One of the horses was harnessed and brought to the south side of the 'room' and two ropes were tied to the top of the wall at each end and then secured to the harnessed horse. We positioned several saplings so that they would act as braces when the horse pulled the wall into position just for safety sake and then DD urged the horse forward. The bottom of the wall slipped once when one of the ropes slipped and we had to start over again but when all was secured the wall lifted into position without a problem. The guys had planned so that the wall would rest against a couple craggy rocks sticking down from the underside of the ledge. That kept the wall from falling into the room but we used the sapling braces to temporarily wedge it tight. The south wall went up about the same way, it too leaning against a rocky ledge on the ceiling. I breathed a sigh of relief when we had them lashed together by tying them in several places with a heavy rope. We took a "coffee" break for a few minutes while we looked over the plans for raising the front wall and then got to work. One of the GS's went up and around to the trees above the "house" to secure two pulleys with ropes to large trees. He passed the ropes down and two ends were tied to the top of one section of the front wall lying on the ground. The other ends were tied to the harness of the horse. The base of the wall was levered with crowbars to set one side against the end of one sidewall. The other side was wedged against another sapling braced on the back wall. This, we hoped, would keep the wall straight as it went up. The problem with this wall was that it would sit about two feet back from the front of the ledge and our pulley system would only set it up just to the edge. A come-a-long was secured to the back of the sidewall and a rope tied to the top of the wall in preparation to setting it the rest of the way. It wasn't ideal. We'd have to make sure the front section didn't twist as it settled back but there just wasn't anything to tie off to on the rock face. When the horse moved forward bringing the top of the wall up with the pulley we used braces under it just as we did the sidewalls for safety but the wall lifted just as planned. Then one of the guys worked the come-a-long while DD moved the horse slowly back allowing slack in the rope for the tilt backwards. We kept the braces ready but the section lay right against the sidewall with no problem. The guys had squared off the logs at the inside corners and the sidewall fit fairly snuggly to the front wall. We wired them temporarily but would be drilling holes through both and using wooden pegs to secure them. We had a large supply of long pole barn nails with us but we'd save the nails for a time when pegs would be difficult to use. The other front wall section slipped a few times but eventually it was up and the half lap in the top sill fitted snuggly. Because there would eventually be a log addition with the roof extending beyond the ledge in front of this room, the top sill of the front wall had been notched to eventually hold those roof rafters. It looked strange, almost like a long birdhouse with multiple doors. I wondered if the birds would think so too. By noon, tarps were secured to the walls and my gray and white enameled Home Comfort stove had been moved into the make shift 'kitchen' and reassembled. It had also stopped raining so our DSIL hitched a team of oxen to the plow to see if he could get some of the lower plateau turned over. While DH put in the stovepipe, running it through one of the metal firebreaks we'd brought with us, the rest of the crew started removing sod from the garden area. We hoped to cut down on some of the weeds by doing so and we'd have the sod to use for other purposes. Mom. YDGS, and I started moving the kitchen equipment and some of the staples we used daily into the new room. For now we had no shelves or cupboards so we left everything in totes, hoping that would discourage critters. We moved the folding tables in and sat some chairs around them and when Mom put a small brightly checked tablecloth on one of the tables with a candle lamp in the center the whole room looked great. When the chimney was done, I laid a fire in the firebox of the stove and lit a match to start it. After showing Mom the stoves idiosyncrasies, all wood stoves have them, I left her to play with it while YDGS and I went to find wood that would fit the firebox. Removing sod is hard work but we could see the kids had a system going that made it easier. Two people would go along and cut a double line across a row of sod about 18 inches apart. Another would come behind and cut across it at two-foot intervals. The next person used his shovel to lift the sod while the last person would pick up the sod and take it to an area along the face of the cliff that had been marked for the greenhouse. DH was there, directing the laying of the sod, staggered like cement blocks, to form a low wall that would hold the sill for the Lexan plastic and would act as a wall to hold the inside growing beds. When we came back with the wood I could see that everyone had changed places, obviously to save anyone doing the same repetition, which would cut down on sore muscles. I couldn't help but look out at our DSIL and wonder how he would feel come morning. I was amazed at how much he and the team had accomplished. It might not be as straight as he was used to making with the high tech computer operated equipment but it looked wonderful to me. I helped Mom in the kitchen for a while but YDGS went outside to help the 'guys'. It was a strange color in the kitchen with the sun trying to shine through the tarps and I pulled back the one covering the doorway. Eventually we'd have all the food stored in the cave behind the kitchen but until we could close off the spring room it would be too damp for most things. Mom had taken a look at the spring with a big flashlight and was already talking about how we would need to secure a plastic tote in the spring to keep certain foods cool but not have them get wet. I told her I'd take her word for it and she just laughed. By late afternoon Mom and I had a stew simmering on the stovetop and she was making biscuits in the oven. It was a joy to work without bending over or stooping and to have more control over the heat. I had poured some of our drinking water into the water reservoir on the stove but it really needed to be filled. Mom offered to get it from the spring in the cave but I was saved from feeling guilty by our DGD who offered to get it for us. She'd come in to get the milking equipment to start the chores but as she was getting the water I took the buckets and headed outside. I stopped a few minutes to admire the garden. It was amazing what had been accomplished. The sod had been removed from about half of the largest garden area along the edge of the plateau and the soil had even been plowed there. When I looked out to the field I could see our DSIL still hard at work but with a different team of oxen. I'm not a good judge but it looked as if over an acre had been plowed. I didn't even want to think about how many more we'd need. The greenhouse plans called for it to be about forty feet long and the two-foot high knee wall looked to be approximately that long already. I started to smile when I saw DH starting to outline a twenty-foot area just beyond the greenhouse. I knew it was going to be the chicken coop but hadn't thought of using the sod to build it. As I looked at it though I wondered if it would make a temporary shelter for some of the kids. The overhanging ledge was only about twelve foot wide over the green house section but it was quite a bit deeper next to that, maybe fifteen or eighteen feet. If the sod could be stacked high enough to reach the ceiling there or if we could put logs on top of a sod wall it might work. A couple of windows would make it nice and light and there was a cave opening just inside the greenhouse that would make it easy to get water and supplies. I thought about it all the while I was milking and helping with the other chores and I knew that we'd be having a family meeting soon to discuss it. Maybe not to night though, everyone looked about done in. It would be an early night for all of us.

Yesterday had dawned bright and clear. We were all looking forward to going to the Lodge but we were also concerned about leaving the animals untended. DS offered to stay with them but we were reluctant to leave him alone. We finally had little choice but to agree, it was just not safe to leave the animals when so many of them were tethered and we would be gone so many hours. The only thing DS asked is that we bring back some books for him if we got the library boxes opened. As it didn't look like rain we took the supply wagon, hoping we might be able to borrow one of the plows. We were using the horses instead of the oxen as they were faster but it was easy to tell that the team wasn't used to the bigger wagon. They were frisky and I was glad that our DSIL had offered to drive. We stopped at Mt.R's homestead but found no one there. We could see that planting had been started though and we were pleased for them. We knew our own planting would be starting soon. We dared not wait if we wanted a long enough season for some crops. We reached the Lodge in plenty of time to visit with people but I was disappointed to find that MT3B and Q were not there. Dr.& Mt_R were there and I was glad to see her up and looking better. I knew there would be a lot of bad times for her, like was just passing but I gave her credit for bouncing back the best she could each time. She said they were going to be taking their animals and wagon to the homestead to finally get settled in and we offered to help them if we could. I so much enjoyed the fellowship and the meal was really fun and there was so much wonderful food. Chef made a huge batch of oatmeal raisin cookies and encouraged everyone to take some home with them. Michael did a great job with the plowing demonstrating and I found it very interesting. Our DSIL watched quietly, not saying a lot. Knowing that he was well used to plowing with horses I wondered that he didn't help out some. When the demo's were over and people were being encouraged to try their hand at it I suggested that he go take a few turns. He just looked at me and smiled and then said, "I'm going to get plenty of plowing in the next couple of weeks so I'll let someone else have all the fun." I laughed with him and had to agree. We certainly weren't planning on plowing all our acres this year, as we had to be sure not to put in more crops than we could handle but it was still going to be a whole lot of plowing. When the plowing demonstration was done we moved to watch the men using oxen for logging. That was something that our DSIL hadn't done a lot of and he and DH eagerly joined in. That was something else we'd be doing a lot of over the next few months. The most fun of the day had been working in the library though. I loved books. I felt they were the doorsteps to opening minds to possibilities. I hadn't been able to see the extent of the books the wagon had held but Lori had chosen extremely well. I was grateful now to see such a wide variety of subjects and age levels. We chose a number of them to take with us though I wasn't sure how much reading time we would have in the next couple of weeks. The extra plow wasn't spoken for so it was finally decided we'd take it home with us but would have it back if someone else needed to borrow it. While the guys loaded the plow I went to check on our buck and the does he was with and decided to leave him one more week just to make sure the does were bred. Mt3B more than likely could pick up her does any time and we would get the buck next week. That reminded me that I needed to get with Q. She wanted a milk goat but I wasn't sure if she was looking for a full sized one or if one of our Nigerian Dwarfs would work. They didn't give the amount of milk that a full sized goat did but we had one giving over a quart a day if that was enough for them. That would still leave us two milking does, which, with the jersey's we were milking, should be plenty. The nice thing about these naturally dwarfed goats is that they take less feed than a full sized one, they breed at any time of year, and they are easier to handle for those of us that don't have the strength to handle full sized goats so the trade off is about even. I had forgotten to pick up some of the cookies from Chef and I wandered towards the kitchen, hoping I could leave a message with him to pass on to Q when they next came to the Lodge. He said that a couple of the B's young people had agreed to be a sort of pony express for messages but they were still working out the details. He assured me that if any were going that direction he'd be sure they took the message. Then he suggested that I bring the doe into the Lodge when we came in next Sunday if Q didn't find a way to pick it up first at our place and he would see that it was milked and cared for until Q could decide if she wanted it or not, using the milk himself in the mean time for doing the work. If Q didn't want it then we could take it back the following week. Chef didn't let me go without some of the cookies and he also sent a package with us that contained a nice assortment of food from the potluck for our son. After a quick goodbye I headed to the wagon where I found everyone ready to go and just waiting on me. It had been a good day of food, fun, good friends, and fellowship to start the week. Now it is morning and we should be already at work but I am setting here under the tarp watching the family take the oxen and horses to the lower plateaus to tether them in the lush grass. It has been raining for a couple of hours and there will be no plowing or planting today. Watching them stake out the oxen had me thinking of all the terrific numbers of them that were now in the valley. Each of the big wagons had come in with at least four of them if not more. With the extra oxen that we picked up at the Ranch to help make the steep grades of the wilderness travel, there must be close to a hundred all together. About half of ours are cows, unusual in a team but obviously done on purpose with the intention of allowing us to raise beef or in some cases dairy as many of these animals were Holsteins. Because the rest of the teams were steers, I wonder if some of these cows were bred before leaving. I don't believe that Mr. S knew about us bringing the young jersey bull and Mt3b's bull was gained along the trail so I'm sure there must have been some plans. I will have to ask one of the B's the next time I see them. There are obvious benefits to having extra teams to switch off plowing, logging, and for transportation, in the winter especially as they are a bit more sure-footed than horses. Still those animals all have to be fed through the winter. Even if we allowed them to winter graze the corn stalks and grain stubble left in the fields, or ranged them on the uncultivated land, they are still going to need hay when the snow is deep. That will mean a lot of grass will have to be to cut for hay and we'd have to do that by hand and stack it for the winter. I am disappointed that we can't plow today but at least we'll get a chance to work on setting up the walls the guys finished Saturday. We will be working part of the time under the ledge so it should be dry there but the front wall will be a different story until it's up. Well, I need to put my writing down and get busy for the day. Perhaps I'll have time tonight to write more.

Saturday We were all up and had chores done early this morning. The day started out gloomy looking and fearing rain we decided to set up a more permanent camp before we started on anything else. Our cooking supplies were still in the camper wagon but we were doing most of our cooking outside and going up and down those steps constantly were hard on Mom and I both. The last couple of days the bulk of the cooking had fallen to her as I'd been trying to do what I could with the rest of the family. DGS (Our oldest grandson) loves to cook and usually pitches in but we've kept him so busy that even he's not been around the fire much. Bless our young grandson, 8-year-old DYGS, his energy and eagerness to help has made him invaluable to all of us but especially to Mom in running back and forth for her. The grandsons hooked up a team of oxen to the supply wagon while DH and DD rigged up our smallest solar panel outside one of the cave openings. This was where DD's cabin would be built and I watched with interest as they hooked a long wire to the panel and then to one of our brightest 12-volt lights. DGSIL maneuvered the wagon as close to the opening as possible and then tied the oxen to a small tree there. When I saw light coming from the opening I managed to make myself walk through a narrow passageway about three foot wide and four foot long to take a quick look inside. I was amazed at the size of the room there. I estimated that it was about 20 feet square give or take a few feet. The ceiling was high and though irregular in height it didn't look as threatening as I'd expected. The walls were jagged with rocks jutting out here and there and I could almost see the uneven ledges being used as shelves. The walls felt dry enough but there was a damp feeling to it just the same. I could see that the room was only a larger part of a passage that went both directions at the back of the room and I guessed that to the left led to the hot springs and possibly more rooms and the right passage led to the fresh water springs and beyond that the room that was behind our own cabin area. I didn't stay inside long. Even with the light I could feel my breath tightening and the fear starting to build. It was totally unreasonable of course. I had made great strides with my claustrophobia in the past. I was able to ride in elevators and be in the small rooms at the doctor's offices and I now had no trouble cleaning closets, but as big and light as this area was I still couldn't help but to sense the thousands of pounds of rock that sat above me. I hurried outside, to help unload I told myself, but I knew that I wouldn't be carrying things into the storage room. We emptied the wagon completely and then went on to unload the other wagons of storage items, leaving only the items we'd be using daily like clothing and personal effects and all our food as we wanted to store that in the cave behind our cabin area. I stepped back inside the room before they unhooked the light and was surprised that the room wasn't entirely full. We had such few possessions for eleven people to start a new life on. It was a bit unsettling. When the supply wagon was emptied the cover and bows were removed and set aside for later use as a shelter or storage. Then some of the group loaded the wagon with the chain saws and one of the cans of gas and left to go to the forested area above us to cut trees to use as timbers for a temporary enclosure. We all hated to break the peaceful quiet of the valley but we knew when we left home that building cabins for ten adults and a child would not be work undertaken lightly. The saws and especially the gasoline had taken up valuable space in the wagons but the time and work they would save would be invaluable. I reminded myself that we needed to reserve enough gas to offer the saws and gas in cutting logs to replace the bridge at the end of the river and possibly to build one across the North River as well. I wasn't sure when we'd all be able to get together for that community project but figured it wouldn't be until we all had our own living quarters secured. We didn't want to sacrifice garden time but we wanted to get the cook stove and Mom under shelter as soon as we could. We needed to have a place she could set and relax while watching the cooking or baking and all of us needed a shelter in case of rain instead of setting in tents or wagons. Our thought was to use the ledge that overhangs the cave opening where the main cabin is going to be and to put up a framework. We didn't want to take time to actually build solid walls but a tarp could be hung from the frame, allowing us protection in inclement weather with the advantage that it could be rolled back out of the way when the sun was shining. It would be a summer kitchen of sorts. Later this framework would form the inner walls of the bigger cabin that we hoped to start on once the garden and field work was done. We were measuring the size for the frame when we first heard the chain saws. I was right, the sound of the saws did strike a discordant note in the peace. We had heard chain saws yesterday from the area of the lodge and we knew how harsh they sounded even at a distance but it wouldn't be long and the quiet would be restored as the gas ran out. We hoped to eke ours out over a long period and that's why the smaller trees had been cut by hand yesterday but today we were looking for larger ones that would make sills for the frames. Our thought had been to build the frame as post and beam but the soil near the cliff was fairly shallow and full of rocks and we hit solid rock only a few inches down. We set to work digging out the shallow dirt, leaving a solid rock floor. It was uneven in spots and we gave DYGS some safety glasses, a cement chisel and hammer and set him to work on the worst places. When the others returned with the bed of the wagon full of various sized trees, the branches already removed, we were ready to start building. The ledge jutted out about fifteen feet in this area and ran fairly evenly for about 25 feet and then tapered back to the north on one side and did the same on the south side. We didn't want the room to come out beyond the ledge so opted for 12 foot side walls which would eventually hold the front wall in place. After measuring our longest straight trees we decided we had enough for the front wall to be almost twenty-four feet if we made that wall in two sections, one 10 foot and one 14 foot. We would be using half laps (cutting the beams so that one overlapped and fitted into the other in a continuous line) to join the top sill for strength, as this log would eventually be used as a beam to hold the roof rafters for the part of the cabin that would be built beyond the ledge. After carefully measuring one side, we used the chain saw to cut the logs to lengths, using one for the floor plate and one for the top sill just as would be done in a frame home construction. These we trimmed to fit snuggly up against the underside of the rock ledge and on the rock floor. The uprights were not all the same size as the ledge tipped down in the back and we had to allow for the uprights to be cut and fitted into holes in both top and bottom plates in the mortice and tenon style of old barns. Shaping the holes took the longest time. We could do some of it with the tip of the chain saw but that took a real steady hand. The rest of the hole had to be chiseled by hand to get them all to fit properly. We stopped for lunch and a short rest at noon and then went back to work. The whole framework had to be built in sections laying flat on the ground near where they would be placed but even though we'd used small trees, they all looked bulky and would be hard to handle. By the time we were done with the second wall it was getting late and we knew we should be getting the chores finished before we ran into dark. The men were all for hooking up the 12-volt light and continuing so us four women offered to do the chores while Mom was getting supper finished. It was a lot of work to walk each animal to the pond for a drink and then secure each one in a fresh area to graze for the night. At least the sheep and geese had a water supply close and all we had to do was fill a pail and set it inside the electric fence but it meant going down and around the 'driveway' to do so. We would have to figure out some steps for the bank there, as it was too steep to climb up and down the way it was. DD brought the chickens and ducks water from the spring in the cave and also filled the drinking water containers for the night. We would feed the dogs after supper but I fed the puppies the dry dog food we'd been soaking for them. They were so messy eating that I always had to put Sasha in with them afterwards to give them a bath but tonight it was just a lick and a promise as she was more interested in following me around to the various animals with a small amount of grain for each. The men didn't stop to eat until they had both sections of the front wall finished. There was so much discussion over where to put the upright brace for the half lap and where the door should be put in that I had to wonder if they would finish by midnight. In the end, us 'women' had to go give them a hand with the decision-making. That's basically what they were waiting for anyway. Bless them; they KNOW we always want our homes done OUR way. It was almost nine o'clock by the time all three walls were finished and lying on the ground ready to be somehow lifted in place. That would come on Monday though as tomorrow we would all be going into the settlement to see the plowing demo and to attend church. Mom had been working on a couple of dishes to take to the potluck and had come up with big pan of cornbread and a large pot of baked beans that would be cooking all night buried beside the fire and then would go into the insulated cooker to keep piping hot on the way to the Lodge. She'd also used dried peaches to make peach turnovers; big fluffy peach filled squares of pie dough baked with drizzles of potato syrup over the top until they were sticky rich. The potato syrup is a favorite with our family. It is made with potato water and sugar. You boil about six medium potatoes in a couple of cups of water until they cook down by about half. You remove the potatoes but bring the liquid back to a boil and then slowly add in a cup of white sugar and a cup of brown sugar. When the sugar is all dissolved remove it from the heat to cool. Once cool you have to bottle it and set it away for several days to mature as it doesn't have the greatest taste fresh but once it sets a while it's almost like maple syrup. We won't have sugar long out here but I plan to try this with the sorghum we hope to grow or honey if we find a bee tree. Well, tomorrow will come soon enough. I better close this now and head for bed.

((((((Annarchy)))))) We all understand RL issues. Besides, taking our time to think these things through is just what this whole exercise is all about, that and hoping to get others to think too. We'll leave the lantern on for you!!! (Hey,,, plowing demo's tomorrow at the Lodge,, Hope to see you there ,eventually LOL) MT3B,,,,I did NOT read over your shoulder,,,,,I couldn't see it well cause I had my sun glasses on. You have to write darker next time You know, they say that great minds run in the same channels I'm still working on todays post...talk about research !!!

Annarchy, I've long been intrested in the adobe construction. In reading about the thermal mass I was reminded of the underground home we lived in for 18 years. It's mass of cement and underground placement made it almost too effective as thermal storage. Because it was insulated from the sun, unllike adobe, it's thermal heat was derived from the solar gain from south facing windows and the wood furnace and franklin fireplace. It would soak that heat up all day long in the winter time,then it would often be cold feeling just before bedtime despite the fire. About two in the morning it would be giving off it's stored radient heat into the rooms and we would find ourselves almost too hot but by morning, because the wood furnace would have died down in the night, it would be cold again. It took us years to realize that the solar and heat gain was not well calibrated with the thermal storage power. We needed more solar gain. When the prepoured concrete slabs of the roof started to leak and we replaced the dirt with an upper frame construction story the whole picture changed. It's amazing what some building materials can do. Log construction will be the same way. The thicker the logs, the more thermal storage up to a point depending on the number and size of the windows and their insulation value. The caves we are using, if closed in, would maintain a constant ground temperature all year long, usually the average annual temperature for any given area. Because the ones I'm using are neither far into the hillside nor deep into the ground it will be different but still warmer in winter and cooler in summer. I know that adobe works well in hot climates that are cooler at night. Do you know if they have been used in colder climates and how they work there? I'm learning so much from this thread. I've never cooked in elevated atmosphere so I had not thought about the difference in boiling or baking ability. It explains why I burned so many biscuits on the trail .. Hey, everyone, be sure to stay tuned for the Sunday plowing demonstration and practice. That should be interesting, fun, and educational.

It was still dark when DH and I climbed out of bed. We'd set the wind up alarm but it didn't have a chance to go off. Our internal clocks seem to be working well. Good thing, I set the alarm but didn't WIND the clock. Duh! We were ready to leave just as the sun was peaking over the eastern ridge. Chef was there with a box of things for our lunch and though he said it was only biscuits and bacon I was grateful that he'd thought of it. He reminded us that there was going to be a plowing demonstration at the Lodge on Sunday and I told him we'd be back for it for sure and for the church service. Dr.MR was there and he helped us get the animals situated but wasn't coming with us. He said he'd be coming out later in the morning to do some more work on their garden though if Mt.R was doing okay. He was worried about getting things planted. We were all worried about that. The three Jersey cows and the young jersey bull were tied securely to the back of the wagons, as were the extra horses. The poultry were all back in their cages secured on the sides of the wagons but the piglets were way to heavy for that and their cage had to be put inside. The goats, sheep, and extra oxen were to be herded. We had some trouble with the animals to begin with. They had obviously forgotten the routine of moving out in the morning. April, DD's Saint, had become pretty good at helping the other two dogs herd but this morning she only wanted to romp around with Sasha. I finally had to call Sasha into the camper wagon where her pups were riding so that April would tend to business. The other two dogs remembered though and managed to at least get them moving in the correct direction and soon we were headed towards the Northeast River. We stopped along the way to widen a path through the grove of trees but were careful not to take out too many in case this was going to be part of Dr.& Mt.R's land. We even cleaned the logs of limbs and laid them aside so they could use them if they wanted. We made good time despite our stop and were at Mt.R garden in by mid morning. We stopped there to look over what had been done and realized that though the garden spot had been staked out, only about a fourth of it was touched. After some discussion we handed our DGD and DGSIL some of the lunch and a couple of shovels and left them to work on our 'neighbor's' garden for a while. They kept a couple of the horses and saddles for getting back to our own homestead and were already hard at work when we pulled back onto the road. With two less herders we had some trouble with the animals but we finally arrived at the homestead late morning and we set to work trying to get organized. It was obvious that we would need to get fences up first thing if we didn't want to have to be chasing livestock all day. We decided that we would put up the solar fence with the step-in posts on the second plateau beside the wet area to corral the sheep, the two geese, and one of the bigger goats to keep them calm if needed. If they were left there long enough they would take the grass right down to the roots and it might be easier to prepare that area for rice. I reminded myself that the sheep still needed to be sheared. We'd left their wool purposely so they would be warmer on the trail and so we'd have the wool once we got to the valley. It was also a way to make them carry part of the weight of a necessity. The goats were each tied to brush we planned to remove along the cliff face. The goats would clear the leaves from them before we pulled them out. The cows and young bull were tethered on long ropes along with the oxen and horses at various intervals on the upper plateau near where we were camping. We'd have to move them often but at least they would be "mowing" our lawn for us. I had thought we'd have trouble with the young bull but he has been really docile the whole trip except when the helicopter came and all the animals spooked then. We have never let our young GS near him just in case but I believe he would lead as easily for him as he does for us. We'll probably have to have some hefty fences or some really strong rope or chain to hold him as he grows. We're also going to have to be sure to continue to work with him to keep him tame. I keep wondering if there isn't some work we can put him to other than to breed the cows and give us fertilizer. The smaller poultry were another problem. I would have loved to just let them run free but I was leery of predators even though we had the dogs. We had plans to put their permanent home between the greenhouse and one of the other cabins or perhaps a barn but for now we used some of the five-foot chicken wire DD had thought to bring along at the last minute. We strung it from tree to tree in lieu of taking time to put in fence posts and that seemed to work fine. It wouldn't keep out a determined predator but it allowed the chickens and ducks a chance to scratch at the dirt, catch bugs, and nibble grass while staying near. DSIL managed to rig up a small perch for the chickens. He used two low hanging branches to tie a small sapling, swing-style, just far enough from the ground to make them feel comfortable but low enough they couldn't use it to get over the fence. He rigged up a small piece of tarp, tent-like, in the trees over the perch so they would be protected from rain. A chunk of rotten hollow log was placed inside as a nest box. We stopped for a quick lunch about two o'clock. The biscuits were great but we ate them slathered with jam and saved the bacon for our breakfast. We wouldn't have our own bacon for a long time. There were also enough fresh apples in the box for all of us but we'd decided earlier we'd also hold those back for a special occasion. After lunch we turned our thoughts to the garden area. We knew that if we were going to have enough produce for all of us we'd have to make it pretty big. We had already decided that the main garden area would be at the outer edge of the plateau where it would get the most sun. We wanted to keep the livestock close to the cabins for the first year at least to get an idea of the dangers we might be dealing with. We couldn't afford to lose any of them needlessly. The placement of the gardens would have to take into account that those animals might be moving to and from pens. We staked out a fifty foot by 200 foot wide area along the outer edge of the plateau, taking advantage of some trees to provide cover for shade loving plants like lettuce, spinach and the like. We then staked out several smaller beds at various places to take advantage of the sunshine. Separate planting areas would help ensure that we could keep some of our heirloom plants from cross-pollinating though some would have to be planted at the other end of the property to protect them. Somehow the garden areas didn't look large enough but I knew the soil on these plateaus was rich with leaf mold and other organic matter. If we planted intensively and kept the weeds down we should have huge yields. We'd also be harvesting wild foods as they came available to supplement what we grew. Carrots, turnips, beets and other root crops, potatoes, cabbages, field peas and beans meant to be stored dry, Squash, corn, and other crops would all be planted in the fields as we would need a lot of those crops for the number of people we had. Some we would grow like the Native Americans did with corn, squash, and beans all growing in the same area. We had placed one of the smaller areas a distance from the wagons and we started there first. DH, DSIL, and DGS took the axes and went down into the timber to the north of the plateau and soon we could hear them cutting trees. The rest of us started digging pairs of holes for posts. We would need to dig two pairs on each corner of the area and we weren't even close to being finished when the guys came back dragging the first small trees. They laid them in a pile and went back for more. By late afternoon we had all the holes dug and the men were cleaning the branches from the trees and cutting them in lengths. The trunks were cut about six foot long and placed in the almost two foot deep holes and the dirt tamped back around them. The longer sections were cut to be set between the pairs of posts to form walls on all four sides of a fifteen by fifteen foot square. Then DH and DGS went to get the cage the piglets were crowded into. They removed a couple of top logs, set the cage inside and opened the door. After removing the cage we stood and watched the pigs do exactly what I expected, they started to root around in the dirt, digging up grubs and roots as they went along. We all smiled at each other. Our 'pigerators' were saving us a lot of work. In a couple of days time we should be able to move them to another area of the garden which would hopefully have posts set just like these and all we'd have to do is move the wall logs. We wouldn't be able to use them for the whole garden but every bit helped. By the time the pigs had been settled it was time to do evening chores. We had been keeping an eye out for the kids and we were relieved to see them coming up the road long a few minutes into the milking. They looked tired when they reached the plateau but they pitched right in, helping to take the animals to the pool by the waterfalls to get a drink before bringing them back and tying them out for the night. It wasn't far but we'd have to figure something different for winter, as that path might be slippery. We could always take them to the river below us, down the 'driveway,' but I'd hoped we could keep the animals closer. We had been milking two cows on the journey but one of them was due to calf in a couple of months and we'd be drying her up soon. The second one wouldn't be calving until fall and the third one had been dried before we left home but would be calving in the next few weeks. The amount of milk we were getting was still more than we could drink but we would soon be making hard cheeses with the excess. The whey and buttermilk, what we didn't use ourselves, made wonderful animal feed. Tonight it was nice to be able to set milk for cream in the morning and to have enough left over for meals. It was also nice to be able to put milk into sealed containers and have one of the kids take it to the spring inside the cave to keep cold in the water there. We'd have fresh cold milk for breakfast. Mom had been working on supper while we worked with the animals and she'd managed to come up with a chicken and noodle casserole made from canned chicken, fresh made pasta and dried vegetables she started soaking earlier in the day. To go with it she'd made sour dough bread and desert was cobbler with dried fruit and just a hint of cinnamon and sugar. Cooking on an open fire was heavy hard work and I worried about her. I was determined that we'd get the supply wagon unloaded and the wood cook stove set up under cover somewhere to ease the baking if nothing else. As soon as the meal was over some of the kids started setting up tents and rolling out sleeping bags while others did up dishes and gathered wood. Tomorrow we'd work more on setting up the camp but for tonight we were too tired to care. We were all in our beds by the time full dark came.

You are NOT being a pain Leah. You are helping us to make this as authentic as we can. We can also use this in our writing. If it's going to take longer for the pot to boil we need to allow for that or,,,,well, be late with a meal. I love these comments. They really help us think things through and after all, that's what this is all about.

We had very little trouble on our trip into the Lodge. The "road" along the river was fairly clear and only here and there did we have to stop and move a big rock or navigate around some trees. We were about half way to the lake when we smelled smoke and DGD came back from around a bend where they'd gone ahead and said they'd found Mr.MtR working on a piece of ground with a shovel. He put the shovel down and wiped off his brow before coming over to the wagon to greet us as we pulled into his "Yard". It was a nice place he'd picked out. Not far from the river yet a safe enough distance back. I worried that our "road" was going to be right through their land and said so but he told me not to worry about it that they'd need the 'road' as much as we did and they'd welcome the company as we went through. I told him that we were headed for the Lodge and asked if he'd be going in too. He said he might as well as he wanted to get back to Mt.R to make sure she was doing okay. He'd left her in the capable hands of the lady who had agreed to watch the building. He kind of grinned, saying that Mt.R was probably trying to think of ways to evade Mrs. Protocol, as he called her, as she was somewhat of a stickler for doing things the right way. He said she had a generous heart though and really cared that Mt.R got well. We waited while he got his things together and saddled the donkey and then we set off down river. We followed the bank of the river except when we came to a big bend and Mr MtR said the trail was faster if we went straight. He took us through a grove of trees where some spots were tight but we would remove some of them on our way back out in the morning to make the road easier to travel for everyone. Soon we were back at the banks of the river and from there followed it to within a mile of the Lodge before turning away from it and heading towards the west and the 'settlement'. The area looked almost empty when we reached the Lodge. It was obvious that Mt3B's wagons were gone and the first thing I did was ask how she had been getting along. When they told me she'd headed out for their homestead feeling better I was relieved. I walked along with Mr.MtR to pay a short visit to Mt_Rider and was relieved that she was at least setting up in bed. She was still having a lot of trouble with dizziness and knowing what that felt like I didn't stay long. I told her I'd stop back later in the evening. I stopped in to see Chef and was surprised at his hearty hug. I'd only been gone a few days. But it really was good to see him and I readily accepted when he asked if we would all come in later for the evening meal. He said it was just stew and I asked him if it was going to have dumplings in it. He hadn't even thought about putting dumplings in but he started getting out bowls and flour and I left him smiling when I suggested he spice up those dumplings. DH and I were checking out the animals when Mr. Smith and Mr. Hughes found us. They wondered if they could get some info about the area up the River and we readily agreed. DH went to get DD to give them an idea of the area above the falls and I followed them into the Great Room where we grabbed cups of tea from a pot near the fire. When DH and DD got back they had coffee cups in hand, obviously stopping in the kitchen first, Mr. Hughes was interested in the game in the area and we told him we'd seen large herds of deer in the timber but they looked winter thin yet. The kids had seen Dall sheep up on the crags above the valley and there were mountain goats as well. I told him that I was sure I'd heard a bull moose's "ugh" "Ugh" call this morning but that I could have been mistaken and Mr. Hughes said they'd been known to be in the valley. I wasn't sure I was happy about that as I'd heard they could be downright mean, especially when they have calves like now. He told us he was going to pass the word for no one to take does or female animals this time of year but so far the herds were showing pretty good counts so we were probably safe to take what we needed of the bucks. I said we'd probably only be taking small game or perhaps a bud buck now as the weather would soon be getting too warm for the meat to keep well for big game and we weren't ready to start dehydrating the meat yet. He said there were plenty of rabbits, grouse, prairie chicken, pheasant, and even beaver in some of the smaller streams. He also said that all the rivers were teaming with fish and the lake had been stocked years ago. I was interested when Mr. S said we'd likely find all the trout we wanted along with dozens of other food fish. That would really ease the food problems for all of us. I was glad that we had the go ahead to hunt though. I knew we were going to need that meat for the dogs. The cats could use the fish too. When they asked me about edible plants I told them that I hadn't had much chance to search yet but so far I'd seen lambs quarter, dandelion, watercress, burdock, nettle, wild onions, cattail and wild turnip. Mr. H teased me a bit about not seeing much and wondering when I'd be able to tell him more. So I told him sassily that I'd also seen several plum thickets, elderberries, some choke cherry trees, at least one hawthorn tree, and bramble thickets by the acres. He laughed and told me to let him go with me when I DID start to search. After that we got the paper work for our homestead out of the way. Both men were interested in the caves we'd found, saying that they'd found hundreds of them all over the valley but hadn't explored them much. I told them I didn't think * I * would be exploring them much either and they all laughed. I did too but I knew if we were going to use even one of the caves for a root cellar and water source I'd have to at least go in that one but I knew I wasn't going to like it. DH and I were offered a bed for the night at the Lodge but we declined. We still had all the beds set up in the wagons and we wanted to be on the trail early in the morning. Truthfully, I didn't want to impose on them. It would mean more work for someone else. It was easy to see the B's group had as much work as the rest of us did even if some of them were taking land near the Lodge or lake. A couple of log buildings were already going up and I had seen a big area that was being plowed for what looked like community gardens. I suspected that the greenhouse that Chef had told me he'd be in charge of would be going up before long as well so that he could get plants started for winter greenhouse crops. We said we'd see them at supper though and then made our way back to the animals to finish checking on them. It wasn't long though before I made me way to the Kitchen to have a chat with Chef. I found Mom working in the kitchen, which was no surprise, and I pitched in fixing a sprout salad for everyone while we chatted. The talk finally turned to the greenhouse that I knew was going to be one of the main stays of fresh foods for a lot of people, Chef's pride and joy he said. We talked about dates for starting plants for winter and he told me he was figuring the first frost date as October 10th but that Mr. S had told him they'd seen it earlier some years. With the "global warming" thing going on, it was anyone's guess but that was a good date to plan for. It wasn't long before people were wandering in and helping themselves to the savory smelling food and taking their bowls into the Great room to eat. Chef encouraged us to do the same and we were soon seated at a long table in front of the fire. My first bite of the dumplings had me looking for my water glass. Phew! Chef had taken me seriously when I said to spice them up. The second bite, taken more cautiously, with the stew, was much better. In fact, it was delicious. It was nice to sit and chat with others in the great room after the kitchen had been cleaned and the dishes done. We would be coming back on Sunday but probably wouldn't be staying the night if we thought we could make it back before dark. This might be the last time for a while just to relax with friend. I didn't stay late though the rest of the family lingered. I still wanted to check on Mt.R again and I wanted to stop in the library room and choose a couple of books before I went to bed. Mom came with me and we took a lantern to look through a couple of well-marked boxes. Mom was looking for something on cooking game and I was hoping to find some info on caves and on growing rice. We both found a couple of books before Mom went to the wagon and I headed for the Medical cabin for a nice chat with Mt.R. I noticed that Mrs. Protocol had gone home for the night and teased MtR about her "keeper". Seriously though, I could see that MtR really did need someone who cared about her getting well and it seemed that our inestimable Mrs. Protocol was a jewel in disguise. I could hear laughter still coming from the Lodge as I left Mt.R but I headed for the wagon instead of going back inside. Morning would come all too soon.

Thursday. I slept late again this morning. This time it was because I hadn't slept well in the night. I tried but the mental chatter kept me awake and I finally crawled out of bed about 1 A.M. and went out to sit by the fire. I tried to be quite while stirring up the coals but within a few moments our son came to join me, Sasha following on his heels. She had grudgingly consented to sleep in the tent with him and her puppies but she was not happy about it. Last night just before bedtime we'd seen her trying to nudge one of her pups up the steps on the camper wagon. She obviously wanted ALL her charges, the pups AND me, all together so she could protect us easier. She is a love for sure. The puppies are growing by leaps and bounds. They are already over four weeks old and it will only be three more weeks before Mt3b and her son will be able to take theirs home. Normally a dog can leave it's mom at six weeks but these type pups do a lot better if they get an extra week or two with their litter mates. Its almost impossible to keep these ones corralled. They are roley-poley tubs. Thankfully, because we've been working with them on come, sit, and down, they are fairly easy to handle. With Saints and other big dogs it's important to start early before they get too strong and we started with these almost from the beginning. Even our young GS is working with them and is doing a great job. The one real problem with them is feeding them. Between the other dogs and cats in our party and Sasha and her pups it's taking a larger supply of our dog food than we'd planned on plus whatever leftovers and what we can hunt. We need to get established soon so we can hunt daily or allow the dogs to hunt for themselves or we will have to dig into our rice and other grains to feed them. DS and I talked quietly about growing our own rice. We really needed rice. I have difficulties with gluten so I brought a large supply of organic Upland rice seed along in various varieties but I know it takes a long growing season. We'll need at least 40 continuous days above 70 degrees and we should get that, I hope, but aside from that it takes up to 180 days to mature. That's going to be pushing it unless we grow it in the greenhouse but the amount of space it would take up could better be spent on more productive foods. Still I'm going to try. All I need is a moist spot with full sun and a lot of luck. We are going to have to get them in soon too because I didn't have a chance to start the rice as seedlings and we'll have to direct seed and that's going to mean a lot of weeding. Weeds are just too much competition for them. I'll be careful to save back half the seed so I can start them next year in the greenhouse and give them a better chance. Our chat soon turned to the caves. He told me that the cave with the fresh water spring was about thirty or forty feet beyond the opening where I wanted our cabin. He said that the 'doorway' to the area was pretty small though and we might have to widen it a bit to get through easily. There are some other 'doorways' like that too and I didn't like the idea of anyone being inside there with a pickaxe or maul. He assured me they would be shoring up the whole area before they started and it sounded like they'd already figured it all out, but it didn't ease my mind. I was interested despite myself as he talked about putting in a door on either side of that fresh water spring 'room' to keep the moisture down. He said that might give us a dry area behind our cabin to store other foods but the spring room would make the perfect root cellar and it was big enough to hold most of what we'd all need for winter. He said that would mean we'd have to walk through the storage room and on through the spring room to get to the rest of the caves but that the spring room sat back far enough we might be able to wall it off totally, making a hallway in front of it. Some of the rooms were closer to the face of the cliff and he said they were surprisingly dry. It was very damp towards the hot springs though and he said moisture was dripping off the walls in that area. They were talking about closing off that section as well to keep the dampness down throughout the rest of the cave. That made sense to me. That way we could have areas of damp to store vegetables and fruits and dry areas for our other foods. He talked about growing mushrooms in one of them but I vetoed that idea. I have plenty of spores along to plant but once they are established in a given area it's sometimes difficult to keep them from covering other things. I didn't think I wanted mushrooms growing on my carrots. We decided that we'd probably make some mushroom boxes or set up logs for the shiitake and some others. We'd done it before but not for years. I'm pretty sure we'll find wild mushrooms as well. I mentioned that it would be great if we could get all that nice warm heat from the hot springs into the greenhouse or even to the rest of the cabins for humidity and heat in winter but if we were to have enough light to grow winter crops, the greenhouse would have to stay closer to our end of the plateau. He said there might be a way but he wasn't awake enough to think about it at that point and we both laughed. We finally went back to bed about three and I slept soundly until the sound of pans rattling woke me. I don't know how Mom and DH managed to get out of the wagon without me waking but I was grateful they did. The morning was spent with some of the kids walking off the timber above the plateau. When the group came back they brought the welcome news that the whole timber, even the section directly above the plateau, drained into a fairly deep and wide gully higher up the valley. That was good news because one of our worries had been that we'd have that whole hillside draining in front of our homes. The gully would make it easier to get wood to the home site too even though we'd have to take the team down around a hill to the north and back south again and then up the gentle incline we'd brought the wagon in on. We spent some time taking soil samples and trying to ascertain how deep the soil was in different areas. We had checked out the upper plateau and were working our way along the back of the next one down when we found the perfect place for our rice. We also found where the fresh water spring was draining. I had wandered ahead while the others were digging sample holes and walked right into a soggy area of grass that took me by surprise. At my startled exclamation the others came running but then started laughing at me standing ankle deep in water. COLD water! I didn't care though because suddenly I was interested in where the water was coming from. After some more wading and a bit of digging around in some bushes we found a steady nice-sized stream of water coming out of the bank. We followed it to the edge of the plateau and saw where it was trickling right over the edge there and down onto the next plateau below. We obviously hadn't been able to see it from above because of the thick grass and bushes that dotted the area. We couldn't see how far it ran but a couple of the Gk's went to look and found that the little stream flowed almost all the way down the hill but sort of disappeared before it reached the last area we planned to use as fields. I was overjoyed. If my thinking was correct this would be our irrigation water for lots of things. Because the rice was Upland rice it would probably be fine with out the extra water but it would do even better, maybe, with it. The trees, the vines, everything would be easier to water because we wouldn't have to carry it so far. We might even be able to build pools on each plateau and then use the gravity to get water even further. I only hoped it was a steady spring and wouldn't dry up on us when the weather got hot. Of course, then that brought another thought. How much ice would we have around the area come winter? We finally got back to camp in time to eat lunch, which thankfully Mom had handled. We made the decision to pack up and go back to the lodge for the night so we could make sure this property was ours and then gather the wagons and animals to come back in the morning. We were all anxious to get to work.

Ummm sorry, I just happened to be walking by and just happened to look over your shoulder and well, wasn't nice of me to give it away though. BUT WRITE IT ANYWAY in case I missed some of it. (hard to read over a shoulder with these bad eyes you know)

(((((MT3B))))) I'll be looking forward to your posts. Annarchy,,,,what a SUPER idea. Adobe! We've really got a variety of living quarters here. Michael with his log structure, MT3B and Q trying to resurrect existing buildings, Annarchy with the Adobe, us with caves and log combination. We're not sure what CeeGee will be working on yet and any others who join in but we've got a great start. If the others are like me they are just beginning to sort out what they actually would be doing if they were building this 'homestead' in the wilderness IRL. Writing about it can be even more challenging as we try to balance trying to define our daily life of finding foods, cooking, laundry, cleaning, and etc with building, digging and plowing gardens and fields, and planting. Just like life on the trail, sometimes life becomes monotonous and seems boring yet those were the very things that our pioneer/settler ancestors wrote about in their own journals. Like theirs, ours will turn out to be chronicles of fulfillment of our dreams. In reading them we get to “see” the lives of the writers. We get to ‘live’ it with them. I am thoroughly enjoying each post. I feel like I’m not only able to fulfill my own dream by writing but am living your dream as well. It is SUCH FUN! Keep up the good work everyone.

When I finally made my way down the steps of the wagon and out into the clearing this morning I was surprised to see the sun already touching deep into the valley to the west. We must have slept longer than usual because our side of the valley was still in shadows. We knew when we talked about finding land in this area that the morning sun would come later but we also knew that we'd have the mountains to our backs to protect us from the strong north winds and that would be important to the orchards and vineyards we wanted to establish. We'd also have daylight late into the evenings and that would be a plus for the greenhouse we hoped to build on the front of the main cabin. It didn't take us long to do the morning chores. Breakfast was our own brand of cream of wheat with fruit. I'd had the kids grind some of our precious wheat supply last night and brought it to a boil with dried apples before going to bed. I then placed the covered pot in a hole dug beside the fire. I covered the pot with hot coals and then dirt and left it to slow cook all night. We were being careful of our supplies. With ten adults and one growing child we'd have a lot of mouths to feed. I had figured our needs fairly well but I'd also hoped for the supplies we'd ordered to be at that last post office. I'd have to find ways to get around that loss. By the time the sun was reaching our clearing the kids were ready to explore. They were going to start at the waterfalls and work their way up above and then around to the other side of the long plateau we were camped on. Mom, DH, our Son and I joined them for the walk to the falls, which proved to be only just around the curve of the hill and up a short path that took us to a pool at the base of the cascading water. It was spectacular but the noise that had been gentle background music at camp was almost thundering here. There wasn't just one falls but a series of rock ledges where the water fell sometimes thirty or forty feet from one to the other. A couple of the ledges were wide enough for pools to form where the water stilled momentarily before dropping again. The pool was 50 or 60 feet across and down river from the falls far enough that the water was almost still looking on the surface. Rock edges formed natural seats along its edge and I wondered if we'd find fish this close to the turbulent water. The younger members of the family made their way up an animal trail along side the falls and as I watched them disappeared around a bend at the top I noticed the sky was darkening with clouds. The rest of us wandered down river a short distance, looking at the plants growing along it's edge and trying to see fish in the water. The riverbank was edged with rocks and stones but where we were walking was clear and only slightly inclined. It was wide enough to make a good 'road'. I could see that where road came to each plateau the ground leveled out for the whole distance of the flat area before dipping down again to the next one. We could see the land stretched out below and along the river and I was excited to see that very little clearing would have to be done before we could start planting the hundreds of trees, vines, bushes, and other plants we hoped to grow. Looking back and up to where the wagon sat I could see we'd be able to easily drive down from that terrace as well. Turning back I noticed that it looked like the road opened into each plateau almost like a driveway and I could almost see mailboxes at the end of each one. I wondered if the kids would want to each have a home along the road, maybe facing the river. I had already determined that mine would be where the wagon now sat, not to be king of the mountain but because of the view we would have all year long. I tried to assess the acreage but could only guess at what 400 acres might cover. If I used the top plateau width as a guide I'd guess that at least five of the broad terraces would be included in our land. The lowest one would be perfect for our grain fields as it was broader and very flat. I could see it was heavy with sod though and worried that we would have trouble plowing it. The upper ones were perfect for the trees and other permanent planting with each being protected by the one above it. We had discussed having family fields where we would grow the main storage crops and then each family would have their own kitchen garden for fresh produce and as we wandered back to the campsite I was anxious to check out where ours might best be placed. It started to rain just as we reached the tarp and DH and I set about getting more dry wood under cover while our son stirred the fire and then went to get more water. By the time we had enough wood our son was back and it was raining harder. I was glad that the kids had taken their ponchos but they'd most likely be damp when they got back anyway. We sat under the tarp talking comfortably and I felt content. Mom and I were just getting lunch out when we heard a noise coming from the area of the cave behind us. DH and our son grabbed their guns and headed around the wagon and after pulling my gun out of my jacket pocket I was right behind them. All I could do is stand and stare in amazement as I saw one of our grandkids pushing his way through the vines that hung from the cliff above the opening of the cave. The rest of the kids, all laughing and talking at once soon followed him. From what they were saying, I gathered that they'd found a cave entrance further back along the plateau, around the bend to the north, and had decided to explore it before coming back to camp. They'd used the large maglights they'd brought with them and found a honeycomb of rooms that all opened off a main shaft that brought them to several openings along the cliff face, the one behind the wagon being one of them. They were all keyed up over the hot springs they'd found at that first entrance. They wanted to take us in to see it all but despite the fact that they said there were all sorts of openings along the way and even shafts to the top that let in light I refused. I had tried many times to overcome my claustrophobia without success and I couldn't make myself walk into that opening. Our son and Dh went in with a couple of the grandkids though while the rest of us, despite the continuing rain, wandered along the cliff face to see if we could find the openings. Most of them were covered with vegetation; some had trees growing in front. A couple of them were only very small openings that looked more like windows than doors. It seemed the kids wanted to live in the caves, laughingly calling it their Hobbit Hole, but I began to formulate a different idea as I saw the lay of the land and the formation of the rocks. I did agree to go see the hot springs but when we got there it was obvious that the hot springs emptied out the cave entrance and down the hill away from the plateau. It was too muddy to cross so we turned back. I wondered why we hadn't seen the run off on our way up but then I noticed that we'd come up a hundred feet or more along the plateau. Once we were all back in camp I listened carefully as they described the various 'rooms'. Besides the hot springs they'd found a small freshwater spring with a small pool beyond the cave opening behind us. They said the pool seemed to empty into the rock floor and we thought it strange that we hadn't seen a runoff when we went to see the falls. It had to come out somewhere. While we were eating lunch I began to outline some of my own ideas. There was a rock ledge that jutted out from the cliff. I had taken some time to look over the cliff face under it as we walked along and had found it fairly consistently flat. In some places I could just barely touch the rock ledge with my hand stretched overhead but most of the time it was way out of reach. The ledge varied in width from maybe five feet at the narrowest to twenty feet at the widest and it ran almost the entire length of the plateau. I suggested we might be able to use that rock ledge as part of the roof for both the main cabin and the greenhouse that would be next to it instead of in front of it as originally planned. The kids soon picked up the idea and suggested the other cabins could be built in front of the other cave openings so that the whole thing would be a series of cabins ranged in front of and along the cliff. They said the cliff behind us would afford great protection and the caves could be used for storage if they were dry enough. We would have the caves as a 'sidewalk' or hallway in winter to get back and forth to each other's cabins and we'd have not only fresh water if the spring ran all year but our own "spa" as well. I didn't tell the kids that I seriously doubted I would be able to handle using that 'hallway' and would only be visiting the hot springs when I could walk there from outside but DH knew me well. He and our son wandered away after lunch to explore the cliff face further and soon were back with more suggestions. He said from the distance the openings were apart, it might be possible to connect the cabins to each other with the greenhouse, barns, chicken coops and lean-to's for garden implements. It wouldn't be done before winter this year of course, we'd be doing good to get a couple of the cabins up before then, but it was a welcome thought. It also took care of the problem of placing the out buildings to the front of the plateau and possibly blocking the wonderful view. I wasn't sure what the whole thing would look like from a distance but at this point I wasn't sure I cared. With lunch finished and our decisions made we turned our attention to trying to decide how much land 400 acres was. Though there was plenty of timber on the lower plateaus, we all wanted some of the forested land above us included for woodcutting. The reasoning being that it would be easier to get wood down the hill rather than up and there were some really good hardwoods up there that could stand thinning. We wanted the rest of the land to lie in front of us and as the rain had let up the kids started down the "road' to walk off the plateaus. Mom and I sat and watched them; both of us enjoying their antics as they took giant steps to measure the land only to have them lose count before they got to the bottom. When they were done I just shook my head. Even allowing for the timber acreage above, the land they had measured out was huge. There was no way we were going to cultivate that all by hand, not even with the numbers we had with us. We'd have to turn a good share of it into rotated pastures. I hoped what livestock we had multiplied fast but as soon as that hope formed, I also thought of the feed they would take to winter over. It wasn't going to be an easy year.

I'm in the top 4%. Didn't know I knew that much. Guess I've been around a lot of tree cutting over the last 45 some years that we've heated totally with wood. You're right Michael, there was no winning number 17 That had lots of good info, thanks for posting it.

That's okay Annarchy, I had her on the wrong end of that river too. Go west and you'll find her at the other end. Pretty bad when our nurse is hiding out in the trees. (I have misplaced more people on this trip, I'm going to get fired.) I'm hoping that the fresh air, sunshine, hard work, and fresh food will have me in top form before long but just in case, I wouldn't mind periodic WELLNESS checkups. We'll pay her or MrMt_R in food and comestibles and other commodities.

Thanks Cat. I didn't even notice how large it had grown. Okay everyone. Lots of info in that last comment thread. And don't forget that Michael's IRN/UN calendar there to print out as well that will give us an idea of our dates in the Big Valley. (Um I also understand that it's available for $10 from Michael in the valley LOL)

That is geat Annarchy. I had divided our map the same way along the top (the sides were a different equation) but I hadn't thought to do it in acres or in feet. I'm going to give it a try though I won't be able to scan it into the site (scanner doesn't seem to work right lately It helps to see what a square mile looks like on the map and what your acres look like within that mile. Thanks for taking the time to do that.

Tuesday night We woke to beautiful but cool weather. I stood in the relative dark outside the wagon and watched as the sun touched the west side of the valley. One of the kids, probably our son, had stirred the fire and had a nice blaze going but shadows still lingered all around the clearing. We didn't hurry as we prepared a hearty breakfast of leftover fruit and dumplings, oatmeal, and a hot drink. DH and a couple of others were testing out the new roasted grain and root recipe that I'd been working on and while it didn't taste exactly like coffee they pronounced it drinkable. A rather tepid way of saying I still had to work on it. The rest of us were drinking mint tea. We were ready to pull out just about the time the sunlight was beginning to work it's way towards the lake far below us. I could occasionally see a glint from across the valley as if some bright piece of metal had caught the light. I thought about AH's homestead across from us and wondered if Michael and Lori had been watching as the sun topped the cliffs above us. We took our time, wandering from level to level, still heading south as we checked out the land. We stopped at a small stream for a lunch of biscuits and left over venison and then continued, taking our time. By mid afternoon we could see the glimmer of water in front of us. At one point we stopped at a point where we could see both rivers, the North one to our right was barely peaking through and the Northeast in front of us, which appeared and disappeared in the trees. We followed the Northeast River with our eyes and far below we could see the tiny speck that was the Lodge setting near the lake. It was a beautiful view and we talked about staying there for the night but the kids told us the last area they wanted us to see was not far ahead so we continued. We drove on for another twenty minutes before we heard the sound of running water and I knew we must have been getting close to the river. I could feel the kids were excited about this area. When they'd first stopped here they'd found some caves in the cliffs and being lovers of spelunking they loved the area. I'm not crazy about caves myself but as long as I didn't have to go in them it was fine with me. We pulled the wagon up a gentle slope to a long broad plateau of grass that faced generally southwest and seemed to curve away in both directions in a semi-circle around a large outcropping of rock. We could hear the waterfalls somewhere in front of us around the far bend and we could see the river through the trees as it made it's way to the lake below. The whole flat area we stopped on was about three or four hundred feet wide and over three times that long. It contained a variety of large trees spaced so evenly along the plateau that it was almost as if they'd been planted there. At the back of the area where we stopped, towards the northeast, was a steep rock face maybe fifty feet high but above that were acres of evergreen and hardwood trees ranging up the side of the valley until they met the shear rock walls. Below us was a breathtaking view. There was acre after acre of rolling meadows interspersed with areas of forested land. The view was spectacular and I especially loved the swiftly running water below us whose streamside was just starting to bloom with dozens of early spring flowers. The sun was starting to touch the tops of the west edge of the valley when I crawled stiffly out of the wagon. I knew we needed to get set up for the night but it was hard to take my eyes off the spectacular sight in front of me. The peaks to the west were all golden behind and shadows in front and I had never seen a lovelier view. The clearing was bright with afternoon light and when I turned to face east I saw that the whole east face was awash with the same golden hue and it was that light that showed a cave opening almost directly in front of me across the grassy area. I would have missed it if not for the sunshine as it had a veil of vines and bushes growing almost across the opening and it was only the deeper shadow there that alerted me. I drew the others attention to it and then as they started towards it was instantly worried with what they might find in the cave. I know that bear, cougar, wolverine, badger, and much more could be in the valley, not to forget skunk, none of which we wanted to deal with. I needn't have worried though as no one went to the cave opening without a gun in hand and they moved cautiously to take only a quick look to make sure it was not a lair for an animal before returning to help set up camp. We took more time setting up camp as we planned on staying at least two nights to give the kids time to explore. Our GS's put up a tarp between some of the large trees and we put the fire pit just outside that tarp, being careful to take the wind direction into considerations. We set up one of our folding tables under the tarp along with the folding chairs we'd used the whole trip. It felt a lot like being back on the trail. Tonight we ate venison stew that Mom and I had put into the insulated cookers in the morning and left over biscuits. The sunlight lingered in the clearing for a long time and I again enjoyed watching the huge orange orb sink below the mountain peaks to the west. Tonight there was a reddish glow to it that made it especially beautiful. We sat joking and laughing, as our family is apt to do. They were teasing me because I kept looking into the shadows surrounding the camp. I didn't mind. I told them I was really just listening to their voices slightly echoing off the cliffs behind us and wondering what the wildlife in the area made of such noisy neighbors. I liked the place. It had a good feeling. I hadn't even seen the waterfalls though the kids had gone there for water and I didn't have an idea where we'd manage to put our homes but I somehow felt this was our land. I couldn't wait to see what we'd find in the morning.

Hello my friend. Glad to see you on for a bit. Anyway, you really started something with those "couple" of plows for LARGER fields but the gardens still have to be 'dug by hand". Just like you I think Michael's idea is a good one. We get us all together this coming Sunday (in UN and IRL) to have plow training......Those things really are hard to handle if you don't know how and we will be breaking SOD no less. Hope those plows are like the old John Deere ones made specially for that only better, we don't want anyone hurt. Races,,,,hmmmm that might be fun too. Okay everyone. Mt.R is still resting in that Med. cabin until she's well enough to get herself out. (Mother said so, that's why! Can't have her out and about until she's well) Mr. Mt_Rider is OUT DIGGING GARDEN on their homestead... I know we SAW him as we passed their place on our way back to town from ours TOMORROW! LOL We might even give him a lift back to the Lodge for the night and bring him back out the next day when we return. Let the others use the plows first. We started late to find our homestead, going to get the gardens going and plants/trees etc planted first. Then the plowing. GROAN I hurt already,,,oh wait, that's from IRL. ((((Mt.R)))))

Yes, I do know what you mean. Sometimes the search option is persnickety...LOL and that's the very reason I didn't put specific posts. It takes a lot of time. You can do more specific searches if you click on 'more search options' that comes up after clicking on the search button and that will give you the chance to search more indepth with specifying finding topic and/or in the post, etc. In this case though, when I typed in 'thyroid' some of the threads that came up were specifically labeled thyroid. Those are pretty good threads to read through. Sorry, that's as good as I can give you with my limited experience. Maybe one of the other members will come in and help us out with this.

There has been some discussion on that in the past here at Mrs. S. If you go to the search at the top of the page and type in Thyroid I believe you will find some helpful information. I've also listed a few sites that you might find interesting. The first one sells Nutri-meds for thyroid and etc and it has gained pretty good reviews. Hope these help. http://www.nutri-meds.com/thyroid_supplements_s/33.htm http://www.health911.com/remedies/rem_thyr.htm http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/natural-thyroid-101/