Not Dead in the Heart of Dixie (28 page)

Jason climbed down and made sure the buck wasn't going anywhere. He ran back to the house, grabbed Mick and Jesse, and the three of them brought the creature home. Jason was about to have a nervous breakdown before he got back to that buck. He was afraid something was gonna take away his prize!

We need more news like this.

I forgot to write about the rabbit stew we had when I was still bedridden. I'll make it short. I don't even remember what day it was.

Mr. Hobbs set a few snares the night before. When he went to check on them the next morning, he had two rabbits. One was in the left woods, and the other was in the right. He butchered and cleaned them, and Elaine made a yummy rabbit stew. Mr. Hobbs says he'll be setting more snares this week. Hopefully we'll get enough rabbit meat for canning.

Jesse thought he saw fish rings in the big pond behind Mr. Peterson's place this morning. They were probably feeding on insects that were landing on the water. If he finishes the chicken run, he and Soo are going to head over and try their luck catching fish for tonight's supper while Jason and Mick work on the fence.

I'm going back out to the recliner and bask in the glow coming from the happiness on Jason's face. I think he's in the middle of telling the deer story for the third time to Amber, Caleb, and
Michael.

10:00 PM...

Someone is living in the big house near the pond behind Mr. Peterson's place.

Jesse and Soo went
fishing there around 3:00 this afternoon. They each had a fat worm on a hook and was about to get them in the water when Jesse thought he heard a door opening. They both looked toward the house, which is about thirty yards away.

A
head appeared at the screen door. "I don't appreciate ya'll fishin' in my pond without permission." the head said, “now, get on outa here."

The head pulled itself back into the house and the door closed. Soo saw curtains moving at one of the windows. He was afraid they were about to get shot, so they grabbed their fishing poles and ran home. They left the bait box beside the pond.

We were all in a tizzy. We sat at the kitchen table, trying to figure out who was in that house, how many there were, and whether we should go over and knock on the door to introduce ourselves.

Mick says we need to think about it for a couple of days and everyone agreed. In the meantime, folks standing watch will be looking through binoculars toward that house and pond, trying to get a glimpse of anyone or anything. Mr. Hobbs and Jeremy are on watch duty tonight.

We had fettuccini with Alfredo sauce, and asparagus on the side, for supper. We didn't have any meat, but I don't think anyone missed it. Pasta is filling and we were all stuffed.

We spent the rest of the evening sitting
in the living room near the fire, talking about the big house with the pond and how we should process Jason's deer. It's hanging out there now, waiting to become sustenance for our family.

Mick says they have fencing up on three-quarters of the road frontage. He says that's about a tenth of what we want to get enclosed
overall. I'm hoping that, since almost everyone is back on their feet, the fencing project will move a little faster now.

Mick says we'll need a lot more fencing. He doesn't plan to put posts along the sides or across the back of the property unless he comes to a spot that doesn't have a tree in the right place. He says
it’ll be easier to use the numerous trees that are already there as posts.

So, most of the po
sthole digging is done. After the perimeter is fenced, Mick wants to put in divisions between the Stang house, our house, and Caleb's house. That will make it harder for anyone to make a full assault on every building we have at the same time.

After the perimeter is fenced and the divisional fencing is started, he'll have a crew start on the area around Mr. Peterson's house and field. Then, they'll
work on getting the rebar in place. I have no idea how long it's going to take to finish this fence.

Mick asked everyone to start calling the various houses and properties by the names of the people who are living in them
now. So, Mr. Peterson's place is now called the Hobbs place, and Caleb's house is now called Jason and Marisa's house. The old Stang place is Hisa and Soo's place.

It's time to start checking the homes and house trailers on the other side of the eight acre wooded property to our right. I don't have a good feelin
g about going into those places.

I'm almost to the point of hoping there's no one else living in the neighborhood. I'm at that point because of the experience Jesse and Soo had at the big house beside the pond. It makes me nervous. Will they be friend, or foe?

The women will be canning venison, and the girls will be filtering water. We're getting just enough water in the pool to take care of ourselves and the goats. Extra water for bath's and showers is a luxury that we don't get as often as we'd like. Marisa's been using the kid’s bath water to do laundry. It helps a lot and gets the clothes just as clean. We're still taking "bird baths" in the bathroom sinks.

I'm heading to bed. I seem to be getting around better tonight. I'm hoping I'll continue to improve tomorrow.

Bye for now.

Monday, February 3

8:30 AM...

We had cold cereal with goat milk for breakfast this morning. It tasted wonderful and no one complained. The kids loved it. They're running around like wild
animals from the sugar rush. Elaine and Nana said they didn't feel like cooking this morning, and I’m still using the walker. I think I'll try to graduate to a walking cane this afternoon.

The men started butchering the deer before dawn. We're in the middle of processing and canning venison this morning. I've been sitting at the table with the meat grinder going while the rest of 'em are cutting up meat, packing jars, and loading the canner. I'm surprised the
cook stove gets hot enough to run the pressure canner. That cook stove is a magnificent thing.

Mr. Hobbs and Jason have already headed out to look for fencing. They took the Silverado and flatbed trailer. They said they'll spend a lot of time in any neighborhood where posts are in the dirt and the fencing will come down easily. They'll bring back as much as they can before dark. Elaine
packed a lunch for each of them and they have the trusty backpacks as well.

Opie and Tig are acting a little "off" this morning. They came back from their potty run smelling like they'd rolled in something dead. I won't let them in the house. I don't know if Marisa will let them in her house, but I doubt it. They're getting baths in laundry rinse water after all the laundry is finished tomorrow. We don't have enough water to use for washing dogs exclusively.

Valerie actually responded to one of Jeremy's questions this morning. He asked if she was feeling any better and she said "yes." That's all she said. Hisa says she is starting to come out of her shell a little, but she was severely traumatized and it'll probably take a while for her to come around, if she ever does.

Her sores are healing and her hair is growing back. She's filled out a tiny little bit, but the only way Hisa can tell that is because she sees her body when she bathes her. Hisa's hoping she isn't pregnant.

She believes that Valerie’s strong enough to get up and move around, but her emotional pain is keeping her bedridden.

I'm off to grind more venison. If they don't get venison burgers for supper, the men will run us off the property.

1:00 PM...

We decided on sweet potatoes to go with the burgers tonight. All we need to do is heat them up and add a little butter, sugar, and cinnamon since I cooked them before I canned them.

Jason and Mr. Hobbs brought a load of fencing back. After they unloaded, they turned right around and headed out again.

They've found a neighborhood that has a lot of fenced yards and should be able to get two more loads before dark.

We had canned ravioli for lunch. The kids loved it and I thought it was "bleh," but I ate my portion anyway and was grateful. It was commercially canned ravioli with watery tomato sauce. I'm spoiled. I like the homemade stuff better.

Elaine's busy making burger buns. She uses yeast in her recipe and the dough has to rise a couple times. They should be hot and ready when Mick takes the burgers off the grill around 5:30. He can hardly wait.

Mick has gone back down
the hill to work on the fence. He made us promise to holler at him in time to make the 5:30 supper deadline. I'll bet his mouth has been watering all day. Nana says she'll put the sweet potatoes on while he's cooking the burgers.

We've decided to have a country style strawberry shortcake for dessert. I found the recipe in one of my old depression era cookbooks. Carisa and Merry are making biscuits and we'l
l pour condensed milk over them and add a small handful of my dehydrated strawberries to each. We'll sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar. I think my mouth's starting to water.

I've graduated to a walking cane, so I'm gonna get myself back out there and see if there's anything else I can do to help. I don't need my strong pain pills now. Advil is getting me by for the time being.

9:30 PM...

My tummy feels like it's sticking out six inches from where it normally is. Supper was scrumptious and I over ate. I think everyone did. Mick is so full that he hasn't hauled himself out of the recliner to come in the bedroom. He's dozing on and off. He may just sleep there.

His
a said that Valerie wolfed her burger down. I'm happy to hear that.

Mick and Soo finished the fence along the entire front of the property. Tomorrow, they'll start
working on the sides. Jason and Mr. Hobbs will be here tomorrow, and since they'll mostly be using the existing trees as posts, they can move at a faster pace.

Jeremy handed the crutches to Jesse after supper and told him to put them in the basement. He was finished with them. He's limping a bit, and you can tell that his leg aches when he stretches it out, but he's doing great. That makes me happy because Mick now has another hand on the fence building crew.

Carisa says she and Merry are almost finished taking inventory of food and supplies. We added quite a bit of venison to the list today.

She says the shelves are pretty full with the stuff I already had and the stuff from the restaurant haul. She'll need more shelving when the garden starts producing and we start canning the bounty. I'm praying there will be a "bounty."

I didn't know it, but Pop and Jesse have quite an assortment of veggie seedlings growing in the greenhouse.

I don't like not knowing who's living in the big house across the road. I can't recall seeing any smoke coming from the chimney. I wonder how they're eating and staying warm.

I'm going to carry myself over to my bed and sleep alone again.

Bye for now.

Tuesday, February 4

We have two new goat kids.

When Jesse went out to feed this morning, he found two new doelings hopping around. They were born sometime last night. They're already running around and nursing well. He says they are cute little boogers and colored like their dam.

I believe we'll have more new kids by the end of the day. Jesse said another of the does is standing off by herself, nibb
ling at her sides and rear legs and won't come in to eat. Those are pretty good signs that labor is imminent. We'll be keeping an eye on her.

After the second doe delivers today, we'll
have only one left waiting. She'll kid sometime in the next two weeks.

Mick put off the feed lootin' run until Monday. He wants to
work on the fence.

We're getting a total of one-and-a-half gallons of milk from the first three does. The milk situation is looking good around here. I hope we'll be able to keep it cool this
summer. I figure we’ll get around three gallons a day when all is said and done. Elaine has the cheese making books out and has plans for some of the milk.

I'm planning to visit Valerie after breakfast. Hisa said she gave her a sketch pad and colored pencils, and she's been doodling constantly. There hasn't been any sketches to reveal what she went through with the tobacco juice man, or any other clues about who she is and how she got there. In fact, there are no sketches at all, just doodles and sometimes letters and numbers. I hope she'll be okay with my visit.

I had Marisa dig out a pregnancy test from one of my coupon queen totes. I'll give it to Hisa and she can decide when to test Valerie. She'll probably wait 'til Valerie's been here a month, and test her only if there's no sign of her period by that time.

I'm also going out to see the new baby goats. So far, we have three new doelings to add to our herd for breeding and milking, and we have several BBQ candidates. I'll have to do some studying and find out how to prepare goat meat since we've never had it before.

I'm on my way to sit at the table and roll up cinnamon buns for breakfast. We'll have them with fresh milk. Yummy!