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Post by feralferret on Jan 29, 2024 20:28:39 GMT -6
Cashless1, thank you!
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Post by cashless1 on Feb 3, 2024 12:38:20 GMT -6
CHAPTER 27
Jan got Kay.
off by themselves the next day and talked to her. Kay Finaly told her she had one bad marriage and did want another. She did not want a bunch of guys hitting on her,
Well, I cannot please everyone, so I will tell the Major we have agreed to welcome them to our community. I told the major they were welcome here. I explained about Kay being reluctant, she is the only single female here. He said some of the troops coming to live here were also single women, and no one would bother Kay.
They did not plan to move here until spring. A couple of people would stay here and try to get things set up for the rest when they arrived. The next week they looked at the neighboring farms and had selected several that they could occupy. Two couples stayed behind when the rest left. They went through each house to see what they had to work with and what they would need. They had 2 pickup trucks 1 enclosed trailer and a 500-gallon fuel trailer. They did not ask for any help, just ideas and information about the area.
The first thing they did was to clean out, and clean up one house to live in. George took the small tractor and bush hog over to them, they did not ask, he just took it over and told them if they needed anything else to let him know. Two days later Sarge brought the tractor back and thanked George for the use of it, the tractor was washed and polished and full of fuel. They can borrow any of my equipment they want, if they bring it back like that.
George went over and plowed a large garden space for them and said he would disk it up in the spring. Both couples were sharing one house and had collected everything they needed. One of the men killed 2 deer, so they were pretty much self-sufficient. They would all leave for a couple of days to salvage what they could not find locally. They did not bother us at all.
Jan volunteered to give them garden plants in the spring, and any seeds they needed to get them started, she told them to think about it and let her know how many plants they wanted, and she would take care of it. The major and the rest of his crew would stop and deliver things to them and bring things to us as they found them. The first trip, he had a truck load of solar panels, batteries, and charge controllers for us. Now we do not have to run the generator, at all. His men even helped us get them set up and charging. These people do not mess around. Now they have solar power too. Major said he would bring a tractor and implements before spring and worked out a deal with George to plant and harvest a couple of fields for them. I gave them 8 hens, so they do not have to come to us for eggs. I do grind feed for them and give them straw for bedding. I told sarge we would hatch an incubator full of eggs for them next spring. If they would have ask, I would have given them a beef and a hog, for the solar set ups. They worked great.
I offered to supply beef and pork to them but was told as soon as they had fencing-built Major would get them some animals of their own. And ask if we needed any more animals? All I could think of was a boar and a bull. He said that should be no problem.
There were only 2 couples, but they were always busy, they helped us and the townies as they called them. If they needed help, we all pitched in and helped. The major returned with 2 young bulls for us and 2 for the townies and 2 for themselves, he also had 10 heifers they kept. I ask why so many bulls? He said if we kept track, and tagged the calves so we knew which bull was the father we could trade around and never have breeding problems. The same thing with the boars he was going to bring. He had the ear tags and the tools to put them in with. He was going to bring a couple of milk cows next trip, and some turkeys. We had killed a few wild turkeys, but they were not the best eating.
2 more of Majors men stayed behind when he left. A house was already set up and stocked for them. Our little community is growing. Every house has a CB radio, that is left on all the time. Sarge has a military radio so he can keep in contact with the Major, and he relays messages to us.
Major is back again, and he gave each group 2 young boars and 12 turkey poults. He said he wanted to get some geese but couldn’t find any yet. I told him if he wanted a goose all he had to do was shoot a few off the lake in the fall and freeze them, the same with ducks. He had a truck almost full of sacks of sugar, table salt. Canning salt and pepper corns, and all kinds if seasonings. The biggest surprise was a pallet of coffee. Before he left, he said another couple was going to stay, and he did not know how many more trips he would make. I ask if he could get any more fuel? He just nodded and said it would not be a problem. He refilled the 500-gallon fuel trailer and left us another one. He also had a tank truck of L/P and filled all of our tanks; we can have hot water for a long time now.
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Post by gipsy on Feb 3, 2024 13:53:53 GMT -6
Fine update. Thanks.
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Post by feralferret on Feb 3, 2024 21:35:38 GMT -6
It sounds like some "Major" improvements are being made.
Thank you.
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Post by gipsy on Feb 4, 2024 8:54:57 GMT -6
Your being BAD
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Post by CountryGuy on Feb 4, 2024 11:57:22 GMT -6
I think I missed something, where did the Major and his men come from? I'm looking back the last few uploads as I thought I missed something but I'm not seeing where he came in. Can you enlighten me? Thanks.
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Post by techsar on Feb 4, 2024 14:53:21 GMT -6
I think I missed something, where did the Major and his men come from? I'm looking back the last few uploads as I thought I missed something but I'm not seeing where he came in. Can you enlighten me? Thanks. Chapter 26 is missing...likely where the Major made his appearance.
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Post by cashless1 on Feb 4, 2024 15:22:23 GMT -6
the Major was a Captain in a previous trade. I am sorry about chapter 26 . I will post it asap.
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Post by cashless1 on Feb 4, 2024 15:26:45 GMT -6
CHAPTER 26
The captain is now the Major, and he is a lot easier to get along with, than he was at our first meeting. The second refinery they got going is small as refineries go, but they are having trouble getting crude oil, so it balances out. They do get us enough fuel for George to keep farming, if they get some meat, in return.
George came over this morning with bad news, Eve Jones died in her sleep last night. She is the first one of our own, that we have had to bury, and she will be sorely missed. We have been fortunate there has been no sickness among us. We have had a lot of scrapes and bruises, but nothing serious. Fred is slowing down; he still helps where he can but rests often, we all do what we can, and if we cannot do something anymore, we admit it, and somebody helps us. We have not had any trouble from out siders since the fake deputies, and that has been a blessing. Maybe the army got rid of the troublemakers, or they wised up on their own. There is not an abandoned house or barn within 10 miles of us that has not been scavenged several times. That is where most of our things have come from. I still do not like it, but it is what it is.
The Major and his men came by today, he said we are doing better than most. The biggest town he has been through is not over two hundred people total. Even the towns, are mostly farms. Everybody has a garden and chickens, and some have a hog pen next door, in an abandoned garage. There are no laws, if you are a problem, someone will take care of it. You do not burn garbage if your neighbor has clothes on the line drying, that is a good way to get a broken nose. It is amazing how smooth things go, when you cannot call a cop or lawyer to complain to.
Jan delivered a beautiful little girl last night. Our little group is growing. She is the first of the three to have baby’s, everyone is excited about the birth. The next generation is being produced. We tried to take Sundays off, but there is always something that needs done. So we have a prayer service on Sunday morning for anyone that wants to attend, and sometimes after the service we all get together for a lunch. Normally it is church then do whatever needs done. We know there will be deaths, and births, but we have proved, that with a little cooperation we can succeed.
As soon as the snow was gone in the spring Bill took off to do his searching. He was going farther and farther all the time always bringing home much needed supplies. We all knew it was dangerous for him to be out on his own, but he would not stop. Then one day he never returned, we did not know where to look, we tried, but never found him. George always worried about him but he accepted it as a known hazard.
The new group has become an asset to us They are becoming almost self-sustaining. With everybody knowing what has to be done and working together, we have some slack time. It is nice to spend some time with Jan and, the kids that I never dreamed of having.
George is not planting any field crops this year. All our storage facilities are overflowing, there is no reason to plant and harvest a crop if there is no market for it. That is a good problem to have I guess; except we will have to mow the fields to keep weeds under control and plow it before he plants again. We also have too many pigs. I hope the next time The Major comes back, if he comes back, he will want the pigs, maybe we can work out another trade. The old saying, feast or famine, sure holds true.
One TV station is back on the air, part time. The news reader says things are getting better slowly. Some supplies are becoming available, and the police and military have things under control. I thought it must be a different country he was talking about, it sure isn’t our country. We have not seen any supplies, or police and troops. But we are hopeful.
The Major and his crew are back, and he does have some things for us coffee tea seasonings 50 LB bags of salt sugar and several other things we could live without but are nice to have. And now we do not have a surplus of pigs, Jan was right when you have a lot of pigs, they do stink.
The Major said he was thinking about getting out of the army and was wondering about settling down in our area. I told him you know the area and there are thousands of abandoned houses to choose from, pick one. He ask about moving to our neighborhood. I told him to pick a house and we would help him get it up for occupancy. He said he would not be alone, several of his troops were coming with him. Now I have to think about this. I called our group together, including our neighbors, this was not my decision alone. When everyone got here, I told them about my conversation with the Major, and the questions started flying.
I told George I need help here. George stood up and it got quiet. His idea was for Willard to talk to his five neighbors, and ger their ideas and questions, and we will do the same here. Then George, Will and I, will meet to discuss things. Then the three of us will talk to the major and see if he can explain his plans. Any fears or ideas get with us before we talk to him. We cannot stop them from moving to our area, but we do not have to welcome them either, or even help them, if you do not want to.
I talked to our people, and some were afraid the army would just take over and do whatever they wanted to. And how many would come, how much we would have to help them, and what could they do to help us? I tried to explain if they wanted to take us over, they could have already done it. We would have to teach them somethings, but they can help us also. Will’s group had the same thoughts and fears as ours.
We kicked it around for a week, before we met with the Major, and he had a sergeant with him this time. I ask how many of his people he was thinking about bringing with him. He said only about 12 or 14. I told him about some fears our people had, that he would try to take over, and I ask what would we have to do to get them started? He smiled and told us if he had intensions of taking over, he would have just taken our houses and supplies and been done with it. They wanted to be good neighbors and become part of our community. They would bring enough food and supplies to keep them going until their gardens produced. He wanted to trade with me for beef and pork, and enough chickens to get their flocks started. I ask what he had to trade, that we would want. The sergeant said we have been covering a 4-state area for the last 3 years, we know where a lot of things are. What would you want?
I said more solar power would be great. George said 2 houses need upgrades and 6 more houses need an entire system, and just about anything commercially made, or shipped from overseas. We cannot grow coffee or citrus, so just about anything we cannot grow ourselves I told them I would talk to our group. But you should probably start looking for houses.
If we cooperate and help each other. This could be a big win for all of us. When we got our group together and explained what we had discussed, everybody thought it was a good deal, except Kay. She said she did not know why, but it worried her.
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Post by cashless1 on Feb 4, 2024 15:28:13 GMT -6
When anybody finds anymore screw ups let me know i am in over my head here.
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Post by cashless1 on Feb 4, 2024 15:41:40 GMT -6
I don't know how to put chapter 26 back in the right place. If anybody can, please do for me. THANKS.
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Post by bluefox2 on Feb 4, 2024 19:20:18 GMT -6
When anybody finds anymore screw ups let me know i am in over my head here. From where I sit you are doing pretty darn good for being in over your head. Keep up the good work.
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Post by gipsy on Feb 4, 2024 19:47:02 GMT -6
Thanks for the chapter
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Post by cashless1 on Feb 4, 2024 20:54:53 GMT -6
The captain was the leader of the trucks delivering things to the town in chapter 23 .
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Post by imahic on Feb 4, 2024 22:57:48 GMT -6
Great story! Thanks for your hard work. I had computer issues for a while but back in the saddle again and enjoying the stories.
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Post by ydderf on Feb 5, 2024 5:18:03 GMT -6
Thank you. All is well from my perspective keep up the good work.
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Post by cashless1 on Feb 10, 2024 19:50:53 GMT -6
CHAPTER 28
Sarge came over this morning and ask what we had for firearms? I told him just the run of the mill hunting rifles and shot guns, and a few AR15s. All he said was ok. I did not know what he was searching for, but it made me a little nervous. I told George about it and he said until we, know more about them let’s keep what we have to ourselves.
I jumped on one if the bicycles and went over to talk to Will. He said none of the soldiers had ask them any questions, other than what they needed or wanted if it could be found. I told him about the firearms questions I had been asked, and I could tell it bothered him as much as it did me. He said he would pass the warning to his people not let out any information concerning our guns or anything else we have stored.
Maybe I am being over cautious, if there is such as a thing. Life went on with no problems We all helped each other, but we were careful around them. There are only 4 men and 2 women in the GI camp so far. Sarge was back today to let us know the Major would be back in a couple of days, he ask me how much storage space we had? I ask what kind of storage space he needed and how much and what for? All he would say was just in out of the elements for a few days. I told him we could move the equipment out of the pole barn if that would be adequate. He thought that would be fine. He never did say what was coming in. I ask again what was coming and all he would say was a lot of things, they even had to get more trucks for this trip.
George and I got everything moved; it would not hurt it to set outside for a while. Fred was taking care of the morning chores for me. George was here and it did not take long for Don and Randy to show up. Now we wait. The girls called us in to have lunch and as soon as we got set down and our plates filled, the trucks showed up.
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Post by feralferret on Feb 10, 2024 21:59:47 GMT -6
Cashless1, thanks!
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Post by gipsy on Feb 10, 2024 22:04:38 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by cashless1 on Feb 16, 2024 12:56:33 GMT -6
CHAPTER 29
The first thing unloaded was an all-terrain forklift that I did not expect or really need. On the next truck was 12-gun safes and pallets of ammunition, they only unloaded 4 safes here the others would go to the other locations. All the ammunition was unloaded here, we would move part of it later to the townies. The Major said I know it is a lot, but only a third of it will stay here this is just a staging area. There were a lot of pallets wrapped in black plastic shrink wrap, so we had no idea of what we had. Everything was just shoved into the barn, there was no organizing or sorting, just get it inside and out of the weather. Not all the trucks stopped here, some went to each camp. If you ask me, it is going to take forever to get this mess straightened out. I told Major we are going to need a warehouse to store everything in. He just laughed and said they are on the other trucks.
I ask what is the rush? Can’t we slow down and halfway organize this stuff? Major said there is a bad storm coming, Ice snow and high winds. I looked at him and said It is 36 degrees and clear, what do you mean a bad storm? He told me to go check the barometer, while we try to get things under cover. I did not believe him until I checked for myself. Well, it looks like I owe him an apology, the barometer is dropping like a rock. I told Jan to let every know about the storm and to batten down the hatches.
Fred volunteered to put out extra hay for the cattle, because he could not do much to help here. The milk cow and the hogs were already in the other barn. The birds will go in on their own. Anything left on the flatbed trailers we just double tarped and hoped for the best. The barn is as full as we can get it, the forklift will have to set outside.
By the time we got everything done that we could it was down to 33 *F and the wind was picking up. Everybody was tired and hungry plus being cold. When we got inside, I got on the radio, and everybody was home and safe. All we can do now is sit and wait for morning to see what happened over night. All our outside lights are turned off for security reasons, a light can be seen for miles when everything else is pitch black. Being underground we could not even tell it was storming outside. Every time I checked the weather station it was colder out. I got up shortly after daybreak and all I could see was white. I added wood to the fire and got coffee going. It is going to be a long day, anyway you look at it. 22* and still blowing like crazy. There must be a half inch of ice on any elevated surface. I told Jan where I was going then got my coat and ice cleats and checked the birds and milked the cow. The driveway was not bad but there was so much ice on the grass there was no traction at all. But I made it back to the house without spilling all the milk.
It was 3 days before we could get back to sorting and moving things where they were going. The men from all 3 groups met this morning, we had to move a lot of pallets outside to just get room to work. Sarge had each group move a truck and trailer parked close by, if there was a full pallet going to each they were loaded on the trailers. If a pallet was going to be split up it was set aside for others to divide up and repack.
I have not seen the firearms yet but there were pallets of ammo 5.56, 762.51, 9mm and 45 auto. They must think we are going to war. When the trailers were full Will and Sarge took theirs to their homes, but did not have a forklift, so they had to unload everything by hand and just stack it in the garage and come back for more. The pallets staying here were just set aside, we can put them back in the barn later, at least we do not have to keep unloading and stacking and sorting by hand.
We discussed it and decided all our stuff would stay in my barn and George and Don will come and get what they need and have room for later.
Sarge told us there was a large pole building going up at their houses before any more trips were planned, there are greenhouses still on the trucks at the GI camp, we will get ours after things settle down. The pole barn being built will be used as a warehouse so things will not be as hectic next trip.
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Post by gipsy on Feb 16, 2024 13:39:53 GMT -6
Fine update. Thanks.
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Post by sniper69 on Feb 16, 2024 13:46:19 GMT -6
Looks like they are getting resupplied. makes me wonder what is coming next. Only more chapters will tell.
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Post by cashless1 on Feb 18, 2024 13:19:05 GMT -6
CHAPTER 30
Does anyone want a thousand pounds of salt, sugar, flour, how about a couple pallets of mixed seasonings? I have no idea what they are going to bring next trip, but at least there will be a warehouse to put it in. Sarge said not to do anything with the dry goods until we get plastic barrels and buckets to you. He was not even sure what truck they were on, but he knew they had been loaded. It took several days to get things divided and delivered to each house and put away. At least there was nothing that freezing would hurt.
George and I went over to help them get the pole barn put it up but were more in the way than being a help, but we did what we could for them.
The girls are wanting to start garden plants they need a lot of plants and want the greenhouse RIGHT NOW! Jan and Dee had always done the plants, but there is no way she can do enough for everyone. Jan called a meeting with Wills wife Julie and another townie to come over and learn how to do their own. Dee came to help them get started. Jan and Dee had always started enough seeds for our gardens so they had plenty of seed starting trays We had extra trays but, cautioned Julie to be gentle with them that is all we have. If these are destroyed, we will be cutting plastic soda bottles to make starting cups out of. You are talking about hundreds of soda bottles. Jan needed 60 for our garden plants alone.
We got our greenhouse; we did not have concrete for a footing, so we used railroad ties leveled and buried flush with the ground then staked down with rebar used in concrete, it only took a couple of days to get it erected. Then we had to build tables and planting boxes. We mixed garden soil and compost with a little manure. The girls are thrilled, and this should extend the growing season.
We have been so busy I have not been over to the townies or GI camps. Time to go visiting, first the townies, they are working on their pole barn, it is not as big as the GIs only 32 X 48 but that is not small. Most of their supplies are still stacked in a couple of garages. The GIs have the pole building that is huge 60X100 There are even metal racks to put pallets on 3 high. The Major was passing out assignments, I waited until he was done, and his men scattered before I approached him. He ask how we were doing, and I told him about the greenhouse. He ask me if I wanted the barrels and buckets or the pole barn first. I told him I did not really need the pole barn. He corrected me saying the fuel will not last forever and I do not know how much more I can get. We are going to see if we can get some draft horses, so you will need a lot more hay storage and stalls for a few of them. You will also need storage room for enough wheat for around 20 families to last at least a year and enough grain for the livestock. I am leaving next week, get me a list of what you think we will need for only God knows how long. Make sure to include any seeds or equipment we need. I said we already have all the garden seeds we need, and heirloom corn oats and wheat, that is all I can think of for seeds. The other things I will talk to the townies and my group about, but I will tell you now the numbers will be very high. All he said was you just make me a list and I will do the best I can do.
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Post by gipsy on Feb 18, 2024 13:42:54 GMT -6
Fine update.
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Post by feralferret on Feb 18, 2024 22:08:23 GMT -6
Cashless1, thank you!
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