|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 3, 2021 21:37:38 GMT -6
Chapter 112
Colt woke the next morning, feeling rested. He put on his sweats and running shoes and headed down the farm lane to the driveway and turned to go up the ridge. He was really breathing hard when he topped the ridge. There was almost a 500 foot elevation change in less than a mile. Even their running trails at Fort Carson weren't that tough. He ran on to the main road and turned around and ran back. When he got back to the little cabin, he did cool-down exercises and started a fire in the firepit, then went inside and made a pot of coffee in the enamel percolator. Once it had perked, he poured a mug and took it and the pot out to the fire and sat the pot on the rim of the firepit to keep the coffee hot. It felt good not having awakened at some god-awful hour and not being able to go back to sleep. The air was crisp this morning, somewhere in the mid to high 40's he figured. He had a small thermometer on his vest….then he realized he didn't really care what the temperature was. He was here, a mug of coffee in his hand and a pot warming by the fire. "This is a great place." Colt thought.
"Is he going to be all right down there?" Grace asked.
"He has all the basics he needs, food, shelter, security. He'll come out of his world when he's ready."
"Do you think he might want to go to church with us?"
"Let's just let him be for now. Maybe he'll work his way in that direction. Want me to go get the twins?"
"Yes, I hear them babbling."
"Aunt Mollie. This is really a beautiful place." Shannon said.
"It really is, isn't it. I love this cabin. I think you'll like living here. After church, we're having lunch with Gil and Grace. You'll like Gil, he is the salt of the earth. Well, I'm going to get ready. If you don't mind, we'll take your car to church. It would be crowded with the baby seats in the Suburban."
After church, everyone gathered back at the Conner house to eat their primary meal on Sundays. The women occupied the kitchen and started frying chicken, boiling potatoes, opening jars of corn and green beans, and baking biscuits. Billy, Gil, and Brad slipped into the Great Room to see what fishing shows were on that day.
What are you doing today?"
"I'm throwing the clothes we bought Saturday in the washer and Mollie and I are working in the greenhouse this morning. Probably Allie will join us." Shannon is going back to Nashville to move her things back here.
"Good, Brad and I are working on a cradle for Allie. Tell Mollie, but not Allie. Just mention to Mollie the cradle is going to need a mattress."
Brad was already in the shop busy with a spindle gouge turning out more spindles. Gil counted out the blanks and Brad only had 28 more to do.
"I'm going down to the greenhouse. If you don't feel comfortable doing something, just stop and I'll come help you later. I've got some things to do and may not get back until late this afternoon.."
"Okay Gil."
Before he left, Gil made a fire in the small outdoor furnace that provided heat for the shop and garage. It was colder today.
He checked the house furnace and added more wood to it then went down to the greenhouse and loaded the furnace there. Before going into the greenhouse, he went to the equipment shed and filled a 5-gallon bucket with cracked corn and filled the game feeder and moved it to a different spot. He had a circuit laid out that the Guineas went around trying to find out where he had put the food. They were dumb, otherwise, they would just watch him and follow. Gil looked down toward the river but didn't see anything of Colt. Going into the greenhouse, Gil walked over to the herb area. Mollie and Grace were gathering lettuce, onions, radishes and baby carrots for salads.
"Grace, I'm going to run out and do some errands. I'm going to try and get Colt to go with me."
"See if he will come up for dinner tonight." Grace replied. "I'm making meatloaf."
Gil got the Power Wagon and drove down to the cabin. Colt answered the door when Gil knocked.
"I didn't come at a bad time did I?"
"Oh, no! I was just browsing the internet for info about Rogersville."
"Well, If you can help me out for a little while, I can show you some of it."
"Sure, let me get my hat and coat."
Colt got into the truck and Gil drove up and got the bigger dump trailer and they headed out to Greeneville. Colt recognized the route. It was the route he came in on. They crossed over I-81 and they didn't go far before they turned into an ATV dealership.
"I'm Gil Conner. Do you have my vehicle ready?"
"Yes Sir Mr. Conner. Right this way." The salesman replied.
They went through a side door and out into a bay and there sat a Polaris diesel Trail Boss with hard doors.
"Looks good. Let's get the paperwork done. I've got some other things to do."
"Yes Sir. I can have our people load it for you while we get things taken care of."
"Colt, can you see to the loading? There are tie-down straps in the tool box on the trailer." Gil asked.
"Sure."
Gil signed the paperwork, paid the bill and was back out to the truck, bearing two free thermal cups for buying the new UTV. Checking the tie-downs, Gil and Colt got back into the Power Wagon and headed back toward Rogersville.
"That was quick." Colt commented.
"I'm not much for shopping. If I need something, I go get it."
When they got back in the Rogersville area, Gil drove right on by the turn to go to Bluff View and ended up at a storage building sales lot. They got out and were met by a salesman.
"Yes Sir! How can I help you?"
Gil pointed a thumb at the trailer. "I need a garage for the Polaris."
"Yes Sir! Follow me."
The salesman showed him a couple of models and Gil selected the rustic looking one, measured the door opening then he and Colt measured the width of the UTV. The door had inches to spare.
"How soon can you deliver it?" Gil asked. There's a storm coming and I want this thing under shelter."
The salesman looked up at the cloudless cerulean sky then gave Gil a puzzled look.
"Trust me." Gil said. There's a Manitoba Mauler that's coming this way in a couple of days and might not turn until it hits Atlanta. We could end up with a lot of snow."
"This afternoon work?"
"Excellent. Oh, I'll need one of those diamond steel plate ramps too."
The salesman wrote up the sale and Gil paid him. Gil and Colt got back into the Power Wagon and headed for Bluff View.
"How did you know about the storm?"
"I keep an eye on the NOAA site and check long rang predictions. The Jetstream is starting to dip down into the gulf coast states and on across Florida. There is a big storm brewing in Northern Canada and is starting to move this way. Without the Jetstream to turn it back up north to the New England states, like it normally does, it's going to tear down on us like a loaded pulpwood truck coming down the road sideways. I expect some abnormally heavy snow."
They got back and unloaded the Polaris at the TinyHouse. Colt gave Gil a wondering look.
"This is transportation for the guesthouse. It's been on my mind for a few days. You see that little shed way over there at the base of the ridge? Why don't you take the Polaris over there and fill it up? I'm going to put the trailer away. Oh, and Grace invited you to dinner tonight. You might as well shoot yourself if you say ‘No.’ She’ll hound you forever for not eating her meatloaf.”
Colt grinned. “Well I guess I’d better be there. What time?”
“Say… 1730.”
“I’ll be there."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 3, 2021 21:39:46 GMT -6
Chapter 113
The shed was delivered and Colt backed the vehicle into it. There was still a lot of equipment space there. Gil got the tractor and brought down a ½ cord of firewood and they stacked it inside by the back door.
Gil stopped by the equipment shed and checked the hydraulic hoses on the plow blades for the Gators. With two of them clearing, they could get the drive cleaned off in no time, then they'd do Annie's Cutoff. The 72 inch wide moldboard would make it easy work. Gil went by the shop but Brad had already left. The spindles were done. Tomorrow they could start cutting and shaping the other pieces and drilling the spindle holes.
Colt showed up at 1730 on the dot. Gil invited him in and introduced him to Grace, Billy and the twins, who decided to act silly and show off. The attached themselves to Colt and took his hands to lead him over to show him their favorite toys.
Grace giggled. She had never seen them act this way. Gil looked at Colt who was sitting on the floor with Alana, she showing him her doll house."
Billy helped his Dad get the twins seated in their chairs and everyone took their seats. Gil said a short blessing and plates were filled. Billy talked about having finished the deer hide and Mollie going to measure him tomorrow for his buckskins.
Gil's phone buzzed with a message, which he ignored.
After dinner Grace shooed the men out of the kitchen, Billy taking the twins. Gil and Colt retired to the Great Room.
"How did you sleep in the TinyHouse last night?"
"Best I've had in a while."
"I thought you might. It's almost as good as sleeping in the woods, but don't do that around here."
"Why is that?"
"The wooded areas on this side of the ridge are sown with sensors. It makes people nervous when the alarms go off."
"I imagine it would. You've had problems?"
'Yeah, once."
"Well, I think I'll head on back down. I'll see you all tomorrow."
"Yeah, I've still got some messages to answer. You have a good night." Gil said.
Gil watched as Colt got in the Polaris and went back down the ridge. Reaching for his phone, he read the message and headed for his office. Turning on the computer screen, he brought up the Packet Radio program, scrolled down and found the message he was looking for. He took a screen shot and printed it out. Looking at the message, he pulled down the correct volume and began deciphering the message.
"Dmp et exc blue chip. Tngs are moving."
Gil sent a pre-planned text to his broker. He hoped he wasn't to late, but on the other hand, it really wouldn't matter. He had more than a couple of generations following him needed anyway.
The next morning Gil paid close attention to the weather. Areas southwest of Chicago, were getting hit with some of the heaviest snow they had seen in 40 years, and it was heading their way. Gil hoped the Jetstream would get to moving and shove the system away from them but he wasn't going to take any chances. He called Don and warned him what was coming so he could warn his people and give them time to prepare.
Billy went with his Dad down to the equipment barn and helped him prepare to mount the snow blades on the Gators and check them over.
"Go ahead and go up and feed the animals, feed them double. If the weather holds, do the same thing this evening. I'll handle the wildlife feeders. When we're done, we'll mount the blades on and get things ready as much as we can." Billy took off.
Gil heard hammering coming from the firewood storage area and went to check it out. Colt was there making kindling with the Kindling Cracker, He already had a big pile done.
Gil went to the equipment barn and came back with a roll of baling wire and a pair of fence pliers.
"Morning Colt."
"Morning Gil. I checked the weather this morning. We could be in for a mess. I thought I'd get a bunch of kindling cut up for everyone."
Gil made up an 18" bundle of kindling and secured it with two pieces of baling wire.
"I've got to go fill the deer and other animal feeders. I'll be back in a while."
"Okay Gil. How many bundles do I need to make?"
"Oh, two for each house, I guess. Six should be fine."
Gil went over first and cleaned the ashes out of the greenhouse furnace and loaded it up with wood. Filling the back of the Gator with buckets of feed, he filled all the feeders he had scattered around and was back in a couple of hours. Colt had finished making the kindling bundles and had even made four more which he threw on tops of the pallets of wood and covered the pallet back up with its the tarp. Brad came over and was using the tractor with the forks to deliver two more pallets of wood for each house and getting them tarped down. Colt followed him to each house and sat two bundles of kindling on each porch. The could feel the steady drop of the temperature. As they were finishing up getting the pallet tarps secured and the equipment put away, Shannon pulled up towing a U-Haul trailer. Gil walked over as she got out of the car.
"Looks like you made it just in time!"
"I've been hitting areas of sleet for the last 2 hours. Do you think it's going to get as bad as they're saying now? They hadn't even mentioned this two days ago."
"Too busy selling commercials. If you're ready to unload we'll help so you can get the trailer turned in and not incur any more charges."
Gil, Brad and Colt started carrying things in, stacking them in the open loft area and was soon joined by Billy. They quickly unloaded the 8x10 trailer and the men left. Shannon turned the trailer in at the U-Haul Service Center on Armstrong Road and quickly got back to Bluff View.
Gil and Brad cut the parts for the cradle out of the panels they had glued together, shaped them and did a light sanding with the balloon sander. Gil set up the drill press and Brad marked the spindle holes then drilled them out. After drilling the holes, they again ran the pieces through the balloon sander to knock off any sharp edges. They set up a folding and laid a sheet of 6-mil plastic down and gave each piece a coat of Baby Safe Crib Finish.
"We could give it another coat but it really isn't necessary. When we do the crib, we will put two coats on that."
"Do you already have plans for that?"
"Yep. It's a convertible crib. Converts from a crib to a toddler bed, daybed and full size bed with headboard so you don't have to keep buying more baby furniture. But first, we need to build a changing table. We'll have to play it by ear on when we start on that."
"Okay, it's getting late. I'll stop by and fill the furnace at the greenhouse." Brad said.
"Thanks. I'll go do the house furnace then."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 3, 2021 21:42:41 GMT -6
Chapter 114
Gil walked into the house and the delicious smell of chili assaulted his senses. Hanging up his coat and hat, Gil went directly to the kitchen. Grace and Mollie were there with the twins feeding them their dinner.
"Man, that smells good!" Gil said.
"I thought it would be a good meal for the weather." Grace said. "There will be cornbread muffins too."
Gil watched as the twins devoured the pureed stuff babies seemed to like then poured himself a glass of iced tea.
"Gil. Who was that man that was delivering the kindling today?"
"That's Colt Bennigan. He and I served in the same unit together. He's having some issues and needed a quiet place to work them out so I offered him the TinyHouse to stay in. Crap! I forgot to give him a radio. I'm going to run him down one and some chili."
Grace got up and filled a 32 ounce container and wrapped a couple of muffins while Gil went and collected a radio and a base charger to take to Colt. When he got down to the TinyHouse, Colt was by the firepit drinking coffee.
"I forgot to give you a radio and Grace sent you some chili. Are you going to be all right here with this storm?"
"Hell Gil, we've lived in snow caves for days up in the arctic. If the heat and power go off, I have an alcohol stove and plenty of alcohol. I could lay out here with my sleeping gear if I need to."
"Okay, well, the net is operational 24/7 if you need to call us for anything. As soon as the storm clears, Billy and I will be out and about getting the roads cleared. We'll do the one to here first."
"Okay Gil. I'll be fine. Thank Grace for me."
"Sure thing." Gil said, as the snowflakes began to fall.
Gil woke at 4:00. He could faintly hear the wind blowing outside. He got up, showered and put on his thermals, cargo pants, flannel shirt and boots. Grabbing his vest and radio, he went downstairs and made a pot of coffee. Checking the deck, it already had a foot of snow on it. Looking out the door to the porch, he could see snow stuck to the screens on the other side of the storm windows. Looking at the weather radar, the edge of the storm was still about a hundred miles to their north/northwest. That was bad. They already had 12 inches of snow and the storm hadn't even reached them. Gil turned on the news out of Knoxville and they were all harbingers of calamity. Everything was closing but their mouths. He switched over to WTNZ FOX 43 and they seemed to be a lot calmer. It wasn't the end of the world there and they were giving calm advice on how to get through this 100-year event. He didn't even bother tuning in to the Kingsport-Bristol stations. They were nothing but propaganda mouthpieces for the Democrat Party. The only thing they couldn't lie about was it was snowing.
Gil turned the thermostat up a couple of degrees and poured a mug of coffee. Walking into the Great Room, he began watching hunting shows he'd recorded until Grace got up at 0600. She came down in her thick robe and got a cup of coffee and turned on the oven to pre-heat. Going into the Great Room, she sat on Gil's lap.
"Well, Good Morning, Sunshine." Gil grinned.
"How bad is it?" Grace mumbled.
"Oh, there's around 12 inches and the major portion of the storm hasn't even reached us yet. Don't bother turning on any channel but FOX 43 or you may go into the panic mode."
They heard the oven beep.
"I'm going in and put some cinnamon rolls on." Said Grace getting up.
By the time the kids woke up, which woke Billy because they were standing in their crib shouting his name, four more inches had accumulated and the snow was falling heavier. By 10:00, when the twins went down for a morning nap, 6 more inches had fallen. Gil checked the weather map and they were about 1/3 way through the storm. The storm was beginning to move more to the east, which was good for some, bad for others, because it put Rogersville longer under the storm's influence than if had continued going on its original path.
They finished the last of the chili for lunch but Grace had a chicken boiling to make chicken and dumplings for dinner that night. They heard a vehicle pull up outside and looked out the window to see Mollie and Shannon hurrying up the steps of the covered porch. Gil hurried out and moved the Polaris so the front was turned into the wind. When he went back inside, Mollie was making hot chocolate.
"What in the world are you two doing out in this weather!?!" Gil asked.
"We got bored playing Gin Rummy," Mollie said, "and I wanted to see my babies."
"They're asleep." Grace grinned.
"I can wait." Mollie grinned back.
"Aunt Mollie! You said you wanted to bring Billy his buckskins for him to try on."
"Well yes, there was that too." Mollie admitted.
Mollie picked up the bag she brought in and pulled out the buckskin pants, tunic and the 3" wide girdle belt for the tunic. The pants were held up by an 1 1/2" belt.
"Gil, would you have Billy come down?" Grace called out.
Gil went and got Billy who came immediately down the stairs. His eyes got big when he saw the buckskins.
"Go try these on and see if they fit." Mollie said.
Billy soon returned, looking like a young plainsman, the fringes on the tunic and pant legs bouncing around as he moved.
"These are great Grandma Mollie!"
Mollie looked at Billy with pride.
Grace got up and started making dough for the dumplings. Mollie got out the pastry mat to cut the dumplings out.
|
|
|
Post by udwe on Dec 3, 2021 21:57:00 GMT -6
Love this story!
|
|
|
Post by cavsgt on Dec 3, 2021 22:20:44 GMT -6
Thank You Thank You Thank You
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Dec 3, 2021 22:55:29 GMT -6
Another fine update.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 4, 2021 19:26:07 GMT -6
Chapter 115
Gil's message to his stock broker had triggered an emergency action he had talked to her about months ago. On receipt of the message she was to liquidate all stocks except for long-standing blue chip stocks and turn the receipts into gold and junk silver. He would have to settle up with the tax people but by that time things could be so far down the toilet….well.
After 38 hours of continuous snow, Rogersville and its environs were locked in with 28 inches of snow. Even parts of I-81 and I-40 had to be closed due to the lack of snow removal equipment. Gil and Billy got the Gators out and warmed up and began moving the snow off the road to the TinyHouse and the drive. It was slow because of the depth of the snow until Brad put the blade on the tractor and skimmed off the first 14 inches of snow and then the Gator blades could handle it. It was still slow clearing the snow but faster than they were doing before. When they got over the ridge and down to the pasture, they stopped to feed and check on the pasture. They pushed back the snow in the pasture and turned off the electric fence. It wasn't going to work anyway until the snow melted away. They fed the hogs and cattle and continued clearing the snow to the main road. Retracing their route to the pasture, they cleared Annie's Cutoff to the Gay's house and then did their drive to the main road. The county was having a hard time clearing roads so Don got out a road grader and cleared Melinda Road up to the intersection at 11 West. Don cleared a road to one of his equipment operators and then another. They went to the construction company and they soon had a front end loader filling a dump truck, hauling snow to the TVA boat ramp and dumping the snow into the river. The county was finally able to get enough operators in to run road graders and dump trucks and slowly the county began to come out from under the heavy blanket of snow.
Colt even drove a dump truck for Don. It felt good doing something to help the community. They had dumped so much snow at the boat ramp they had to bring in a bulldozer to further push the snow into the river. It was a long day for everyone and the Bluff View women made sure their men were taken care of. Grace and Mollie kept the coffee, hot chocolate, sandwiches, jerky and pemmican coming and Billy, Allie and Shannon delivered it to Don's workers.
Colt had just finished dumping another load of snow at the boat ramp and as he was pulling away, was waved down by a lady. Colt stopped and the lady jumped up on the running board, handing him a thermos and a brown paper bag.
"There's hot coffee, a sandwich, jerky and pemmican." Shannon. Said.
"Oh, hi. Shannon, right?"
"Yes. Oh you're one of the guys that helped unload the trailer. You left too quick for me to thank you."
"No thanks needed. Thanks for the coffee and food."
Shannon jumped down off the running board and watched the driver gear up and head back to town.
Rogersville was quickly back to normal activities. The city council gladly paid for the fuel Don had used to help the community. The temperatures were gradually warming and the snow was melting off. The peninsula of ice formed at the boat ramp melted much slower.
Steve called and said they had the gate in. He wanted to schedule the next Wednesday to install it. Gil okayed it and Steve said he'd be flying in early on Wednesday morning.
Colt was returning up the southeast side of the ridge on his morning run when he had to sidestep to the side of the road when a car came around the curve. The driver quickly slow when she saw the man and made a wide a berth around him as the road allowed.
"That's that girl Shannon." Colt thought.
"That's the guy from the dump truck," Shannon thought.
Brad looked at the plans for the changing table and began pulling out boards. Gil helped putting the boards through the planer and only said something when Brad was getting to do something wrong, then explained why he should do it another way. This project was Brad's and Gil was only there to train.
After days of single digit temperatures at night, it seemed balmy at 38 degrees as Colt sat beside the firepit gazing into the fire. He tensed up when he felt someone approaching down the drive and slid his hand under the parka.
"Hi!"
Colt's head turned and he recognized the woman.
"Hi yourself. Come one up and enjoy the fire."
Shannon took the other seat and picked up a stick and threw it into the fire.
"Little late for a casual stroll on a cold night." Colt said.
"Yeah, I guess. I was just restless and wanted the fresh air." Shannon replied.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Sometimes this firepit draws me like a magnet. The fresh air, the stars, the quietness, they all have their own magnetism."
"The fire is nice." Shannon said.
"Would you like some hot chocolate?" Colt asked.
"That would b nice." Shannon said.
Colt moved the small red enameled coffee pot closer to the fire and went inside the little cabin. Coming back out of the cabin with two mugs, Colt sat back down into his chair. Taking two packs of Swiss Miss chocolate out of the bag sitting beside his chair, he opened and dumped a packet into each cup, added water and set the mugs back down. Taking a pair of wooden chopsticks out of his pack, he stirred the chocolate, handing her a mug.
"Were those chopsticks clean?" Shannon asked.
"Of course they are. I lick them clean after every use." Colt said, licking the chopsticks and placing them back into his pack."
"Funny, Ha Ha." Grinned Shannon. "We've never been introduced."
Colt looked at her for a few moments, studying her.
"My name is Colter Bennigan. Most people call me 'Colt'."
"I'm Shannon Foster. I'm pleased to meet you."
They sat in silence drinking their hot chocolate, no words spoken. Drinking the last of her chocolate, Shannon stood up. I guess I need to get to bed. What should I do with the mug?"
"Just leave it on the chair arm. I'll take it in later."
"Okay. Good night. This was nice."
"Good night. Yes, it was nice. Stop by again any time."
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 4, 2021 19:27:39 GMT -6
Chapter 116
Gil watched the news and was amazed. The news readers were screaming that hundreds of thousands, even millions of investors we losing money in the latest downturn of the market. Gil had trimmed his tree a bit, but didn't really lose any money. If you made money, but didn't make as much money as you had dreamed of, was that losing?" It was confusing as listening to Democrats during a budget session. If they didn't get as much money for a worthless, never-ending social program, they accused the right of stealing from the unfortunate. Every time Gil heard that, the scene popped up in Gil's mind of the scene in the Jones' movie where Jones was confronted with a big-ass swordsman. Jones just took out his pistol and removed the irritant.
Steve did fly in early. Gil was flipping pancakes when he got the call on the radio from Steve. Gil called on their local channel and asked Colt to bring Steve to the house for breakfast.
"Man! You guys got a lot of snow! From Maynardville all the way to here, there is nothing but white. Some of the roads aren't even cleared yet! How did you all fair?
"Just another day in paradise. We removed the snow to get around, even pitched in and helped the city and county get Rogersville unburied. Hardly a hiccup."
"Did you get your stuff liquidated?"
"Yeah, I really don't know what everyone is screaming about. It's a market adjustment. People are screaming that they have lost so much money. They were either unrealistically overextended or they did a little better than break even, or even worse, waited too long."
"Yeah." Steve said. "Some people can't tell the difference between dreams and reality. The best they can do is quit bitchin' and keep on pitchin'. The trucks will be here around 0930. I need your tractor with the trencher attachment."
"No problem. Let's eat breakfast first. How do you want your eggs?"
Grace came down before they finished and sat drinking coffee until they finished, sometimes taking a bite off Gil's plate. When they had finished, she ran them out to get to work. She'd do the dishes.
Colt followed them down to the equipment barn and they attached the trencher onto the PTO of the tractor and Steve drove it up to the site. Gil called Don and he soon showed up with the generator. Colt and Steve were using shovels to clear snow away. Gil ran back down the ridge and got a weed burner to melt the snow also. Billy came through on his way to the pasture to take care of the animals. When they dug the holes for the support posts, they were actually lucky. They were able to dig down far enough to install the four sunken bollard posts that would anchor the gate frame in place. When the trucks arrived, they parked the truck carrying the laser cutter down at the pasture. They wouldn't be needing it after all. After setting the posts and securing and filling them with fast setting concrete they laid the cables and poured the base foundation for the tire ripper.
"The biggest series of this gate is rated at K-15. That means they ran a 15-ton truck into it at 20 miles per hour and the gate didn't budge. Because of the incline here to the gate, you only needed this one, rated at K-8." Steve explained. "Now, all we need to do is let this set overnight and we can install the rest tomorrow."
They laid an emergency access ramp down over the concrete pad then tented the area with large tarps and set the kerosene jet burner inside to keep the concrete from freezing. Steve sent his crew to their motel and grabbing his travel pack, went back down to the house with Gil, Brad and Colt. Putting their equipment away, they went back toward the house but Gil went right on by and up the ridge to the shelf.
"Well, Steve, you said you wanted to spend the night here, so here you are."
Colt got out of the Polaris and looked around, a puzzled look on his face.
"Colt, it's time you learned another secret about this place." Gil said.
Brad went over and unlocked the wooden door and swung it back. Gil walked in, unlocked the blast door and turned the lights on. Letting everyone in, Gil secured the door. Steve and Colt were amazed at what had been done inside. Brad went over and built a fire in the firepit and set up a pot of coffee. Gil gave Colt and Steve the grand tour and by the time they had made their rounds of the chambers, the coffee was ready, Brad poured everyone an insulated mug of coffee and they took seats around the fire.
"Gil, this is amazing. You have done a lot of work since the last time I was here!"
"Well, we've all spent a lot of time here getting everything set up." Gil admitted.
"What is this place for?" Colt asked.
"In case things turned really bad. I got the idea from Dave Marcos. He was telling me how the natives up in the Yukon would build an emergency house in case their primary dwelling wasn't usable for whatever reason. This is our 'home away from home'."
"Looks like you have everything covered." Colt said.
"Well, I'm coming up short on the medical side. I was hoping you could help out on that." Gil said.
"Sure."
They sat and talked the next couple of hours away, then heard the blast door open. Billy came through with a basket containing 5 ribeye steaks, 5 freshly baked potatoes, wrapped to keep them hot, and a storage container filled with salad.
"Momma said I could eat with you." Billy said.
Gil got the grill insert and sat it in the fire pit. Each guy got his steak and took it over to the counter and seasoned them to their desire. Each man cooked his own steak. Gil decided they needed a few more sets of long tongs and wrote a note in his field notebook.
When they had finished eating, Steve leaned back and grunted.
"This is the life. That sterile place is good for the wife, I guess, but I'd trade for this any day."
Gil got up and got four bottles of mead and stoneware mugs and passed them out.
"You've got to be kidding me! I want political asylum!" Steve exclaimed.
Brad chuckled. "Yeah, life is hard around here."
Billy went back to the house and the men sat a told war stories the rest of the afternoon.
Colt listened and laughed at the humorous stories and felt the solemnity of the others along with the other men. Not one time that afternoon did a dark thought or feeling cross Colt's mind.
The medium crane truck Steve's crew had brought easily set the 1500 pound gate into position. Part of the crew was welding, part was installing the drive motor and chain, another crew was connecting activation rods. Gil could see how when the gate was fully open it pull the rod that allowed the tire buster to completely go beneath the top plate. After the welds were cool a little touch up painting was done and the job was finished. One of the men showed Gil and Brad how to program the keypads and the 4 remote openers. The cautioned them to wait until the gate was fully closed before continuing on to make sure the gate was fully closed. If it didn't, they showed them how to go into the manual control box to close the gate. The solar panel was already charging the battery so there shouldn't have any problems there. Steve's crew secured their equipment and got ready to head out. Gil gave each of the men a bottle of his vodka and they left with a smile.
Gil took Steve back to the house and paid him in cash, a cup of coffee and a late lunch.
"Well, what's on your agenda now? Steve asked.
"Well, I want to hang more lights in the Chamber. That's almost 2000 feet of 3/8 inch cable I will eventually use. That's going to go slow because we'll have to drill the holes for the expanding rock anchors."
"I'm jealous." Steve said. "I've got a good place but I think I'd be a lot more happy if I had more sweat into it. You have something you can mold into what you want and need."
"Well, if it weren't for me finding that chamber, I would have probably ended up putting something like you have in. I'll have to admit it has been satisfying shaping this into what we want."
Gil drove Steve back down to the hangar, along with a dozen tomatoes Grace had sent went them. Gil watched as Steve took off then went to check on Brad's building project.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 4, 2021 19:34:54 GMT -6
Chapter 117 Gil ordered the cable through the Co-op and rented the pneumatic rock drill in Kingsport and ordered the anchors, but it would take two weeks to get the anchors in. At least he could get the holes drilled. This would be the hardest work they had done in a while. They needed a 12" deep hole, at a minimum, and it took an hour to go 12 inches. One man couldn't drill constantly for an hour. For right now, he'd help Brad finish the changing table so he would be available to swap out on the drill.
Brad was putting the last coat of the Baby Safe Crib Finish on the changing table when Gil walked in.
"Looks good, Brad. Did you pick out drawer pulls and knobs?"
"Yeah. Since we don't know the sex of the baby yet I just picked out plain ceramic ones."
"They'll look good. When are you giving these to Allie?"
"She and Mollie are going into town in the morning. I'll be able to sneak them into the house."
Shannon walked out of the cabin and pulled her gloves on. She had planned to walk up to the gate and back, but something pulled her in a different direction. Looking across the airfield, she could see the faint glow of a fire and headed that way. As she drew nearer, she saw Colt sitting by the fire drinking from a cup through a straw.
"Hi."
"Oh, hi, Shannon. Have a seat.
"What is that you're drinking?"
"Yerba-maté. It's an herbal tea. Want to try it?"
Shannon shrugged so Colt handed her the cup. She looked at it in the firelight. The cup looked to be made out of a cow horn. The top and bottom were covered with a silver rim. On the side was carved "Guerrero De Las Estepas."
"What does the inscription mean?" Shannon asked.
"Warrior of the Steppes."
The straw in the cup was made of silver and had a sort of strainer at the end in the cup. The cup contents looked disgusting. She took a sip from the straw. It was disgusting!
"That's nasty!"
"It is an acquired taste."
"And you like this?"
"It calms me. Like coffee, it has caffeine in it."
"Where did you learn to drink this?" Shannon asked, handing the cup back to Colt.
"I used to go down to Argentina for two months each summer to stay with my Grandfather on his Estancia. The gauchos on the ranch introduced me to Gancia and yerba-maté. When you make it with hot water, it is called 'maté'. Brewed cold, it is called 'tereré'."
"Have you been back lately?"
"No, my Grandfather died a few years ago and I inherited the estancia but I sold it off after a while. Without Grandfather, it wasn't the same."
"How big was the ranch…er….estancia?"
"Almost 67,000 hectares or 165,000 acres."
"Wow! I'd be lost in a place that big."
"Yeah, that was in another time, another place."
"What brings you out tonight? Restless again?"
"Not really. Sitting in an office most of the day and walking around in heels ties my muscles in knots. I need to walk in the evenings."
"What do you do?"
"I'm the head of commercial accounts at Bank of America in Greeneville."
"Oooooo…I'm in the presence of an executive!"
"Hush. It's stressful work."
"I'm sure. So you moved here from Nashville for the job?"
"Well, the job was a promotion. Being able to be near Aunt Mollie and Allie was an unexpected blessing. They're the only relatives I have left in the state."
"Can I get you something to drink? There's a bottle of wine in there. It might wash the taste of the mate out of your mouth."
"Well, if it isn't any trouble."
"No problem." Colt grunted as he pushed himself out of the chair.
Shannon added a couple of more pieces of firewood to the fire.
Colt brought her wine out and handed it to her.
"Thank you. So, what do you do?"
"Just what you see me doing now….and I'm good at it!"
"I can see that, but how can you afford not to have a job?"
"Remember? I sold a 185,000 acre ranch. I only work for fun. Right now I'm having fun helping Gil with whatever muscle he needs."
Shannon laid her head back. "I didn't get to see the stars like this in Nashville."
"Yeah, I can imagine. I love it out here….."
"Oh! Look at the time! You need some side tables down here." Shannon said, setting the wine glass on the arm of the chair. Have a nice evening."
"Good night Shannon." Colt said, watching her blend into the darkness.
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Dec 4, 2021 23:01:02 GMT -6
Thanks for another fine update. This is a great tale.
|
|
|
Post by ydderf on Dec 6, 2021 9:20:49 GMT -6
looks like Colt has found a love interest and a reason for being.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 6, 2021 16:58:37 GMT -6
Chapter 118
When Shannon had finally disappeared Colt turned his eyes back to the fire. He had been on edge the last couple of days because the nightmares hadn't occurred. Usually they would have hit him again by now but he had been sleeping soundly every night, usually until around 0500. Well, there wasn't anything he could do about the dreams anyway so he decided not to dwell on them until they came. He got up out of the chair, laid the spark arrestor screen over the pit then grabbed the cup and wine glass and went in for the night.
"Where in the world have you been? I was about to call Gil to go find you!" Mollie said.
"I took a walk, and then I saw Colt sitting by his firepit and I went down to visit for a while."
"Honey, you can't fool me. The hangar blocks a view of the little cabin from here, so you must have seen the glow from the fire and walked directly there, didn't you?"
"I suppose so. Aunt Mollie, what do you know about him?"
"Very little. I think he was here three or four days before I knew anybody was living down there. There seems to be a sadness to him though. He tries not to show it, but it's there. The more I see of him, the less I see of it, so he must be getting over whatever it is."
"Look at the time! I need to get to bed. I'll see you in the morning Aunt Mollie."
"Good night Sweety."
Rather than rent scaffolding Gil purchased a forklift safety cage. It would work just as well and would be easier to move around. He just needed the extra hands to swap off drilling. Gil got the rock drill and borrowed the compressor from Don and was getting everything together in the Chamber. Brad had gone with Allie to a doctor's appointment so Colt helped Gil with the laser measurer and got the holes marked on the walls. Gil wanted to string 5 cables to begin with. He wanted to string five 48 foot sets of LED string lights on the cables ten feet above the floor over the kitchen, eating and firepit area. Each string of lights drew 22 watts of power and he wanted to see what kind of drain it put on the battery bank.
Colt lifted Gil and the safety cage up to a comfortable level to drill the first hole After Gil had been drilling for ten minutes, Colt came up the extension ladder and continued to drill. They found it was easier than they thought and it became easier when Brad came back and jumped into the rotation. It didn't take quite an hour to drill first hole. Gil had done a little over kill and ordered the larger of the 3-inch rock anchors. While they were up there, he inserted the 14-pound rod into the hole and turned it with a large pipe wrench until he couldn't turn it any more. Each anchor was supposed to hold 17,000 pounds so they figured they would hold 300 feet of 3/8 inch cable. They only got five of the ten holes drilled but they could finish those in the morning.
They started early the next day and finally tightened the last anchor around 1400.
"Man! Let's hold off drilling any more holes for a few weeks!" Brad said.
"I'm with you on that!" Gil chuckled. As a matter of fact. I want to run some tests for a month to see how the system handles them. I'm going to upgrade the storage capacity but I wanted to make sure I added enough. If everything turns out ok, I want to run cables to illuminate the housing areas and the toilet areas, then back to the storage chamber."
"Well, do you want to start string the cable tomorrow?" Brad asked.
"Yeah, I'll get the hardware and tools together this afternoon and bring the spools of cable up in the morning. We can start round 0900."
They shut everything down, locked up and went home.
Gil parked the trailer next to the door and started carrying the boxes of hardware into the Chamber. Colt and Brad pulled up and began grabbing the other things, except for the cable, out of the trailer. They ended up making an axle out of a length of pipe, attaching a rope to the axle and pushed/pulled the roll of cable into the chamber.
"Okay, first cable." Gil said. "Let's just roll out the cable to the other end of the chamber. I need that and an extra six feet. We'll attach everything first on the far end and tighten everything at this end."
They rolled all the cable out first, cut it, the rolled out the other two cables. Taking their rechargeable drills, they looped the cable through the rock anchor eye and clamped the cable together with three clamps. Once they had the cables attached at that end of Chamber, they took the forklift to the other end to do the tightening. Colt and Brad were getting the cable through the anchor eye and a couple of cable clamps loosely on the cable while Gil was securing the portable 10,000 pound winch to the frame of the forklift and attaching a battery. Pulling out cable from the winch drum, Gil attached a cable tensioner clamp to the winch cable and clamped their cable. Lifting the cage up so it was a near level with the cable as they could get it, Gil began tightening the cable until they had about a 3-inch sag in the middle. Brad quickly tightened the clamps on the cable and added a third. The other cables went up even more quickly. They had all the cables up well before noon.
They strung up the 48' lengths of lights and Gil attached them to a timer plugged into an outlet in the kitchen area. Gil set the lights to burn 16 hours on then 8 hours off until he got and idea on how it would effect the power consumption and charging. With a sigh of relief, they gathered their tools their tools and locked up.
Gil went back up the next afternoon and looked at all the graphs on the computer monitoring the power system. He looked at the histories of charging and consumption and was pleased with what he was seeing. He still wanted to run the test for 30 days because the batteries didn't charge exactly the same every day. He would still get extra batteries.
"You and the girls should go up and take a look at the lights in the Chamber. It is much brighter in there now." Gil told Grace.
"We can go in the morning. I'll give the girls a call."
The next morning Gil and Brad escorted the ladies, including Shannon, to the Chamber. The light timer was in its 8-hour 'off' period so Gil had to turn the lights on.
"Oh! This is much better!" Mollie exclaimed.
"But it could be better." Grace said.
"What?....How?" Gil sputtered.
"A lot of light is being lost to the upper part of the Chamber. The lights need reflectors to put more light down here."
Gil looked up. "Yeah, I guess so. I suppose I could get a roll of flashing and cut out reflectors."
"We can do it. I know just the trick." Brad said.
Gil turned the lights back off and the women went back to the Conner house. Gil and Brad went to the shop.
"How do you propose to do this? Gil asked.
"Easy, my friend. There's a sheet metal place down on main street. All you have to do is draw out your specifications. We get a bunch of them made, spray then with primer and a gloss white enamel and put them together with a couple of self-tapping sheet metal screws. Voilà!
"Good idea. Let's make it happen."
Gil drew out on paper the dimensions they needed and the amount. Brad took the drawing down to get the order processed and Gil went and bought a case of primer and a case of glossy white spray paint. Three days later they got the donut disks back and drilled the holes for the screws in them. Gil had built a rack to hand the disks on and they applied primer to them all. When the primer was dry, they applied the glossy white enamel. When the disks were dry, they took them up to the Chamber and attached them to the light sockets. It was definitely an improvement. Gil didn't bother telling Grace. She would find out when she found out.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 6, 2021 16:59:35 GMT -6
Chapter 119
Gil took the rock drill back to Kingsport and talked them into selling it. They didn't get many rentals off of it anyway so they sold it to him at a big discount. He took the extra bits they had on hand also.
Colt was getting information on medical suppliers in the area. He made up af list of things they should have on hand for all types of emergencies. Once he had his plan in order, he would present it to Gil.
Grace, Mollie and Allie were in the greenhouse planting seeds for the spring garden crops in peat starter cups.
"How is Colt getting along?" Mollie asked.
"He seems to be doing well. He looks a lot better than he did when he got here." Replied Grace.
"Shannon seems to have taken an interest in him." Mollie said
Grace stopped what she was doing, a look of concern on her face.
"Mollie, when Colt got here, he was tormented by nightmares about an incident that happened to him. Several of his team members were blown up and only he survived. He was the team medic and there was nothing he could do to save them. It has eaten him to death. From what Gil told me, it effected a relationship with a long-time girlfriend of his and she left him. I don't know how he would handle another relationship."
"That's sad." Mollie said. "A body only has only so many years on this earth and you should have as many happy days as you can get."
"That won't scare Shannon off." Allie said. "If she's interested, she's not gonna quit."
"Well, I hope they are both careful." Mollie said. "There's enough pain in this world without a addin' to it."
Gil looked through his brewing supplies and decided to put together a batch of mash for a run of rye whiskey. He had enough wooden kegs to age a good batch. Out of a 20-gallon batch, only a little over 5 gallons would be really good quality whiskey. Since he was going for quality instead of quantity he didn't care if he had all the waste. The pigs still ate the mash.
After heating up the mash in the brew kettles and getting it cooled down to 70 degrees, Gil removed the mash and strained the wort into the four carboys and put in the bungs and airlocks. After washing everything up, he moved the carboys with the barrel truck over next to the wall. He stood there looking around, visualizing how he could set this area up better for his distilling operations. He went and got a tape measure and began measuring and taking down notes. He had room to build a 20x20 foot open top enclosure with shelves and cabinets inside to hold his supplies and equipment. He could even run his still in there with the gas burner until sometime in the future when propane might not be available, which he hoped wouldn't be too soon. When he had Jimmy put the propane tanks in, he had wet leg filler kits installed. He could refill his 20-lb tanks for something like $5.00 versus the $17.00 they charge you in town. They kept ten 20-lb tanks stored in the storage chamber so he only charged tanks when he had five empties.
"Hey, are you in the market for a forge setup?"
"I don't know Don, what kind of forge is it?"
"Well, this forge is 27" wide and 30" deep and stands 72" high, and has a foot pedal blower. There's a load of tools with it and about 50 bags of…let me see...it say's 'blacksmith coke'."
"Where are you?"
"I'll text you the address. Get here before anyone finds out about this."
Gil jumped in the Power Wagon and headed for the address, which was down near Whitesburg. As Gil got to the address, he saw Don's truck and one of his equipment haulers. A bulldozer and a BobCat were busy leveling an area about 25 yards from a house. Don walked up to Gil as he got out of the truck.
"We're doing some work to prepare for this lady's mama to move her trailer here. Mrs. Billings husband is a truck driver, or I should say was a truck driver. He was killed in an accident last month during that big storm. His hobby when he wasn't driving was building things out of iron. She's talking about selling the stuff to get some money. Come on, the forge is in this building over here."
They walked over to a shed-like building and went in. There was the forge and on the wall beside it was all kinds of forge tongs, cutters, pliers, and some other tools Gil didn't recognize. Along another wall were bags of coke. Gil looked at the name on the forge and searched for the name on his phone.
"This forge is made in England. Wonder how he got hold of it?"
"Is she at home?"
"Yes, she was just out a little while ago."
"Lets go talk to her."
Gil and Don walked up to the house and knocked on the door. A young woman, probably in her late twenties answered.
"Mrs. Billings, Don here was telling me you might be interested in selling the forge setup."
"Yes, I would, but I have no idea what to charge for it. Doug bought it as unclaimed freight for $250 dollars, sight unseen."
"Ma'am, I'll give you $5,000 for everything in the forge building."
"Well, yes, I'd be willing to let it go for that."
"I'll need to go get a trailer to haul it in and I'll bring you back cash."
"Thank you."
As they were walking away from the house Don commented. "You paid a little much for that, didn't you?"
"Well, the forge itself is around $2000, the coke another $500, I have no idea what the tools cost. The rest can go to the widows and orphan's fund. I'll be back in a little while.
"I'll be here. Carl's coming with the backhoe. We're also digging a septic tank in too."
Gil hurried home and rounded up Brad. They both attached trailers to their vehicles and headed back to pick up the forge and its appurtenances. They first disassembled the stovepipe and sat it aside They were able to move the forge stand onto the tilt-bed trailer and start packing things around it. When Brad began strapping everything down, Gil went to the house and knocked on the door. Mrs. Billings again came to the door. Gill handed her a thick envelope the $5,000.
"Here is your money Mrs. Billings."
"Did you get everything?"
"Yes Ma'am/"
"What about all that metal in the pole barn?"
"Uh….I didn't know about that."
"Come on, I'll show you."
The walked to a pole barn and inside was a heavy metal rack with all sizes of steel bars and blanks.
"Okay, I'll arrange to move this also. Thank you Mrs. Billings."
Gil went and found Don and told him what he had. Don walked back to the pole barn and took a look.
"We can load it all on the equipment haulers, even the rack. Are you going to build a shop for the forge?"
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"We can just hold everything over at the yard until you have something set up."
"Okay Don, thanks. We'll go ahead and get back.
When Gil and Brad got back to Bluff View they parked and unhitched the trailers beside the equipment barn then covered them with tarps.
They looked around and selected a place to build the forge building.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 6, 2021 17:00:53 GMT -6
Chapter 120
Gil and Brad measured and did rough sketches until they had something they agreed on. Gil sat down and figured up a materials list then checked the lumber barn and added shortages there to his list. He called the building supply company and ordered everything to be delivered. He heard Grace, Billy and the twins come in and went downstairs.
"Come on you two," Gil heard Billy say, "let's go wash the dirt off your hands."
Gil walked into the kitchen where Grace was washing carrots in the sink. Walking up behind her, Gil wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the ear.
"You disappeared on me today." Grace said.
"You could have called me. I went to pick up a deal Don found."
"Feel like breaded pork chops tonight?" Grace asked.
'Sounds delicious. Whoa! I need to go check the furnaces and feed the wildlife."
"Billy did the greenhouse furnace before we came back here."
"Okay, I won't be long."
"Okay, mark it!"
Gil turned off the laser level and took a drink of water."
"What did you do with the drawing? Brad" asked.
"It's over there on the clipboard."
"So, we need 7 holes dug?"
"Yeah. I was thinking of putting a 10x8 foot garage door in so we won't need a post in front."
Gil and Brad walked to the equipment shed, attached the auger onto the tractor and Brad drove it over. The three foot deep holes took no time to dig and took the auger back off to attach the forklift blades. Gil had purchased used twenty used 30 foot power poles from Hawkins Electric and after looking them over carefully, removed the ground wires and any nails they found and cut most of the poles into 15' lengths. The front posts would be ten feet and the rear corner post would be 8 feet, giving them around a 6% roof slope. They hauled the poles over one at a time and set them in their holes, one pole at a time, starting in the rear. After plumbing them, they secured them with braces and poured bags of Sakrete around the bases then ran water into the holes.
"Are you going to leave the floor dirt?"
"No, packed limestone gravel. Billy is going to get his first taste of a plate compactor."
Brad grinned. "Boy, he's going to be one tired puppy!"
They sorted a few things out and cut a post to use as a beam across the front of the shed and notched it out. With nothing else they were going to do for the rest of the day, they went over to visit the women in the greenhouse. The twins were doing their best to climb out of their playpen when they saw Gil. The women were preparing starter cups for seedlings.
"What week are these? Gil asked.
"This is the last week." Grace said, walking over to another bed. "Are these going to be enough watermelon plants?"
"Yeah, I'm going to turn a lot of the watermelons this year into watermelon moonshine instead of the pigs getting fat off of them."
"Go over there and wash your hands, Those kids have been yelling out your name since you started the chainsaw up."
Gil grinned and went over to the sink and washed his hands and wiped them on a towel then grabbed both of the kids up at the same time, lifting them out of the pen.
"Daddy!" Alana said, grabbing Gil's face with both her little hands.
Gil walked outside and took them over to the chicken coop to watch the chickens. Grace followed them with a basket of trimmings from the greenhouse and dumped them in the run; the chickens scrambling to get their share.
"It's about time some of these went into the stew pot, isn't it?" Gil asked.
"Yes, This next batch will be hatching in a couple of days. We'll see what we get out of that. We're getting about 4 dozen eggs a day out of them right now."
"What are you doing with the excess?"
"I give them to Reverend Jim to distribute. What do you think about letting him distribute some of our excess?"
"Fine with me. Think it through though. If you're giving out canned things, have some way to get the jars back and set a limit."
They were finished in the greenhouse for the day, so everyone went back to their houses. As Gil was going into the house, Colt drove up.
"Come on in!" Gil yelled over his shoulder as he opened the door to carry the kids in.
Colt came in as Gil set the two into their playpen and gave them a cookie each.
"Wjatcha got?" Gil asked.
"I've got a list of medical supplies I think you should have on hand."
Gil looked the list over. "Good. You've listed the suppliers too. Now, I want you too order everything. Once you've done that, I want you to look at one of the unclaimed rooms in the Chamber and see if it is suitable for use as a First Aid Room. If it isn't big enough, we'll build something bigger. I want comprehensive first aid kits for every house here to include the TinyHouse. Here's a Trust debit card. Keep the receipts."
"Roger that!" Colt grinned, then turned and left.
"He's getting better every time I see him." Grace said.
"He needed a sense of purpose. He doesn't have to work another day in his life but he needed to do something. Plus, I think he might be warming up to Shannon."
About that time, Mollie and Shannon walked in. "We've got fresh bread!" Mollie said.
"Good, then you have to stay and share the bread with the beef stew I've had simmering." Grace said, smiling.
"Uh, Shannon, would you go down and pick up Colt for dinner. I forgot to ask him to stay. He was so excited about his new project he rushed right out of here."
"Okay!"
They watched through the window as Shannon tore down the drive in the Polaris. Looking at each other, they were all grinning.
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Dec 6, 2021 19:49:37 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. A lot more work for someone in that forge.
|
|
|
Post by ydderf on Dec 7, 2021 10:01:57 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
|
|
|
Post by udwe on Dec 7, 2021 21:14:58 GMT -6
Thanks for the update, made me smile!
|
|
|
Post by texican on Dec 7, 2021 22:06:11 GMT -6
Yep, Colt is a goner.
Texican....
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 7, 2021 23:15:16 GMT -6
Chapter 121
Gil brought back a horn mug and a cold bottle of mead.
"Sorry I didn't tell you a bit ago about dinner. You left out of here so quick."
"Colt chuckled. "Yeah, I was excited about the project. What are you and Brad building?"
"Well, we're putting in a forge Don ran across. I've found myself at times having to do some metal work and it's a good setup."
"I'll get the medical supplies ordered tomorrow."
"That's fine. Do you have any idea on the aid room?"
"I wanted to lay something out and figure out the square footage. I'll have a better idea once I have a floorplan laid out."
"Come one guys! Let's eat!. Mollie called out."
Grace and Shannon were mashing up the vegetables from the stew in bowls for the twins and shredding the meat. They took their places at the table and Gil said the blessing. Mollie dished out the beef stew and passed the bowls out while they all began buttering their bread.
"I want to take some extra jars of jellies we have along with the eggs Sunday."
"We should go through everything and get rid of the oldest stock." Mollie replied.
"We can box up everything after yard sales Saturday."
"I've got to go over to the church to clean Thursday, why don't I just take everything over then?" Mollie said.
"That would work. We don't have anything pressing in the greenhouse tomorrow. We could pack up the extras and have them ready to take in."
"Gil, can you help us carry the boxes out of the storage chamber tomorrow?"
"Brad and I are working on the forge tomorrow."
"I can help." Colt said. I've got to be up there anyway."
"Good. Then that's settled. We can have everything loaded for Mollie then."
The women took care of the dishes while Colt and Gil went to the Great Room and checked the weather channel.
"That must have been a real freak storm that dumped on us."
"Yeah, we normally get a total of less than ten inches of snow a year on average."
"I'm glad that isn't a common occurrence."
The women soon joined them and Colt finally got up and said he was headed back down to the cabin.
"Shannon jump up. "I'll run you back down."
As they walked out the door, Mollie grinned. "I won't see her until about 11:00."
Shannon pulled up next to the cabin and got out, looking at Colt.
"Why don't you get the fire started?" She said, and sat down in "her" chair.
Colt reached into an ammo can he kept stored under the deck and tore off some toilet paper from a roll. Sprinkling magnesium filings onto the paper, he twisted the paper into a cylinder and stuck it beneath his kindling pyramid and added a few wood shavings on top of the paper. Taking the striker out of the Lightning Strike, Colt raked the steel down the ferro rod and showered the paper with sparks. The collection quickly began blazing. Replacing the box back under the stairs, Colt sat down.
"Aunt Mollie told me you came here with something dark in your past. Somehow, I feel it's keeping me from getting to know you better. I might not be doing this right, I'm not very practiced in the relationship field to know what all to do to bring us closer."
Colt sat staring in the fire, his mind in turmoil. He was fearful of what to say, not wanting to mess this up. Taking a deep breath, Colt told her the story of that horrible day in Afghanistan and the following months. When he finished, beads of sweat had formed at his temples. The took off his hat and dried his face with a bandana.
"Things have gotten better lately. The nightmares aren't coming around like they used to."
Shannon sat there switching from watching the fire to watching Colt's reactions then back to the fire.
"If it weren't for her abject stupidity, I wouldn't be sitting here with you now. There's no way in the world she could have loved you and left you when you needed her most." Shannon said.
They both sat there for several moments, just gazing into the fire.
Finally, Shannon broke the silence.
"But I could though, if you would give me a chance." She said softly. Colt looked intensely at her, weighing what she had said.
"You're the most amazing woman I've ever met. You're intelligent, self-confident, courageous….not afraid of failure. You have a strong sense of self…. obviously your own person. You are incredibly beautiful. And you love your family."
Colt thought for a second and added, "And your smile goes straight through me. Uh… I guess that sounded a bit weird."
Shannon smiled. "No, I get what you mean. On the rare times you've smiled at me, you've…uh…affected me the same way."
"Then maybe there's something there. But I need to take it slow so as not to make any mistakes."
"Yeah, me too. Like I said, I don't have a lot of experience at this." Shannon replied.
Shannon got up. "I guess I need to be getting back. I have to work in the morning."
Colt got up and watched her walk toward the Polaris.
"Wait! Don't I get at least a hug?" He said.
Shannon turned quickly and was in his arms in an instant.
"This is how I dreamed it would be." Shannon said, her words muffled by his shoulder.
Colt's arms tightened a little more and he hesitantly kissed the top of her head. She looked up at him and pulled him down to softly kiss his lips.
"Good night," She said.
"Good night." Colt said, as she skipped over to the Polaris. He watched as she started the UTV and head back up the farm road.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 7, 2021 23:17:12 GMT -6
Chapter 122
Brad snapped the chalk line and rolled it back into its case. Then Gil check the chainsaw and started it, cutting the pole tops off. When they had all the tops cut, they placed the rear header on and bolted it down. Placing the straps on the forge, they picked it up and placed the forge where they wanted it. After deciding exactly where they wanted it to go, they lifted it again and placed 8x8 two inch concrete squares under the legs and leveled everything. They again picked up the forge and set it back outside the perimeter of the building. Then it was Billy's turn. He began dumping the larger limestone gravel and leveled it with a rake. Using the plate compactor borrowed from Don, he began compacting the 3 inches of gravel down. Following this was a one inch layer of finer gravel and then limestone dust, slightly wetted down. By the time Billy was finished that evening, the floor was almost like concrete.
The next morning, they lifted the forge back on its blocks. After bolting in the front header they cut the first joist, then nailed it in place to make sure it was correct. The rest went in quickly. They nailed on the purlins, and the purlin ties and basically had that portion of the roof done by lunch. Grace called Gil on the radio and told them to come to the house for lunch.
"Did you get the excess stuff packed up?" Gil asked, dipping the corner of his grilled cheese into the tomato soup.
"Yes, we ended up with four cases of assorted things. They're packed in Mollie's car.
Colt had joined them for lunch and Gil asked him about the Chamber rooms..
"They are a bit small." Colt said. "I want to put cabinets in and have room for a cot. Where would be a good place for it.?"
"Pick a spot and mark it off. When we finish with the forge, we can get started on that."
After lunch, they got up and went outside. Gil and Brad headed for the forge while Colt headed back up to the Chamber.
Gil laid the first opaque PolyCarb corrugated panel sheet down and they screwed it to the purlins. They didn't even bother cutting them, leaving the foot and a half overlap. The next was a clear PolyCarb corrugated panel that would let in plenty of daylight. Billy helped them with the rest of the roof, keeping the panels coming up to them. They called it quits for the day and would finish the siding and frame on the garage door the next day.
By the time they finished up the forge building, it had plenty of light on the inside, but Gil still added a solar lighting unit for inclement days and if they had to work into the evening. Gil tried the forge out by making a couple of single trees from the stock that came with the forge. Gil had almost forgotten about it. He wished they'd thought about the rack sooner and had placed it in the building before the started putting the rest of the building up. But, the major parts were bolted together and it just took a lot of penetrating oil and a couple of long cheater bars to break the rusted nuts loose. They disassembled the rack and reassembled it inside on the west wall. There was a lot more steel there than he had thought but it was going to be what he needed for a lot of projects. Farmers always kept steel scrap around and he made a note to be on the watch for steel at the estate sales.
Colt brought a rough drawing for what he wanted to Gil. Gil looked at it and asked a few questions then redrew the plans to scale and made up a materials list. After ordering the materials, plus, They discussed the small clinics Colt had run before. After pulling all the information out of Colt he could, Gil started another list of medical items. They discussed different things and finally Colt told him of a few items that would be advantageous to have. He hadn't mentioned them before because they were expensive.
"Colt, if Shannon was laying sick or injured and that one item you thought was too expensive and didn't have would mean the difference between life and death, what would you think of me, or yourself?"
Colt added several things to the medical list and they got them ordered. Gil also added cleanroom wall panels and flooring to the order. Gil upgraded the Aid Room plans by adding a flat roof that was strong enough to store medical supplies and had a dumbwaiter to facilitate getting supplies down to the Aid Room.
Gil looked at his field layout and decided he didn't need to plant as much corn this year. They had ended up with more feed than they could use and he didn't have enough time to turn it all into moonshine. Re-arranging his field boundaries, he added some room for a few acres of oats also. There was also another three and a half acres on the other side of the ridge he could plant in oats. After a lot of internet searching he found a multi-grain harvester that could be used to harvest a variety of grains, to include corn and oats, with the proper attachments. They only thing he didn't like was it was made in India. He made several calls and finally found a dealer that would order one with its attachments. Gil placed the order then ordered heirloom oat seed. He would need to build another silo but he'd take care of that later. Spring was coming rapidly and they'd have to get the cover crops plowed under soon.
Mollie and Grace were going over canning supplies and making a list of what they'd need for the coming year.
"Colt was over for dinner last night." Mollie commented.
Grace's eyebrows rose. "Oh? Is this getting serious?"
"Could be. They haven't started taking showers together yet, at least I don't think they are, but they are spending a lot of time together." Gil walked in to a screaming stampede of toddlers. After picking both up and giving them kisses, Gil went into kitchen slowly dragging two monkeys clinging to his pant legs.
"Do we have any tick spray? I seem to have found two the guineas didn't get."
Alana squealed as Mollie picked her up.
"This is a really big tick!" Mollie said, tickling Alana.
Alana squealed some more and wriggled to be let down.
"What's up?" Gil asked.
"Oh, just going over our order for canning supplies we'll need this year." Answered Grace.
"Well, if we have room to store it, double the order on everything."
"That something I've been meaning to talk to you about. We have that one shipping container we've hardly got anything in. We could maybe even triple our order and not have to buy anything for canning for a while." Grace said.
"Do it. Fill it up. Things aren't going to get any cheaper."
While the women were coming the yard sales, Gil and Brad, with Colt filling in, finished the plowing and disking just as Grace called to remind them the "Spring Fling" Community Dance was that evening and they needed to get ready. They sprayed the equipment off and stored it in the equipment barn and headed to their individual homes.
Gil pulled on his Tony Lamas and stomped a couple of times and pulled one pant leg down a little more. Taking his western blazer out of the closet, he headed down stairs where Grace and Mollie were collecting baby things. Looking at the pile, the thought of hitching up the trailer.
"Don't forget the chairs." Grace reminded Gil.
"Where's Shannon?" Gil asked.
"She's riding with Colt." Mollie grinned.
"Hmph. I'll start loading." Gil said.
Grabbing the diaper bag and the portable high chairs, Gil began loading the back of the Suburban. "The pioneers didn't load half this stuff going across the country to California." Mumbled Gil.
Once everything was loaded, Grace and Mollie came out and strapped the twins in. Finally, they headed for the fairgrounds.
Shannon came out at Colt's knock. She had on tight jeans and a peasant blouse that almost made him break into a sweat.
"I hope you save me a dance." Gil said
Shannon stopped, a fake look of alarm on her face. "Oh! I'll have to check my dance card!."
She reached into her purse and pulled an imaginary card out and pretended to study it.
"I'm sorry Sir. It seems my dance card is full. All the entries have the initials 'C.B."
Shannon grinned and stepped up to Colt, giving him a quick kiss.
"Come on. Let's catch up with the others."
Grace found a space about forty feet from the band's gazebo and began hauling the playpen over. Grace and Mollie following with the twins. Once the twins were safely corralled, Mollie stayed with them and Grace helped Gil bring the other things. Allie and Brad showed carrying their chairs. Allie took Brad's chair and headed on over to where they were set up while Brad helped Gil and Grace with the rest of the things.
They were just getting settled in when Shannon and Colt set up their chairs with them.
|
|
|
Post by ncsfsgm on Dec 7, 2021 23:18:28 GMT -6
Chapter 123
Gil got up when the music started and took Grace out to Dance, followed by the other two couples. All the men rotated taking Mollie out for her to kick up her heels. The kids didn't last all that long. Soon, despite the music, they were snuggled up to each other wrapped in their blankets, sound asleep.
Later in the evening, Shannon and Colt had been dancing for a while when a slow song came up. They were pressed together as they swayed to the music. Shannon pulled herself closer and whispered in Colt's ear.
"Take me home."
Colt was surprised. He thought they were having a great time, but now she wanted to go home. He pulled back to look at her. She saw the look on his face and began giggling.
"Oh, you silly man. I meant take me to YOUR home."
Sunday, after church, Reverend Jim got Gil off to the side.
"Gil, I have a problem and need some advice."
"Sure Reverend, how can I help?"
"The land the church I on is leased for a period of 50 years. The lease us coming up and the present owners don't want to renew it.
"Hm-m-m-m. Okay, let me think on this. I'll give you a call."
Gil was silent all the way home. When he changed into more casual clothes, he went and got the grill ready. Grace planned steaks, baked potatoes, and salad for lunch, Mollie, Shannon, Brad and Allie were eating with them. Brad and Colt helped Gil with the steaks while the women put the salad together and gossiped in the kitchen. Grace had put the baked potatoes on before they went to church. When all the steaks were cook to order, they all sat down at the patio table to eat. It was a beautiful day and everyone was in a relaxed mood.
"The Reverend told me after church they were loosing the land the church is on. The original lease on the land was for 50 years and it's coming up soon. The landowner doesn't want to renew."
"Oh No!" Mollie said. "What can we do?"
"Not much." Gil said. I think that's part of the land they're wanting to put a chicken processing plant on. As I see it, there are two options; move the church building or build new, which brings me to another part of either option. I'd like to offer the Reverend three acres between your house, Mollie, and Don's Company. We can renovate the house and perhaps use it for a parsonage or maybe for Bible Study." "Gil, it's not my house, but yours. I'll go along with whatever you decide."
Later that afternoon, Gil called the Reverend and asked the Reverend and the Deacons to meet with him at Gil's house the next evening.
Colt, Gil and Brad laid and leveled the foundation of the Aid Room. After getting the joists in, Gil came back with tanks of foam insulation and filled in between the joists to provide insulation from the rock floor, but to provide a sound barrier. They got the initial framing done and were waiting for the flooring and clean room panels to come in. Brad ran wiring from the junction box and water lines, but there wasn't much more they could do.
The next evening Gil checked the gate camera when the buzzer sounded. Seeing it was the Reverend and the Deacons, he opened the gate for them. Over coffee and strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, Gil gave the Reverend and the Deacons the options he had come up with.
"Would we be ending up in the same situation as far as a lease some day?" One of the Deacons asked.
"No, I will convey sole use of the property for perpetuity to the church or until the church disbands for whatever reason. I will bear the costs of the moving and the house renovation. The decision for you is whether to move the building or rebuild."
They all decided they would like to have the building moved, so Gil said he would handle it. They had three months to vacate the property, which gave Gil plenty of time for the renovation.
The next day, Gil was busy arranging for house movers and a renovator recommended by Don for the house renovation.
The panels and flooring came in for the Aid Room making work for the men. The flooring went down quickly and the panels were just as easy. Sound-deadening insulation was put in the walls and electrical wires were run. They soon had the insides done and safety railings in the storage area put in. Billy had his own small part of the project, coating the wooden guide rails of the dumbwaiter with a mixture of beeswax and linseed oil to make them run smoothly. They bought medical cabinets to install and began receiving the medical supplies. Grace and Allie chipped in and inventoried everything as it came in and numbered the boxes of extra supplies that would be stored up top so they were easily identified. Billy offered to paint the outside of the Aid Room a brilliant white and even painted a red cross on the door. Colt and Shannon were stocking the cabinets in the evenings after dinner and finally, Colt was satisfied.
When the house movers began jacking the church building up, Gil called Drake Simpson to give him a heads up. Drake and his crew were relocating the PV system and they were waiting until the church was no longer in use before disconnecting everything. The last thing the movers had to do was take the cupola and steeple off the building in order for travel under the two power lines in the three mile journey.
They had to wait for the permitted time to move the building, so Drake and his crew had the panels and wind turbine set up long before the building was in place. Gil had run a water line to the area, waiting for connecting when the building was in place.
The day of the move, half the congregation was there to see the building finally set on its new foundation. The masons were cleared away from the building until they had the steeple secured back in place. To the surprise of the Reverend, Gil had an addition added to the Church for men's and women's bathrooms.
That Sunday, everyone attended church, including Colt, The congregation, by voice vote, agreed to change the name of the church to "Bluff View Christian Church."
Gil added another flat of tomato plants to the wheelbarrow and push them out to the garden.
"This is the last of them." Gil said.
"We'll do the onions and garlic next then. I've got the beds marked." Grace said.
"Yes Dear."
Gil got the onions and garlic flats and sat them on their beds and went back to get the watermelon seedlings and planted them himself. This year, he was going to halve the number of watermelons on some of the vines by selectively pinching off blossoms and small melons. This would make the watermelons larger. He wanted as much juice as he could get from them.
|
|
|
Post by cavsgt on Dec 8, 2021 0:51:34 GMT -6
Fantastic up date, makes you wish that we were living in this story. THANK YOU Phill
|
|
|
Post by freebirde on Dec 8, 2021 8:03:08 GMT -6
When it comes time to clean the clean room, you can buy peroxide in gallon bottles more concentrated than the topical 3% you can buy at the market.
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Dec 8, 2021 8:44:04 GMT -6
The group is growing nicely. Great update.
|
|
|
Post by udwe on Dec 8, 2021 13:13:08 GMT -6
This story is getting better all the time!
|
|