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Post by prepguy on Jan 6, 2024 22:33:00 GMT -6
As someone who has been fortunate enough to have some of my stories published I'm very appreciative of the work that goes into writing. This is well written, the ebb and flow of it keeps the attention of the reader. The characters come across as real people, the details provide depth. Thank you for this and for sharing it with us.
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Post by cashless1 on Jan 6, 2024 22:40:34 GMT -6
I laughed until i saw our forecast. 6 6 1/2 inches Monday night
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 7, 2024 8:49:47 GMT -6
I laughed until i saw our forecast. 6 6 1/2 inches Monday night 6 1/2 inches of snow for me yesterday. Another 4 1/2 inches of snow on early Tuesday morning with hours of rain following the snow. It will be a mess. Prayerfully the temps will stay above freezing until the rain runs off. Otherwise I will have inches of ice.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jan 7, 2024 9:07:16 GMT -6
I laughed until i saw our forecast. 6 6 1/2 inches Monday night I did too till I saw what they are guessing for Tuesday. They are talking near blizzard conditions for the Kansas City area then. I drive for a living and think I will just tell the boss that I am staying home Tuesday. Predictions are for somewhere around 2-5 inches with sustained winds around 25 mph and gust up to 45 mph. Good day to stay on the sofa.
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 7, 2024 9:09:57 GMT -6
As someone who has been fortunate enough to have some of my stories published I'm very appreciative of the work that goes into writing. This is well written, the ebb and flow of it keeps the attention of the reader. The characters come across as real people, the details provide depth. Thank you for this and for sharing it with us. Thank you. I try to keep the people as realistic as I can.
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Post by kansasterri on Jan 7, 2024 11:42:20 GMT -6
I laughed until i saw our forecast. 6 6 1/2 inches Monday night I did too till I saw what they are guessing for Tuesday. They are talking near blizzard conditions for the Kansas City area then. I drive for a living and think I will just tell the boss that I am staying home Tuesday. Predictions are for somewhere around 2-5 inches with sustained winds around 25 mph and gust up to 45 mph. Good day to stay on the sofa. Thank you for the update. Last I heard the local update still said rain/snow mix. I live only 45 minutes from KC
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Post by kansasterri on Jan 7, 2024 12:02:47 GMT -6
I laughed until i saw our forecast. 6 6 1/2 inches Monday night 6 1/2 inches of snow for me yesterday. Another 4 1/2 inches of snow on early Tuesday morning with hours of rain following the snow. It will be a mess. Prayerfully the temps will stay above freezing until the rain runs off. Otherwise I will have inches of ice.
Inches of ice are no joke. We got 2 1/2 inches once and all the power lines came down. On the GOOD side the food in the fridge stayed fresh on the counter, as the house was chilly. I found out that candles gave terrible light. The next day I had to re-wash the dishes because, when I hand-washed the by candle light I had not been able to see that they were not clean. Seriously, battery light is better. Also the ice sickles falling from the trees were dangerous. On the GREAT side, when the sky cleared up the entire world sparkled. Every blade of grass had a sparkling coat of ice. I can NOT tell you have very beautiful it was!
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Post by hunter77 on Jan 7, 2024 18:14:58 GMT -6
I'm about the same distance from KC also. Got the blade on the tractor and ready to go.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jan 7, 2024 19:27:34 GMT -6
I did too till I saw what they are guessing for Tuesday. They are talking near blizzard conditions for the Kansas City area then. I drive for a living and think I will just tell the boss that I am staying home Tuesday. Predictions are for somewhere around 2-5 inches with sustained winds around 25 mph and gust up to 45 mph. Good day to stay on the sofa. Thank you for the update. Last I heard the local update still said rain/snow mix. I live only 45 minutes from KC Somewhere in a loop that includes Topeka, north and west of Leavenworth or southwest through Johnson county i would guess.
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 7, 2024 20:18:39 GMT -6
He cleaned her wound with warm water and mild soap, he could see that it wasn't deep. Just enough to cause pain and bleed. It wouldn't need any stitches, just a bandage. A few days of cleaning it and if no infection set in, he wouldn't have to look at her bare backside anymore. It would leave some scars right in the middle of her tattoo “Chad.” After the bandage was on, she pulled her pants up. He told her she would have trouble sitting and laying down for awhile. Then it was her turn to doctor his arm.
Rahab looked at his wound, seeing the teeth punctures and a flap of skin hanging. It was still seeping some blood and clear fluid. As she was cleaning it as gentle as possible, she asked him who the woman was that turned his heart so cold. He looked at her but she avoided eye contact and kept cleaning his wound. Slowly he took a deep breath and then said it was his ex wife Jezebel. That she had been committing adultery for years with a bad boy sleazeball from the place where Dillon had been working. He had also won the lottery for $10,000,000. His ex had been awarded most of that winning along with the house and then had moved the bad boy in with her, living at Dillon's house and driving his car. Then she had accused Dillon of physical abuse and his parents, sister, so called friends and the preachers from the church he went to, had all turned their backs on him and believed his ex wife. That Dillon had treated Jezebel the best he knew how, allowing her to be a stay at home wife, hiring a maid to clean the house, new car, eating out most every night; then she had rewarded him by committing adultery with a very nasty man and then accusing him of the hideous thing of abusing her.
Rahab felt him tense up, his breathing becoming ragged and she heard his teeth grinding from the stress of remembering. Still continuing to treat his wound, she said to forget about her, karma would come to her some day. Dillon laughed and said it already did. He had found his ex, her lover, his parents and sister frozen to death several miles away., they had even been eating parts of several babies as they trekked. Dillon said they might of froze to death but he had no doubts that they were now spending an eternity in a very hot place – Hades.
Rahab had finished cleaning his wound and wrapped a bandage around it. Both of their bandages would need changed every day. Hopefully there would be no infections and no sign of rabies. She shuddered at the thought of rabies but had to trust Dillon with his assessment that the dogs were attacking because of hunger and not rabies. She warmed up some leftover soup and made some hot Chamomile tea to settle themselves, then they each headed off their own beds for some early sleep, they were tired out from their ordeals.
Dillon heard her throughout the night, shifting around so she didn't lay on her wound. He found it hard to sleep with her shifting and moaning. He was glad when she settled for sleeping on her belly and he was able to get a little sleep before it was time to get up. He got up, stoked up the fire and heated some water to make some oatmeal. He was almost finished eating before she finally got up with a groan as her wound let her know it was still there. He told her he would check it before they headed out for chores. Standing, she dropped her pants and bent over the table as he changed the bandage for her, so no signs of infection. As she pulled her pants up, he said she should mend the rip in her pants so it wouldn't tear any more and would last longer.
Then she checked his wound. He was looking too and saw it the same time as she did. The one tooth puncture was festering, most likely some contamination down inside it. He told Rahab to get inside the medical tote on the counter and get out something to use to probe down inside the punctures to try to find any contaminants. She found a straight, narrow needle which he told her to sterilize with some alcohol. Then he watched and then grunted with pain as she pushed it into the wound and probed around to find any contaminants. Then used a syringe to irrigate with water to flush it out. Several pieces came floating out, looking like old food particles that had been stuck in the dog's teeth. Cleaning the wound, she applied a new bandage.
He had her make some hot water for some herbal tea to help boost their immune systems to help fight off any infections. The 1st thing on the agenda outside was removing the remains of the dogs, he didn't want their carcasses near his home and possibly attracting other predators. He had his rifle slung over his back and he noticed Rahab had a long sturdy stick with her. Dillon thought maybe she had learned a lesson from the attack. Working as a team, they each grabbed a leg of the same dog body and dragged them 300 yards away from the home. In their condition and taking some breaks, it took 2 hours to dispose of all the bodies. Their wounds weren't too deep but they were stiffening up their movements.
They tended to some of the garden spots, knowing food was very important to their survival. That evening they tended their wounds again, with his looking much better. She said she was going to mend her pants so he turned away as she took them off and spent a few minutes sewing a patch over the ripped area. In her mind she looked back in the past when she wore designer clothes paid for by her clients. Going shopping with them and buying new ones at the slightest sign of them wearing out. Now she was grateful for the used clothing she had and tried to take care of them to the best of her ability.
As the crops in the garden spots matured, he taught her how to preserve a lot of it via fermentation. Where there is no canning jars and / or resupply of canning lids, people fermented them or used root cellars for crops. He explained that fermented foods were good for a person, the fermentation broke down any harmful parts of the plant and also helps in the digestion of the food.
The Painted Mountain Corn was matured, he explained to her that it was the fastest maturing grain corn in the world and had a 13% protein level. It was for their cornbread and some for the chickens to eat, they should get about 10 bushels from it. Next year he would expand the garden and hopefully they could get 15-20 bushels. The potato boxes did great and it appeared they would each be able to eat a potato a day through the winter months and still have enough for seed the next growing season. The rutabagas and turnips did good too and would be a welcome addition to their diet. They harvested the carrots and she was surprised to see they were short and stubby, almost round in shape. The onions and garlic were braided and hung for later use.
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Post by kansasterri on Jan 7, 2024 20:47:40 GMT -6
Thank you for the update. Last I heard the local update still said rain/snow mix. I live only 45 minutes from KC Somewhere in a loop that includes Topeka, north and west of Leavenworth or southwest through Johnson county i would guess. You would be right: I live in Johnson county
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Post by bluefox2 on Jan 7, 2024 20:50:42 GMT -6
Somewhere in a loop that includes Topeka, north and west of Leavenworth or southwest through Johnson county i would guess. You would be right: I live in Johnson county We are not far from each other since I live in Leavenworth
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Post by kansasterri on Jan 7, 2024 20:57:29 GMT -6
Huh. I had no idea that Painted Mountain corn was that high in protein: usually corn is very low
Thanks for the new chapter!
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Post by kaydee on Jan 7, 2024 23:31:27 GMT -6
Well Howdy neighbors, I'm in Douglas County.
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Post by feralferret on Jan 8, 2024 1:40:37 GMT -6
Well neighbors, I'm in Clay county.MO.
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 8, 2024 9:35:21 GMT -6
My forecast for tomorrow has changed. Now it is 1-2 inches of snow early in the morning followed by 2 inches of heavy rainfall the rest of the day with high winds of 50-60mph gusts and 46F temps. Its going to be a mess of rapidly melting the 6+ inches of snow from Sunday.
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 9, 2024 10:13:24 GMT -6
Twice a week he was cutting firewood for heating. He rigged the single man crosscut saw with a 2nd handle so that Rahab could also help him cut. He limited the cutting to smaller trees that wouldn't need split and made sure to trim up all the branches for use. She enjoyed the cutting with him and used to sing to the hum of the saw. Even with the wood heater being very efficient, she saw why he kept the temperature at 66F.
By early September, the summer chores were mostly done. The cold and snows would be coming in several weeks. Dillon decided he would take a walk to look things over before they were snowed in. Rahab wanted to come along too. So early 1 morning they set out, him carrying his rifle and backpack, she had her backpack and now ever present wood stave, it filling in as a walking stick and her defense. He made a small 3 mile loop, observing that there was no sign of any other person having been in the area for years. He found some old wolf scat that looked to be several months old. They were on the way home with maybe a mile to go when all the birds got quiet and the air “felt funny.” They had just started going down a hill they had just climbed.
He hurried back to the top with Rahab right behind him asking what was happening. Reaching the top, he looked off into the distance. He saw a snowy wall coming towards them. He grabbed Rahab's hand and told her it was a blizzard bearing down on them. She asked if they could make it home in time. No they couldn't, home was still about 30 minutes away, they needed some shelter quickly. He led her back down the hill to get off the top. Seeing a fallen tree with about 2 feet of space under it, he went to a nearby pine tree and with the hatchet he always carried when out, he started chopping limbs off and had her carry them over to the fallen tree. When there was a big pile, he started leaning them against the fallen tree, forming a tent like shelter. Then they gathered a bunch of bigger dead branches to pile on top of the pine tree to hold the limbs in place. Then he chopped more pine branches to use as bedding on the ground inside.
Standing back to look at things after 10 minutes, it looked fairly snow tight. Putting their packs inside, he had Rahab get inside and he went inside and pulled several pine boughs in to seal the opening as the snow front hit, and the big fluffy flakes. She asked if they were going to be okay, him telling her they should be, provided it didn't last too long or got too cold. It was getting colder, so they put on the extra set of clothes they each had in their packs, putting them on over the clothes they were wearing. They used the packs as pillows and stretched out, covering themselves with blankets from the packs. The pine boughs on the ground kept them up off the ground which would of pulled their body heat away. They could hear the wind outside, Dillon guessing by sound that it was at least a 30mph wind.
Only a little bit of snow was filtering through the shelter walls. Soon Rahab said she was cold. He told her to move in close, him spreading both their blankets over them. He felt her shivering as she snuggled back against him. Dillon engaged her in conversation to take her mind off the snow and cold, soon her shivering stopped as their shared body heat took effect. He was surprised when he heard soft snores and realized she had fell asleep. He laid there awake, listening to the wind and the snow hitting the shelter. He knew the snow was piling up on the shelter walls and helping to insulate it, knowing the gaps in the door would give plenty of air to breath.
He awoke later to find that Rahab had changed her position and had rolled over to face him and had her arm wrapped up over his body. About the same time her eyes opened and she realized where her arm was but didn't remove it. He told her the snow and wind had stopped and they needed to make a push to get home. Outside the shelter, they saw clear skies and about 14 inches of snow. Putting on their backpacks and grabbing his rifle and her stave, they headed home. It took 45 minutes to travel the last mile to home through the snow. Back home he started a fire while she got their things hung up to dry.
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 9, 2024 10:19:18 GMT -6
Last night it was calling for 2 inches of snow for today, then changing to heavy rain.
So far today I have got 8 ¼ inches of new snow (on top of the 6 ½ inches from Sunday) and at 11AM it is just now starting to change to a sleet / rain mixture.
A town south of me just lost their electric power, praying mine stays on.
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Post by gipsy on Jan 9, 2024 10:43:15 GMT -6
Fine update. We are getting snow right now so we will see how much we end up with.
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Post by bluefox2 on Jan 9, 2024 11:21:04 GMT -6
Snow seems to be ending here. I just got done shoveling the driveway and probably had around 3-5 inches. Winds are gusting up towards 25-30 mph right now. they are guessing that it will clear out tonight and tomorrow with more snow late Thursday into friday. Game time temps at 7pm Sat for the Chiefs and dolphins is predicted to be around 8F. Hopefully the Chiefs will end up shipping some frozen fish back to Miami
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Post by iamnobody on Jan 10, 2024 10:09:44 GMT -6
They were warmed up and having a hot bowl of soup after their ordeal. Dillon told her that this snow was way early in the season, at least 4-5 weeks before the first snows had fallen in the past years. It looked like maybe this year winter would be early. Rahab said that he had saved her again, she would of died out there on her own. He said they had worked as a team and that contributed to their survival. A week later the snow had melted as the temperature had come back up to 50F during the day, nights were around 35F. He wanted to get a deer or 2 before they migrated south.
He picked a day that the sky was clear and headed out at daybreak, Rahab coming along. This time he promised they would stay close to home. He led the way and before they had went 300 yards, he saw movement in the thicket ahead of them. He motioned for her to stop and she followed his example of kneeling while he was watching the thicket. Soon a shape was coming out of the thicket, but it was no deer. Out stepped a full grown bull elk with a large set of antlers on his head. He wasn't about to question why an elk was in the area, nothing was normal any more. All he knew was this would be a pile of meat for them. Pulling up his Mauser 98, he aimed at the neck right behind the head. Squeezing the trigger sent a 175 grain bullet speeding across the 50 yard gap, breaking the neck and collapsing the bull elk. Walking up to the downed elk, he used a branch to touch its eye to make sure it was dead.
Now he field dressed it, saving the heart and liver for eating. Keeping the hide spread on the ground, he did the elk in sections. Forelegs, hind quarters, ribs and backbone. They both carried pieces back home, keeping a watchful eye around for predators, until they had everything including the head and antlers. They hung the meat in the meat shed where it would stay cool or frozen in the next few days. It was none too soon as the next day, winter came and stayed. They would cut chunks of meat off as needed and over the next few days he showed her how to scrape the hide clean and tan the hide with the elk brains.
This winter was brutal, often being only -30F as daytime highs and lots of snow. One day he asked her to come with him as he got more food from the pantry She followed him to the basement where she thought she would help bring a few packages of food up to the living area. In the basement, Dillon stood there looking at Rahab for a minute while she waited. Then she watched him reach under a table and move something, while hearing a click. She watched him pull a section of the wall open and step inside. Following him, she saw in the flickering light of a candle a very large area filled with many different items. One of the first things she noticed was shelves of books, there had to of been 100's if not a 1,000 books covering many different topics. Following him through the area, in the light of the candle, she saw totes labeled as food, clothing, medical, etc. There was a rack of some guns and metal cans under it labeled as ammo. She looked at him in wonder.
She asked him “how?” He told her that he had done this with the little bit of money they had left him keep from the lottery. Then he told Rahab that she was not to be posting a pic of this on her Facebook. She started to protest that she no longer had a cellphone nor Facebook account and then saw the grin on his face. Then she realized he meant this all was a secret that he was revealing to her and it was only for her to know.
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Post by gipsy on Jan 10, 2024 10:21:34 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by techsar on Jan 10, 2024 12:46:11 GMT -6
Thanks! I hope his trust is not misplaced.
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Post by kansasterri on Jan 10, 2024 16:38:41 GMT -6
Stay safe, Iamnobody
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Post by feralferret on Jan 10, 2024 19:14:03 GMT -6
Thank you for another wonderful chapter, iamnobody.
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