Escape and Survival, by Cashless 1

[gipsy]

Fine update.

[sniper69]

uh oh, why does Jill have the shotgun? Hope it is to protect the place and not something nefarious.

Thanks for the chapter, it is appreciated.

[cashless1]

                                       #11



I didn't see it, but she had shot a bear and was protecting it from other critters that might want to steal her prize. She had gutted it and left it for me to deal with. When I pulled up to the dock, I was afraid something was wrong, then she pointed to the bear. I got out of the boat, and she ran down to me and said, it just came into the yard rummaging around the chicken pen, and I didn't know what to do so I shot it. I told her to let me get the moose hung up in the shop and we will take care of it. I got the wagon, and we got the meat hung up and safe and went back to work on the bear. It was almost dark before we got done and I was beat. I ask if she wanted a bear skin rug, and she did. We rolled it up and put it in a garbage bag and froze it. I told her when she took the plane in to town, to have her dad get it tanned.

After breakfast the next morning I did chores and locked the dog inside, Then I set up the butchering table and got started. We cut out the stakes and roasts and got them ready to wrap for the freezer. It was cold out, so we just piled them in a couple of buss pans and put them back into the shop. They would keep fine. Then we cut up enough to start canning. I cleaned up the mess and she took care of the birds. When we let the dog out, he went nuts smelling everything, looking for scraps. We went in and had a sandwich and tried to settle down the dog. We each got a shower, that was badly needed, and then started washing jars we washed fifty, and quit for the night. A little cuddle time and we were both sound asleep. We were both stiff and sore the next morning, But the meat needed worked on. Jill took a small piece of moose meat and sliced it as thin as she could and made slivers out of it and fried it, and scrambled eggs together, a little hot sauce and it was good. I had already got my chores done so I helped her get a batch started in the caner, and then we started wrapping for the freezer. It takes about 2 hours to can a load, when the first load was done, we had another load ready to go We got 5 batches caned that is 35 quarts, and a lot of steaks and roasts in the freezer before we quit for the day.

Jill had thawed out a container of stuffed peppers from the freezer, I ask where they came from, she said Mom and her had made them while you and Dad hid out in the shop while we were doing the tomatoes. I ask if another caner would help get the meat done and she said absolutely. I told her to email her dad and see if he could get us one of the ones without a gasket, and a case of butcher paper and tape and plastic wrap. That should finish this mess. She went to her computer and was back in a few minutes She also ordered a case of vacuum sealer bags. He said he could get them and would bring it all in the morning and pick up her plane at the same time so she didn't have to bring it in, this will work out good and we can give him give some meat for his trouble.

Just after breakfast we heard a plane coming and went out to meet him. We got the plane unloaded and the pilot took off. We carried everything in including 4 cases of beer and the grocery carts he had picked up for me I left the carts outside. We went to the shop and looked at the meat, and when I ask if he wanted some, his eyes light up like It was Christmas. So, I cut part of a front quarter of moose and enough bear meat for several roasts, he was thrilled. We had been saving the trimmings and decided to grind it into burger, and he helped for a while, just long enough to get 5 lbs. to take with him. I almost forgot to give him the bear hide and had to run and get it. Jill had a caner of meat cooking, so she helped me grind meat and vacuum seal it for the freezer. We were getting tired of cutting and caning and she said, let’s just cut the rest into big chunks and freeze it, you can make jerky with it later, that finished the moose except for bones for the dog.

Tomorrow we will start on the bear. I hope we never have to do this much at one time again. Two days later I am ready to become a vegetarian, but we are done with the meat. We had ice last night for the first time. We are using the wood cook stove to knock the chill off in the house, so it won't be long until I have to fire up the wood burner in the living room. So, it is time to bring in some firewood. I can put about a half cord in the corner by the stove. I told Jill she had better get a shower if she wanted one, because I was going to pull the pump tomorrow. I know she will miss that luxury, but it has to be. But I did offer to wash her back while she stood in a wash tub, she didn't think that was funny at all, but I was serious. I had 3 barrels that I put in the spare bedroom and filled with water, so I don't have to carry it from the lake in bitter weather. A small 12volt RV water pump works good to get it out of the barrels. I will leave the boat in for a few days longer so I can check the cabins one more time. Then it is time to kick back and rest. With both stoves going it stayed toasty harm in the house We did laundry in the kitchen and hung it on ropes stretched round the living room, and that really helped with humidity. We always kept a pot of water on the stove for moisture, but it wasn't enough. Once the snow started it would not go away until spring. We melted snow constantly for cooking and bathing water. Jill still emailed her dad every night. One night she ask did I ever tell you about the flight service. I told her that is your business not mine, she said but we are part owners I own 49% so now, so do you. I said OK but I know nothing about air lines, I can't even fly. I didn't care about it and still don't. I am not interested in more money, it cannot buy happiness, and I am as happy as a man can get. I have a beautiful new wife and a warm home with all of the food we will need over winter.

If we get tired of being in the house I go out to the shop and build a fire and let it warm up in there, then we go out and straighten up and I show her how the store is set up and how things are stored and how we do things, if we ever open again. We talk about it, but I can't decide and all she will say is it is up to you. But I have a year to make up my mind.

The worst part is the outhouse, it is cold and not real close to the house, and I have to put on snowshoes and keep the path packed down or it would be 3 feet deep by spring. I also pack it down going to the shop and the woodshed. It gets me some exercise and a happy wife. She does have her camping toilet and I have a milk jug for the middle of the night, and the dog just has to suffer. But we have to watch where we walk on the path, the dog doesn't like deep snow ether, and if he drops a land mine on the path and it freezes before I remove it, it is a trip hazard.

Jill doesn't like not having a way to get to town, but her plane cannot stay in the water when it freezes, and it would never start any way. but her dad has a plane with skies for emergency's It is kept in a heated hanger and is always ready to go.

I finally explained how I got my money, and she was amazed that I didn't buy a bunch of things and party a lot. I told her once people knew I had won, some of them treated me like I had done something horrible, and others acted like I should give them part of it. I could have had a different woman every night, but they didn't want me they wanted my money. I was miserable, and I knew nobody up here would know about it and I could be just me, I didn't even tell Mom and Dad for a long time.

She said she understood because most of the men she knew just wanted part of the air service, the only one that didn't was a very nice guy, until I told him about the accident and that I could not have children and that was the end of us, so I didn't even date after that, and then you walked in and that changed everything. She ask about my birth mother, and all I could tell her was that she wanted to get out and see how the outside world was and instead, she got pregnant and had me, she brought me back and basically dumped me on my grandparents, that is all I know. I do not even have a memory of her, she was never mentioned in our house. and that is my whole history as I know it. [ I am glad it was out in the open and she was satisfied with it.]

The winter was cold but not too much snow, I would ski down and check the cabins, or check the snares I had put out to get a rabbit once in a while. Jill stayed inside most of the time, she loved the wood cook stove, and created a lot of great meals and her homemade bread was good, she liked being a homemaker, and wife, As the winter wore on I would work in the shop getting things ready for spring, some days she would come out and help or just watch what I was doing.

Sometimes she made stew, and when we were done with supper, she just put it on a cooler corner of the stove, and we could get a bowl whenever we wanted, the same with coffee, always hot and ready. The ice on the lake is too thick to get water from so we constantly add snow to the pot on the stove. It is an ongoing job every time you open the door grab a pan of snow; it gets to be habit you don't even think about it.

We do spend a lot of time on the internet. Jill is always searching for recipes and home remedies, I am on the preparedness sites reading stories, they have so much valuable information and not just for survival. That is where I learned about the grocery carts, you set a clothes basket in it and pull it along instead of bending over to get the clothes out of the basket on the ground. Not critical for survival but useful any time. Mom and Dad had a lot of the old mother earth news, and backwoods home magazines, so we had a lot of reading material. Mom never threw anything away. Dad was just as bad, he had coffee cans of bent nails and, old screws if it could be reused, he would use it.

Jill's Dad flew out at least once a month to bring anything we ask for, and for Christmas he gave us a bucket of heirloom garden seeds and a can of herb and spice seeds. He didn't know that Mom was an avid seed saver, but she didn't have all of the varieties that he gave us, and these were packaged to last for years before you planted them, and there were instructions on how to dry and preserve more. Jill looked them up on the computer and was amazed at all of the different seeds you could order, then one day she found an old Lehman's catalog, and I know she went through it from cover to cover several times making lists of the amazing things they had for sale, she didn't order anything, and when I ask her why, she said it was an old catalog and she didn't even know if they ware still in business. I told her to look them up on the computer, she found they were open and had more things, and better things than the old catalog. She can and does spend hours on their web site. It gives her lots of entertainment and ideas and she is amazed how simple some things can be made. She was surprised so many of the things in the house had come from them or were just like the things they still sold.

We aren't growing apart, but we find things to do by ourselves. and an added bonus was it gave us something to talk about together. It is hard to have a conversation when you are together all of the time. and knew what each other did all day, because we were both involved.

Jill ask me about the garden and I ask what she wanted to know, she ask if I wanted to plant anything that Mom didn't have last year, she said we have all of those seeds Mom didn't have. I told her I couldn't think of anything, so she handed me a printout of all of the different seeds we now have, I looked at it and said I cannot even pronounce a lot of these what are they for any way? She said some were herbs some were spices, I know that, but I don't know what they do, I just told her we would plant what mom did, and anything else she wanted, I ask her isn't it a little early to be planning the garden? She said we have to plan ahead, we will have to get the seeds planted and decide how many plants to start and where to plant what, I guess Mom had that all figured out and did it from memory. Because I had never heard her talk about it. But she is right we will need potting mix, peat pots and what not, before too long. I wish Mom would have made a list of the quantity of what she planted, but we will figure it out by trial and error.

I knew mom had a lot of garden stuff in the loft over the storeroom, so we went up there to look. First, I found the grow lights and racks for the starting trays, then totes of trays and peat pots 5-gallon buckets with gamma seal lids on them that had potting soil and fertilizer in them, there was a bundle of plastic marking stakes cut out of an old mini blind. I never should have let Jill go up here. She was looking in all of the boxes of stuff Mom had put up here. And wanted to take it all downstairs. I told her this stuff was up here before I came to live here. She agreed to take just the garden stuff and come back for anything else she wanted later. We got it all in the house, and she started to clean it up I, told her if she used all of the water on cleaning, we would both be going to bed dirty tonight, that stopped her for today, we were both dirty from being in the loft. She put a second pot on the stove added a little water to it and started to carry in snow to melt. By bedtime she had enough water for our baths, and she had a good start on her water for the rest of her cleanup project tomorrow.

After she had everything cleaned up to her satisfaction, we set it up in front of the south facing living room windows. The rack was already together, so I hung the grow lights, and tested them and they all worked. Next was the starting trays Jill had already put soil in, after she had baked the soil to eliminate any weed seeds. Now we wait a month to start seeds. The weather was getting better, but the ice on the lake was not melting very much.

I tried but I couldn't keep Jill out of the loft. She found an antique cast iron corn sheller it looked like you bolted it on a box and the corn went in the box and the cob just fell on the floor. It had a hand crank, and it was not seized up that I could tell. There was another one in a wooden housing that looker a lot better. It didn't look newer but was all enclosed and free standing. But she liked the first one better. So that is the one I took down. She also found a grain grinder she wanted I didn't know where she was going to display this junk, but I didn't ask. There were a lot more things she liked, she just put them closer to the stairs for my next moment of weakness. She got them cleaned up and I greased where needed and she painted them They looked good, if you like decorations. Two weeks later We got out the seeds that mom had saved She wanted tomato plants bell pepper, cabbage and celery.

The ice on the lake was slowly melting. Her Dad won't be back until it it completely gone maybe a month. Jill mists the new plants that have sprouted at least twice a day, not all of them have come up but we are hoping, every time a new one breaks the surface, she has to show me.

I have the tractor running and got the disk hooked up and greased I guess Jill isn't the only one getting excited about getting the garden planted. She has been keeping a logbook so next year we will know what we screwed up and can make changes. It should be OK maybe a little early or late but still OK. The trees don't leaf out the same day every year so why should a garden.

[gipsy]

Fine update for sure. Thanks

[cashless1]

                                  Chapter 12



The tree cutting crew will be out as soon as a plane can safely get in. Dad has an arrangement with them, he flies them out and they cut and split firewood and do a little fishing and later in the year they come back and fish for free. They bring their own equipment and supplies and stay in one of the cabins. Once the woodshed is full, they might stay a couple of days to just fish.

Jill is making a list of things of things we are getting short on and what we overbought last fall. We are learning, without any damage done yet. We didn't totally run of anything, but it got close. She will adjust as needed for next year.

It was raining this morning, a cold rain, I went out to check the birds they were OK. I fed and watered them but left them in, we lost 2 over the winter and don't want to lose any more. As soon as we start getting regular flights again, we will get 25 chicks, we want straight run chicks about half male for fried chicken and the other half hens for eggs.

It is too nasty out so I will work in the shop. I gathered up all of the rifle brass that was in cans and jars stuck here and there and sorted by caliber and started the polisher, now I have a couple of hours to get everything out to reload. I don't need to, but I always enjoyed when dad and I did it. Dad always ordered his bullets 500 at a time when he opened a box, he ordered another for the shelf. The primers came 1000 per box and the same applied, powder was in 5 lb. cans. we didn't shoot a lot, but we did shoot for fun. I went to the house and told Jill where I would be, grabbed a cup of coffee and went back out, as soon as I got inside the timer went off, so the brass was done. I sifted it and started another caliber going.



I only had about 150 of the 45/70 to load but it is a single stage loader, so it is slow. First size and de-prime all of them then prime then measure the powder and pour it in each case with a small funnel then go back set a bullet on and set it to depth which makes the cartridge the correct length then crimp the brass completing the process, it is a slow process but enjoyable, but everything has to be exact to the specifications.



The dog came in that means Jill is out here, she seldom gets out of his sight. She walked up and said I will be in the loft. She wasn’t up there 10 minutes before she called me, she found more treasures it was a box of old kerosene lamps. I think they were in the cabins before the solar systems were put in. The chimneys were wrapped in newspaper to protect them. She asks if they would still work? I told her we would take a couple down and find out after she cleaned them up, but they looked OK, so I filled them with kerosene and waited for the wicks to absorb the fuel. The wicks needed to be trimmed or replaced. I sent her up to look for new wicks, she came back with a cookie can with 3 rolls of wick material I told her to take them to the house and I would trim them later and we would try them out. They did work, after I trimmed the wicks a couple of times. I told her to leave the rest up there for now. she went up and came back with two spares chimneys. I put the reloading stuff away and went in. She was looking for a place to display her new dust collectors.

The ice is gone, her dad waited a couple of days and came out to visit and ask if we wanted her mother's canning things? he wasn't going to use it, so we might as well have it. {not my circus, and not my monkey}so I let her decide. I did ask if she thought we would ever need the fourth bed room? She said we don't use the other two, why?

I said we could empty it out and put shelving in and use it for storage. She agreed so I told her dad to bring it out on his next trip, and bring us four shelving units, the metal wire ones 4 ft wide and about a foot and a half deep I think they have five shelves. he said OK it will be a couple of days though. We aren't in any hurry. The only thing in the room was a bed and dresser and a small night stand we put them in one of the other unused bedrooms. and he showed up the next day. He had the shelves, so we carried them in and I ask when he was bringing the stuff. He said it is in the plane, I looked and ask, all of that, and he said I will bring the rest tomorrow. I couldn't believe he had that much. As soon as we got everything in the living room he left. Jill and I started to set the first shelf unit up, and I went and got a 5-gallon bucket to use as a guide. We put the first shelf so we could put the bucket under it for heavy items. Then we sorted through the pile getting the biggest items, so we knew where to put the next shelf using the large caner as a guide. We did the other three units the same way just the two bottom shelves on each. We kept bringing things in from the stack and putting them on the shelves and adding shelves. At last, the pile was gone, and we still had shelf space, and I have a bunch if cardboard boxes to carry to the shop.

It still amazes me her mom had so much stuff, so I ask her, she said I never saw it all at once, there were two water bath caners and a pressure caner just like the one we had him get for us last winter, there were crocks in four different sizes, there was cast iron cookware, that had been Jill's grandmothers, a manual juicer and a lot of other things, and her dad wasn't done yet.

I told Jill to email her dad and get us 6 more shelf units. I carried the empty boxes to the shop and straitened up the living room, while Jill fixed super. After we finished the kitchen, we got washed and headed for bed tired.

We had to get the cabin ready for the loggers. While she was doing the dishes, I did my chores I loaded the boat with batteries and solar panels plus my tools and a grill lighter and was waiting when she got to the boat. We reversed the procedure from last fall I wanted to make sure they had power when they arrived. I turned the LP back on and lit the fridge and freezer. I put one of the boats in the water and towed it home with us. I put a motor on it and a fuel tank, then 2 more motors and tanks, in my boat I had the water filter and water pump and plumbing repair parts just in case. When we got to the cabin Jill, and I pulled her boat out of the water, and I put the motors on the other boats along with the fuel tanks. I put the water filter back in line and made sure the power was off to the pump wires just to be safe. I had tied a rope on the end of the pipe before I dropped it in the lake last fall so all I had to do was pull it up and attach the pump and secure the wire and plug it in and drop it back down. When we got back inside, I could hear the water gurgling through the pipes.

I let it run until it got to the cold-water faucets and closed them, it took a while for the water heater to fill but after I got water to the hot water faucets I was done. I lit the heater and set it on low. The water heater uses more gas than the frig, freezer and stove combined. everything checked out and we went home It was a good day. and we got a lot done, Jill let the dog out and he ran around checking his favorite trees.

Jill's dad brought another load of caning equipment which included cases and cases of jars, we almost filled all of the shelves, there is no way we can ever use all of it, But Jill is happy to have her mother’s things. The next day she spent half day organizing the shelves, so there is extra open space.

[kiwibutterfly]

Many thanks

[ydderf]

Thanks Cashless1

[feralferret]

Cashless1, thanks!

[gipsy]

Cool

[cashless1]

                                              #13





The wood cutters flew in this morning their equipment will be delivered at the lodge later today, they bring a portable log splitter, saws and other hand tools. It is almost scary to watch them unload the splitter, but they know what they are doing. They said this would be the last year to split our wood, the crew was breaking up, but a couple of them would be here to fish if I reopened the lodge. I told them I would try to get word to them when I knew. They used the tractor to pull logs to the splitting area. They had a good system and worked steady. It took 6 days to finish filling the wood shed, and they fished for another week. We talked when they were taking a break and one of them said it was getting too hard to work as they got older, I ask what they were going to do with the equipment when they quit? He said the only thing worth selling was the splitter, the saws were getting old and the rest wasn't worth much. I ask what the whole thing was worth? They were not sure but would talk about it and let me know. The next day the leader gave me a price, and I had Jill write him a check. I figured I could do it myself a little at a time, And Jill was always willing to help me. They were happy, they were ready to retire. I probably over paid but I didn't care, I would have spent more for new, and didn't really know what all I needed. This way, was simpler.

Life went on, the garden is doing good the chicks are growing like weeds, we had to separate them from the old hens they didn't like each other, As soon as they start to lay, the old hens will become chicken and noodles. And the roosters will go in the freezer.

Jill's dad was keeping us stocked on everything we need, I am using the splitter to make kindling and it is fun but not faster, we are busy but enjoying ourselves we fish, she helps me and I help her, we are becoming a pretty good team.

Mason sent us an email saying someone named Albert Mason was trying to locate me, and he ask if I knew him. I emailed that I did know him and I would contact him. I called Al to see what was up. He said the shop where we had worked had closed and he was on unemployment and it was about to run out. He had to let his house go back to the bank, he just couldn't afford the payments, and there was no work to be had anywhere doing anything. I ask him how much money he needed? He said he wasn't trying to borrow money, he wanted to know if there were any jobs up here, he would take anything that would put a roof over his head. I told him I would check and get back to him.

I talked to Jill and explained it to her, then ask if she was OK with me letting them come up here with us. She said he is your friend and I have never met him or his family, but it is up to you, if he is willing to help you, I don't have a problem with it. How big is his family? I told her it is just him and his wife, both about our age, and he was always a good worker. She said it is up to you, but another female around would be nice. We discussed it more, and I said I would call and offer him a job.

The next morning, I called him and offered him a job, He ask doing what? I wasn't specific, I said just doing whatever needs doing we will be working together, He replied he didn't want charity, I told him it was a job not a hand out, He would have a place to stay and food to eat, we raise our own, I lost my grandparents, and shut down the business, but may reopen next year and could use the help, and that would free up my new wife, that I will tell you about later. He talked to his wife and they agreed to come. I ask if he had enough money to get here and he wasn't sure. I ask for his bank information and said I would wire some money to his account, and I would email him directions and who to see when he arrived, but I would need an arrival date. He could call me the last morning of his trip. He said, I hate to take the money but I am desperate.

I told him I would take it out of his pay, I ask how much they would be bringing and he said, just clothes if that was, OK? I said that would work. I was surprised he didn't ask any more questions so he must be desperate.

Jill and I continued as usual, she did go over the spare bed room and cleared our things out of it. It was three days before Al called and they were on the road and he was going to take three days to get here. Jill emailed her dad and told him in three days Al and his wife would be there and ask him to bring them out, and three cases of beer. There was nothing else to do so we did our regular routine. The day before they were to get here we went fishing, so we could have a fish fry to celebrate their new life.

Al called at 9am and thought they would in town by 1pm, I told him the plane would be ready when he got there. I called Jill's dad instead of email and gave him the information. Jill had to go over the house one more time even though it was always neat and clean. We will slice potatoes to make French fries to go with the fish. I put the dog in his pen when we heard the plane, he gets excited when we get company. I will introduce him to them later. We got their bags and the beer out of the plane and told Ralph they would be living here with us, and thanks for the beer. He said the next time he came out he would bring more beer and stay overnight to help us drink it. After introductions were made, Jill took Kate on a tour of the house, and Al wanted to see everything, I told him we would start the tour tomorrow. It is beer time now. Then we will have a fish fry. About that time my radio came to life, all it said was If we had the bags, we could get things done. My answer was YES DEAR. We had to go to the house anyway to get more beer so we took the bags to the wives.

Jill had gotten used to not having a plane here so she didn't go get it. It was easier to just call her dad. That may change but for now it was OK with her

The girls got Al and Kate's clothes put away, and started supper while I showed Al around the house. After supper we gave them a description of how things worked, I pointed out the outhouse and the dog pen, I had forgot all about the dog, so I let him out and told them why he was there, but he usually had the run of the house. I pointed out the hut as we called it, but didn't go in, we looked at the garden and chickens. I locked them up for the night and we went in and got ready for bed, they had to be tired.

We were up and getting breakfast started When Al and Kate came in I pointed to the coffee pot on the stove and the cup hooks on the wall. They got their coffee and I told them to sit, breakfast would be ready soon. They both wanted to help so I told them, you are helping, by not being in the way. That scared them, so I explained as you watch us you are learning where things are. After we finish eating you will know where things go, when you do the dishes, Jill stepped in and said you are not going to make them do dishes the first day here. So, I ask why not if they cook tomorrow, I will do dishes these aren't assigned tasks we all work together as we go. That is how we do things. And she asks is that realty the way we do things? I ask her who makes our bed? She said whoever gets up last. So, I ask who chiseled that in stone, nobody that is just the way it is. If you get up before me, why should you have to come back in after I get up to make the bed, when I am already there? If everybody worked that way it would be simpler and more productive. That is the way we work, and we didn't even plan it that way.

Al and I went out and took care of the birds. Mainly he just watched, but now he knows how it is done. We talked about things in general as we went to the shop. I showed him things as we went through the building.

Jill was giving Kate a more through tour of the house, showing her the spare storage room, the pantry, cellar, telling her about the wood cook stove and the electrical system While, putting a pot of stew on and baking bread for supper. We all ended up at the garden and started pulling weeds and just getting better acquainted.

Al explained how the owner of the shop we had worked for died, and how his son took over. He took out a big loan and expanded the building and bought new machinery on credit. But the business did not grow, so he started laying people off, that wasn't enough. He ended up filing bankruptcy.

Kate had been going to school to become a teacher, but she was learning more about how to be woke and babying anyone who thought they were under privileged. So, she quit school. But there were no jobs out there. Having to ask us for help was the hardest thing they ever had to do.

[gipsy]

Fine update. Thanks

[feralferret]

Cashless1, thank you.

[cashless1]

#14





Al and Kate wanted to help so much. We had to keep telling them to slow down, or we wouldn't have anything to do tomorrow, with four of us working, And the lodge closed it was getting hard to find things that needed to be done. We showed them the cabins and told them what we had to do to open them and close them up for winter. And we went fishing so much it was getting boring, one day Al and I were out fishing and shooting the breeze I told him if they were out fishing and wanted a little afternoon delight to go to one of the cabins and have at it. If their boat was tied up at the dock nobody would disturb them. And that worked both ways.



We are getting some fresh things from the garden and there is a lot of meat in the freezer and root cellar. Jill and Kate want an herb garden by the back door, so they don't have to go to the garden for every little thing they wanted. So, I promised them one next year.

Al and I put a blanket and pillows in a tote tub and put them in cabin#1. One of the girls is going to get a surprise soon we hope. I don't know if they ever did, and they don't know if we ever did.

We went out and marked trees to take down next year for wood. We did cut some dead trees and drug them to the wood yard If one of us got bored we would get a saw and cut them to length. Soon there was a helper or three. And it didn't take long to get them done. So, we went and got more.

If we had stew or soup for supper one day, we had leftovers for lunch the next day and the birds got the rest. One day Al said they needed to go to town and pick up some things I wanted to go too. I told Jill and she said it would be crowded for all of in her dad’s plane, but he could pick us up and she would get her plane and give us more room for packages on the way back. She had already mentioned her plane a couple of times before, so I knew it was going to happen. So, it was decided we would go tomorrow. The girls compared their lists. And Jill told her not to get one of this and one of that. But to buy by the case if it is something you will eventually use, it is cheaper and it hauls better than bags of singles, The cases were meant to be handled and moved so the boxes were heavier and more solid.

Al said he wasn't sure they had enough cash to get what they needed. So, I told him to get what they needed and don't worry about the cost. The lodge would cover it. That was how it worked you work on the garden you eat; you work with us to keep things going so this is not charity you have earned it. Keep your cash and don't worry about it.

Her dad arrived a little later than we expected but we still had enough time to do our shopping and get home before dark. We still hurried but it wasn't necessary. We got everything on the lists plus some odds and ends we hadn't planned on. We loaded Jill's plane as full as possible; the rest would be delivered later. We were all tired but satisfied with the day. The dog was happy to see us and had to try to check out every package as we carried them in. Everything was put in the spare room for tonight it could be sorted and put away later. Al and Kate got mostly clothes and personal things I got more reloading supplies and ammo, mostly 22LR and 12-gauge slugs.

We had cold roast moose sandwiches for supper, filling and good with little clean up. Locked up the birds and called it a day.

Up with the sun as usual, the roosters are trying to crow, 11 birds trying to crow is not a pleasant way to wake up, but their days are numbered. The girls fixed breakfast while I dumped the campers’ toilets and tended to the birds and did my own business. Corn beef hash with fried eggs and bacon, it doesn’t get any better. Everybody pitched in on the cleanup.

We started opening the packages from yesterday. The reloading things had to be taken to the shop. That is what we get for not thinking when we unloaded the plane. The girls took care of everything else. Then all of the cardboard and packing material had to go to the shop That taken care of, we started our regular day. We went to the garden for an hour, then split up, I had reloading things to put away and organize everything and do an inventory I made a list so now I know what we have. The girls did their magic in the kitchen, and we were all hungry. Al had been sharpening the chain saws and cleaning them up. Nobody had been idle We decided to go fishing to rest up, and had a good catch,16 total walleye that is four legal limits. Back on shore the girls went to start the grease while Al and I cleaned the fish, they fried 6 the rest would be frozen. They also made hush puppies. With the clean up out of the way we headed for the living room to collapse and have a cold beer.



We took turns getting a shower. Jill put a pot of navy beans to soak for tomorrow. It is washing day, and the beans will cook themselves without a lot of attention. I got the birds put to bed and I was ready for bed and so was everybody.

After the morning ritual we got the washer moved and filled with water then we let the girls do their thing. They had piles of clothes scattered around the kitchen ready to go, they had started doing everybody's clothes together, they would sort them as they took them off the line. Al and I tried to be around when they had a load ready to hang. The grocery cart was a big hit, it did save on the back. Early afternoon Jill's dad flew in with the rest of our purchases, we did sort them this time, I took my things to the shop while they carried things to the house for the girls. He stayed for a while talking about what was going on in the states, it sounds bad, groups of teenagers rushing into a store breaking things and steeling anything they could get their hands on and running out, and nobody would stop them, they were afraid they would be sued if they tried. And when the cops caught them, nothing happened to them. He said it gets worse every day. We haven't been watching the news or any TV. It does not directly affect us up here. The clothes are done and put away. It has been a hard day. But we had a good meal, ham hocks with beans, fried potatoes and corn bread.

The garden is starting to produce it is about time to start the canning again. We got another stove out of the storage room and set it up now they can do two batches at a time It will up the production but be a steadier pace. They are working very hard, and Al and I help where we can, but it is still hard on them.

All four of us talked about reopening the lodge and I decided to do it. I notified Moore and he sent out emails to all of our old customers, and I put it on our web site. We had to inventory the shop from end to end, any time we needed something we just went and got it, we didn't keep track of what we took or what was left. It would take l lot of time and a lot of work. Dad had a list of what he needed to start the season and kept a list of what he sold. As soon as the canning was done, we started Butchering and freezing all of the Roosters except one, now we have 14 new hens and 4 old hens plus 1 rooster, time to order chicken feed. We started in the house and filled in all of the blanks of everything we had used and not replaced, Jill placed orders and when Her dad had a plane load, he would bring it to us. More counting, rotating and double checking to make sure we had enough to last till spring. We hadn't run out of anything, but it was close on somethings, but we had doubled the number of people to take care of over winter. I went ahead and ordered LP and gasoline to be delivered as early next spring as they could land, I wanted all the fuel ready before clients started showing up.

Jill ordered the food supplies for the store. As we worked on the inventory, I ordered replacements as we went along.



We started the inventory on things without an expiration date, like knives clothes bug spray and cleaning supplies, soaps the list just goes on and on. If the list said he needed 12 and we only had 6, I ordered a box or 2 depending how many came in a box, to get up to at least what dad said was needed.

We need a break so Jill took us to town so we could get hunting licenses and eat without cooking and visit her dad. He has been busy keeping the pilots lined up with deliveries, that had been Jill's job, but he said he would do it because he knew what we were doing, and she didn't have the time to do it properly. He used to do it until Jill was old enough to take over It was good to take a day off, it rejuvenated us, and we were ready to get back to work.

It took 2 plane loads to get it all delivered. The full boxes were not put with the old stock, we marked the boxes and put them in the storeroom for now. Any food items in the store we hadn't already eaten we took to the house and put it in our rotation, we would start with all fresh next spring. We had used the salamander to heat the store while we worked during the winter, so I ordered more kerosene to come with the fuel and LP. Now we can stop counting and just order off of Dad's list.

I don't know why we each got a license. We sure don't need or have room for that much meat. Al wants to get a few geese he loves to hunt them, and he says the are good to eat.

It is about time for Jill to return her plane to town, and she said it would give her and Kate one more chance to go shopping, and out came the note pads and they were working on their lists. Her dad said to wait a couple more weeks it is early yet. She is going shopping anyway, they are going tomorrow, And maybe again in a couple of weeks. I told her we are going to need more note pads if they keep making lists, the big yellow ones.

Al and I are fishing as much as possible stocking up for winter if he isn't fishing, he is hunting geese and ducks. If he keeps it up, I am going to have to reload more shells for him. Goose isn't my favorite food but it is a break from fish and red meat once in a while.

Jill took her plane back today, and Kate had to go too. Those two women have become like sisters they enjoy doing everything together if you see one you see them both and the dog is always with them. When her dad brought them back Jill only had a couple of packages, she said they are the tattler lids she had ordered, I didn't know she had ordered more but she did. She had a gross of large and a gross of regular lids and a gross of each size replacement gaskets we will never have to order lids again. The seals are supposed to be good for10 tines of use.

Hunting season starts day after tomorrow, we need to sight in the rifle we each fire 2 rounds We are all OK, but Jill is the best shot. We debate who is going the first day, every one wants to go first, I suggest drawing straws, so I cut 4 straws of different lengths and held them behind my back and get them even and hold them out Kate says that is not fair because you know which one is the winner. I tell them they get to draw, and I will keep the last one, so I don't get to cheat. Kate draws the short straw and hunts first. Then Jill and Al. I can't believe it will get to me. I clean the rifle and she will be ready. Al is going with her for safety, but she will do the shooting. The rest of the day she is getting her gear ready, Al already had his ready. We eat early so they can get off to bed. She is up and ready before sunrise, I get them each a cup of coffee and she is in the boat waiting for enough light so Al can see enough to drive. Al has a radio with him and will call if she gets one and we will go help them. They are only gone an hour when we hear something on the radio, but we can't hear the words. We wait a while and go see what she got. As we get closer, we can hear him, he tells me where the moose is. We head that way and see their boat. They are about 50yards away and working on something we can't see. When we get up to them, I see the biggest bull moose I have ever seen around here. It will take both boats to get it home. She is so proud she can hardly stand it. Al has already bled it out, so we start skinning it while the girls go to get the sheets out of the boat to wrap it in. We had to cut it in more pieces than I did last year it is so large. We get it cut, up wrapped, and loaded, By the time we get home we are all worn out but can't stop yet. We use the little trailer to get the meat to the shop so we can hang it up. And we are done for tonight. No supper tonight just showers to get the blood off, then bed.

That is going to be a lot of cutting and wrapping. I tell her to call her dad and get us a case each of freezer paper, plastic wrap and vacuum bags. It is cool enough to let it hang a couple of days. The next day after a big breakfast we start getting the butchering equipment out. most of it is in the spare room but has to be washed and be ready when we start. With 4 of us working it should go faster than with just Jill and me. First, we boned it out a section at a time and cut the steaks and roasts up and separated the scraps into a buss pans, we started wrapping it to go in the freezer. We are not going to can as much as last year. If the freezer gets full, we won't have any choice, but I don't want to start up another one if I don't have to.

The freezer is full, and we still have a lot of meat hanging, the rest will have to go in the spare freezer, I didn't want to start up. We chunked up what she wanted to can later and what I wanted for jerky and froze it. We still had to grind up the scraps, my god that moose was huge, we had just about run out of freezer paper after wrapping the burger. But we are done, now I can release the dog he has been barking for hours.

Jill's dad arrived the day after we had finished with the butchering. He had what we ordered but said some things in the store were sold out with empty places on the shelves, ether people were stocking up or there were shortages, he hadn't heard anything yet. Jill told him to get anything we used if he could, but do not take it all, because we could survive on what we have. I told him we will need chicken feed cracked corn or just field corn, if that is all you can get, and wheat or oats and grit will take care of the birds. and get anything that will keep long term, salt, sugar brown sugar, rice, just whatever you think, will be fine.

And more buckets and some of those gamma seal lids that the lid screws down tight would be nice, but we can get by without if you can't get them. Plus, mylar bags for the buckets. Mom had a bunch of one gallon glass jars in the loft we can use.

[gipsy]

Fine update

[feralferret]

Ditto!

[cashless1]

                                                        #15


We made a point to watch the world news tonight and see if we could learn anything about what was going on. We ate early so we could get things cleaned up so everybody could watch. It looks like illegals are crossing the US southern border by the thousands every day, there is no place to put them, so they just go where they want. Store break ins and robberies are increasing, to make it worse people are going to the fields to steal food, but they destroy more than they pick. We bounced between liberal and conservative channels and could not decide who was lying the most. You can't believe what they say. if the elections were coming up in the US, and if I was still living there, I would not know which liar to vote for or against as the case may be.



The weather is holding, so no ice on the lake and Jill's dad keeps bringing things to us. He got the chicken feed it was the last 3 bags of cracked corn and 3 bags of whole corn, but one bag was treated corn seed meant to be planted not eaten by people or animals. But we kept it, there were bags of wheat some cleaned some still in the hulls, but the birds didn't care, they would eat anything. The oats were all in the hulls, only 2 bags of grit, but that is enough.

Jill ask about food staples, and he said all I can get is big bags, she said get them, big bags can be made into small bags if needed, she didn't realize how big he was talking about. I did ask for a couple of cases coffee. It didn't matter the lake was starting to freeze, so no more deliveries for a while. But we are in pretty good shape.

We are using the wood stove to cook and thinking about firing up the wood burner it is getting cold. Jill and Kate are not happy about me pulling out the water pump, but they will get used to it eventually. Jill's dad emailed us and said he had received the buckets and lids, along with the staples we wanted. He had to wait until they got the skies on the plane. It was 2 weeks before he could make the delivery, He had 50 lbs. of navy beans and 50 of table salt and 100 of canning salt 100 of sugar and 2 5gallon buckets of honey and 50lbs of rice plus a couple of bags of his belongings. He said it was extra clothes and things he didn't use and wanted to leave here just in case. We put his things in the spare bedroom and forgot about it. That was his last trip of the year.

It wasn't bitter cold, so Al and I continued to cut and drag in more trees when the wood lot was full, we started cutting the logs to length and pushed them into a pile to split later, then cut and drag in more, then the weather went bad.



It was too cold to be outside, So Al and I worked in the shop, just to get out of the house, the girls were content to stay in the house where it was warm, Moore emailed and said the reservations were coming in slower than normal, but that was to be expected after being shut down for a year.

Jill's dad said he was coming out and wanted to know if we wanted his old roto tiller because he hadn't used it for a couple of years, I told him to bring it along with anything else he wanted that he thought we could use. And he had the coffee. When he landed, he didn't look very good, but swore he was fine. After greetings and hugs we started to unload the plane. We got the tiller out first and it looked like new. He also had all of his yard and garden tools and all of the bedding from his two spare bedrooms. I ask where we were going to sleep when we came to town? He said there is not too much to come to town for, it is bad. He had a couple of gun cases and ammo cans and more of his clothes. He couldn't stay long, or the plane would never start. He did come in for coffee and said there wasn't much open in town and a lot of people had left. Then he ask if he could come here if it got much worse, he could take care of the business from here. I nodded to Jill, and she told him he could come any time. He seemed relieved, like maybe we would say no.

After he left Al, and I got the tiller and hand tools in the shop. Everything else was already in the house. Jill was worried about her dad, and I couldn't blame her. We noticed all her dad had brought was his things, nothing else. The next day Al wanted to look at the tiller, but it wouldn't start, he cleaned the carburetor and put fresh gas in it and with a shot of ether it fired right up. We let it run, then walked it out of the way and shut it down. It will be a life saver in the garden. When I plowed the garden last fall, I had also done the herb garden as requested. Jill had thawed a lot of the moose we had cut into chunks and canned it using the wood stove. She said she had to watch it closer than on the LP stove, but it worked. I had made some jerky but would build a smoker to finish what was left in the freezer. As usual it got boring in the winter, but we played cards and board games and spent time on the computers. Spring is coming, I hope. We didn't get much snow, so I didn't have to make paths as often. I did ski down and checked the cabins, as much for the exercise as anything.

Winter drug on, get up dump the pots for the girls feed the birds gather eggs, eat lunch and try to find something to do until supper. I would split a little wood and work in the shop. Then eat supper play games and occasionally watch the news. Then wash up and go to bed, and repeat daily, the girls would cook and bake or mend clothes.

Moore emailed that we didn't have any rentals the first month of the season, it was disappointing, but not totally unexpected. Jill put in orders for the rest of the store, her dad would hold them until he could land on the water, she confirmed the fuel and LP orders were going to be delivered and I told her to also order kerosene and STA-BIL for the fuel we had used a lot of kerosene working in the store over the winter. The first thing to arrive was the LP they replaced all of the empty cylinders with full ones at all three cabins and the lodge, It was a week before the fuel plane came, they filled the tanks and dropped off the STA-BIL and kerosene, and her dad should be here soon.

There is no reason to get in a hurry about the cabins, Depending on the rentals I may just open two this year.

Al and I got the garden disked up, and Al ran the tiller over the herb patch, and we put a fence around it to keep the dog and wild critters out. The girls had plants about ready, but it was too early yet, but we did cut up potatoes and let then dry then got them planted.

Jill's dad flew out most of the things we had ordered. If we hadn't ordered it early, we would not have gotten it at all, that was all he said but we got everything for the store we had ordered.

[sniper69]

Sounds like things are heating up.

[feralferret]

Cashless1, thank you for another fine chapter.

[cashless1]

# 16 


It was a couple of weeks later when we heard a plane coming and it was Jill's dad, but he wasn't the pilot, when he got out, he looked worse than the last time we saw him. Jill ran up and gave him a hug and ask why didn't you let us know you were coming? He said he had already unhooked the computer and had it packed, if it is OK, I won't be going back. It is not safe there anymore, several of our customers are closing down and we have had two pilots bail out, so we will run things from here. The pilot will take the plane home with him and work from there. We got the plane emptied out and thanked the pilot for bringing Ralph out and wished him luck.

The pilot left and Jill helped her dad into the lodge and into my recliner and covered him with a blanket. When she came back, she was crying, saying he is so thin and weak. I told her go inside and take care of him, we will get this stuff put in the store and be in ourselves. When we got in we sat down to talked to him. He said there was hardly any food left in town and most people had left or died. That was a shock there were over 4 thousand people living there. Jill heated up some left-over stew for him with a cup of coffee, he ate like he was starving, and I think he was. Jill could take care of him if he didn't get sick, after he ate Jill got his bed ready. And I went out to the shop and got him a pee bottle, he thanked me and said he was going to lay down. Jill is worried sick, and it is showing in the way she talks and moves, constantly looking down the hall toward his room. She had left his door open in case he needed something. Jill got on the sat phone and called Moore, and ask why he hadn't let her know? He said everybody there was in the same boat, he was leaving in the morning himself, but would continue to take care of things when he got settled. He would email and let us know. It was a quiet evening, after we ate more of the stew. I did the cleanup. We were sitting in the living room quietly discussing what we had heard, Jill kept going down the hall and listening for her dad. He was snoring and she let him sleep, he needed the rest. And lots of good fattening food. We went to bed, but I don't think Jill even closed her eyes she just laid there looking at the door.

The next morning Kate and I fixed breakfast while Al did the outside chores and stoked up the wood burner, we fixed sausage, eggs and biscuits and gravy. As soon as we finished eating her dad said he needed the outhouse Jill said he should use the camper’s toilet, but he refused. I told her I would go up with him, he didn't like it but he had to go. He walked without any help, and he took care of business, and we walked back to the house, and he sat by the fire and went to sleep. I told Jill to go to bed, I would stay with him and let her know of any problems. She said no I will be OK, but I insisted, she said OK but just for a little while. She slept for 3 hours and staggered out and sat down beside her dad, and went right back to sleep, the rest of us tiptoed around trying not to wake them up.



Kate went and made his bed then Jill’s and mine. Things got somewhat back to normal, we could see her dad get stronger by the day, but it would take time, but he was gaining weight and started to look better. He even started to come out to the shop with us, not doing a lot but watching and asking questions. Every evening he watched the news and cussed the stupid news people for not being able to see everything they said was BS. The Canadian government was talking about protecting our southern border and threatened to close it all together, and keep it closed with force if necessary. Three days later the border was closed and guarded by armed soldiers.

I told them the lodge was closed until further notice. We sat down at the kitchen table to talk; Jill said a large part of our food and supplies come across the border to get to us. If we don't have it on hand we will have to do without, nobody said anything for a few minutes then we all tried to talk at the same time. Jill's dad slammed his hand down on the table and said shut up, we will take turns, and I am first, then he said, get me a cup of coffee before saying, people have lived up here for hundreds of years without outside help so don't panic you have to calm down and think straight or we will all die, whose is next? We all looked at him and didn't say a word, until Al said Well RS what do we do? Jill's dad looked at him and wanted to know what this RS bull sh-t is? Al explained I worked with a man and his initials were RS and he was as hardheaded as you are, and you remind me of him. That ended the meeting we all just sat around and thought about what to do, and RS was right, we need to THINK.

The next morning not much was said, we ate and went about our business everyone was walking around looking and most were taking notes. That evening Al said I hope I didn't piss you off last night RS. RS looked at him and said nope, I never did like that name, and besides that every time someone said Ralph the dog and I both looked up to see who they wanted.

Jill said we ladies are going to need a lot of help to get garden planted so if you like to eat, meet us there in 30 minutes, and it only took about 4 hours. I said if we are done helping you little lady's us big strong men will go cut wood to keep you warm if it is OK.

Al and I cut trees and RS drove the tractor dragging them to the wood yard and one of the girls would unhook it for him. His driving did speed things up, and he didn't have to work hard. But we had to stop because the yard was too full. I said let’s cut it to length. RS said he would go ahead of us marking the logs so we could cut them to length. He would mark and Al and I cut, when we were done RS said move out of the way, and he took the tractor and pushed the pieces into a big pile. I told them that is enough for today. Al proclaimed tomorrow is officially a fishing day, and we all agreed with him. We Had our limits in an hour, so we cleaned the fish and RS took them to the girls'.

I said we need to build a smoke house/ dehydrator combo. Al said I know just what you need, so we followed his directions, I said it is too small, And RS said no it is too big. Al said one vote big, one too small, and the tie breaker says perfect, put it together boys.

We are working hard but the girls have it harder. They cook, clean and take care of the house and us men all without complaint. I took the chunks of moose from the freezer and let them thaw then cut into thin strips and took it to the girls to season for us. The next day RS told us to go away he would tend the fire and watch the jerky.

The garden is starting to produce so the girls are going to be busy with that, and laundry plus the meals so we will have to help them where we can. It isn't woman's work. It wasn't planned that way, but the girls didn't want to do firewood and the men didn't like housework. The tiller RS brought out is a life saver, not near as much weeding to do by hand.

We got enough out of the freezer over the winter that it all fits in one, so I turned the spare one off, to save LP. We don't know if we will ever get any more and LP is the only refrigeration we have. No LP, no freezer or refrigerator or stove or water heater. The girls are great about always having meals fixed, and clothes clean and mended and the house is clean.

Al noted all of the trees we cut left a lot of brush that could be a fire hazard , we need to go back and cut any limbs that are big enough to use for fire wood and RS can use the tractor bucket to push the brush into piles that we can burn during the winter, when there was snow on the ground .Once the brush is out of the way we chained the limbs together and drug them to the wood lot to cut up.

I said the woodshed is full but we can keep cutting and stacking it outside. While the weather is decent.

Jill said we girls have been getting ready for canning, we are going to use the smoker to dry things instead of using up freezer space. AL noted the racks I made would be great for large batches of veggies I had made wire racks to dry small items I used 1 by 2 scrap lumber and ¼ inch hardware cloth. Kate popped up with as soon as the canning gets started it will be all hands-on deck Picking, there isn't enough room for more than two around the stove or in the kitchen doing prep work. One of you guys can just keep us in clean jars, wood for the stove and anything else we request. The other two can stay busy and out of our way as long as, one of you is always here if we need something. That lasted for three weeks before Jill announced the caning is about done, so now we can catch up on the housework, but with all of us working it won’t take long. Then it will be sauerkraut and root crops then hunting season. I said I don’t want to hunt until it freeze's up so the meat can freeze and not have to be canned or wrapped for the freezer, that is the way they used to do it. Al ask about the season, and I told him I didn't care about seasons. If we got caught, I would pay the fines and kiss who ever caught us, male or female, I don't care. I won't kill a cow with a calf, but if we need meat I will take a bull any time, The same with fishing from now there is no limit we take what we need, we won't waste any, and we will eat all we take.

We all worked harvesting and storing the garden produce then RS plowed it 50% bigger. The herb garden had to be done by hand. Some of the plants would not produce seeds until the second year.

[gipsy]

Thanks for the new chapter

[feralferret]

Thank you.

[sniper69]

Thank you cashless1. It sounds like things are getting rough off the island. Glad Ralph(RS) was able to make it out in time.

[cashless1]

#17

I remembered the old goat pen; mom hadn't had goats for years, but it was still there. We would check it out later. That evening, I said mom had goats for years, and the pen might be a good place for a second garden, it was far enough away from our garden, we might be able to plant it and not worry about cross pollination. it was worth looking at. It was three days before we were all free to go look at the goat pen. It was full of brush and small trees. Jill and Kate thought it was a lost cause and went back to the house. Al said he thought the girls might be right, RS said we might be able to plow it out and burn the brush and trees. I didn't know, but it was worth a try. We went and got the tractor; the plow was still hooked up. It took 20 minutes to clear the trees and brush enough to get the gate open far enough to get the tractor in. RS dropped the plow and went about 30 ft. and turned around plowed his way out, and stopped we all went and started pulling out the brush and trees by hand, most of it came out but not all, this would be a lot of work, but we could do it over time. RS plowed the entire acre while Al and I sat on a log and supervised, when he finished, he said his arms were sore from turning the tractor around so many times. I told him I would have helped him, but it looked like he was having too much fun. He left the tractor sit and said if you think it is that much fun you drive it back and walked away.

We worked for 4 days pulling and piling trees and brush but got most of it cleaned up. It was hard work, especially walking over the furrows left by the plow. We each did a face plant more than once. We let it sit for a week, then went back and burned the piles. RS said it would be easier to walk if you disk it first, then ask which one of you two is going to do it, and then sat on the log to wait. Al and I took turns, and the disk is twice as wide as the plow so it didn't take long.

We decided to leave it as is until spring. So, we could go fishing, all five of us went, and the fish were hungry we stopped after a couple of hours, and had over 50 fish to clean and freeze.

Jill said she wanted a bear; we needed the lard and meat. So, we kept the fish guts and carcasses in the freezer to use as bear bait later.

We finished splitting the wood we had piled in the yard; the girls had been using the wood stove for cooking and the heat did feel good.

I said it is about time to get a bear. We decided to let Al do the shooting, it was his turn, we thawed the fish out and let it rot, then we dumped it about 100 yards downwind from the house Al watched the area for two days, but he did get a fat sow with no cubs.

It wasn't cold enough to let it hang so we cut, wrapped and froze most of it after removing the fat. The girls caned the rest and the dog pigged out on the scraps. RS wanted to brain tan the hide and it stunk so we let him do it by himself.





I told everybody to get a shower, that wanted one. Tomorrow we will pull the pump right after we filled the storage barrels. It is time consuming for five people to get the last shower of the year, but we all did, and I shut off the water heater off. It is the biggest gas hog we have. Until spring it will be a pan of hot water and a rag, standing in a wash tub, by the stove. We hung a couple of blankets for privacy, and it only fell down once before we redid our privacy shield.



After breakfast was over, I unplugged he pump at the house and went down and pulled it out of the lake and put it in the shop to drain and dry, RS opened the faucets to drain the lines after they drained, I took out the filter. I didn't drain the water heater it was 30 gallons more water we could drain out and use in the next couple of days.

Jill said if she had more warning, they would have done all of the laundry. I said my bad, and I am sorry, but I can't think of everything. It is getting colder faster than I thought it would, I told her I would carry water from the lake for her to do the laundry.

It was 2 weeks before it froze enough to get a moose. It was really cold, so we let RS go hunting by himself he had a radio, so we sat by the fire and waited, we were in no hurry. Just before lunch he called and said he got a nice one. So Al and I bundled up and walked to where he said he was at. When we got there, he had it gutted. There was a little snow on the ground, so we decided to drag it home. We made it home but agreed we need a better way to do this next time. We went inside and thawed out for a few minutes before going out and hanging it up and start the skinning project. That done I cut it down the backbone with a saws all and we wrapped it in a sheet to keep it clean. Tomorrow would be a busy day for all of us.RS said he would never get warm again. He said he was about ready to give up when he heard the moose in the brush.

While we were getting it drug in the girls had been getting ready for today.

After we ate I took care of the birds and got the eggs before they froze, then Al and I went out And removed a hind quarter and carried it in and put it on the table, that had a piece of Visqueen on it, the girls jumped right in and got most of the hair off and trimmed it up and cut off a big chunk to make into stew for supper. After they were satisfied it was done, we wrapped it back up and hung it in the shop. And we pulled the tenderloins, then removed the ribs from the side we were working on. We hurried back to the house and the loins were cleaned Up and trimmed, they would be wrapped and frozen, the ribs were boned out and bagged up, the dog got a couple of bones the rest were frozen for later. That is enough for today. Time for a beer if we had any, which we don't.



Letting the meat hang did cause some waste because the outside that was exposed to the air, dried out but that was used to feed the dog. And he loved the bones we would leave scraps of meat around the joints, and he would work for hours getting every scrap before burying it for later.

When we brought in a large section of meat after it thawed the girls would cut it up and can it on the wood stove. Jill said it sure beat standing over a hot stove when it was warm out.

The girls loved the big cutting boards mom had they are 24X48 in. A lot of room to work and pile meat or whatever they were working on Dad had bought several of them to use on the fish cleaning tables, he was tired of replacing the table tops every year. As soon as mom saw them, she claimed 2 for the kitchen. A lot of the things one of them ordered, the other one claimed. The cutting boards were so big mom had dad drill a hole in one end so she could hang them on the wall out of the way.

[gipsy]

Thanks for the update.

[kiwibutterfly]

Thank you