July

The beginning of the month is still hot and humid.  There's so much to do, but it's so hard to get motivated.  The Littles start going to the lakes with the men to cool off and swim in the afternoons.  They return with the cart loaded with firewood, weeds, and grass.  The fishing is horrible, but that's to be expected, given the heat.

I get up early every day to let the birds out and get the gardening done before it gets too hot.  The beats are looking good, we're starting to harvest peas and lettuce, and tiny peppers and tomatoes have started forming in the greenhouse.  The potato plants are a mess of bugs.  I pick them off every day and toss them to the birds.

Another banty returns with a clutch of chicks.  One is still missing.

The Bigs work on cleaning out the old chicken coop in the mornings, taking load after load of manure to the garden.  It always amazes me how we end up with so much manure out of one little building.  I spread the manure between my garden rows and pile it at the ends and side.  It'll make spreading easier in the fall.


We finish the fence down to the creek on our south side.  Our new neighbours get halfway to the creek on the north side before we go over to help.  We take them the chicks Husband offered for the fence work.  We talk and work together.  Arlene is waiting for berry season to start canning.  Her garden is doing well. 

The weather breaks and the rains come.  Day after day it rains and the temperature drops.  We start cooking inside again, to take the chill and the dampness out of the house.  It's sweater weather in the mornings now.

We finish the fence to the creek on the north side of Mom's property.  We start fencing the roadside.  We fence around Mom's yard and build gates for her back trails.  The tree tops and branches give us enough firewood to finish filling Mom's wood shed.

The blueberries ripen and we start picking every day.  More and more townsfolk travel through to go picking in the woods.  I put a sign out, eggs for trade.  A few people stop and ask about the eggs.  Two agree to pick a small basket of blueberries for a dozen eggs.  They come back at the end of the day.  One man has some tin at his place.  He'll trade it for eggs, chickens and a chicken pen. 

Husband and the Bigs spend three days carting logs to town, building a little chicken coop, fencing it in, and bringing home tin.  We give him four hens and two chicks, along with 3 dozen eggs.

The tin is nearly enough to finish Mom's roof.  We decide to take the rest of the siding off the trailer wall that is inside the add a room, and that's just enough to finish it.  That also exposes the insulation, which we pull out and put into the new outside wall.  It's enough to cover the west wall.  Two more to go.  Mom has a can of roofing tar, which we use sparingly to fill the old nail holes in the tin.  Leaks should not be a problem.

I get enough blueberries to make a batch of wine.  Blueberries were the reason I bought the wine making equipment.  They're coated with natural yeast, and very sweet, so I add nothing but water to the carboy and hope for the best.  I rack the dandelion and dandelion/rhubarb wines. 

Husband picks up the newly fashioned hay cutter and practices using it on the way home.  He's got a pretty good handle on it when he gets back.  It's too wet to cut for winter storage though.  The rain has helped the grass though, along with our continued rotating of the cows.  The pasture looks like it might last the rest of the summer now.

The boys and I finish the fencing down the road.  We build gates for all of the driveways.  So long as the critters don't try to cross the creek, they are completely fenced in.  The sides of the creek are very steep from winter run off, so I don't think it'll be too much of a problem.  We decide to test it with the horses, Mildred and the calves, leaving them loose overnight.  The next morning we have to walk to Brother's place to get the horses back.  They stayed within the fence, but now have too much freedom.

The rain finally settles down, and after two days of straight sun, Husband decides it's time to start cutting hay.  He starts with the north side, beside Arlene and Mel.  It's the largest clearing.  The boys and I follow along with the horse cart, raking the hay and tying it in bundles.  Most of it will be left to dry in the field, as it should, but since we expect this to be a long process, we get started right away.  Once the cart is full we take it up to the house.  We unload the bundles in the new chicken coop and open them back up.  I spread them on the floor in the pens to finish drying.

The boys go back for a second load and I go back to picking blueberries.  It takes nearly two weeks to get the clearings all cut, dried, bundled and brought back to the house.  We fill the manger in the old chicken coop- the milk room, and cover the floor with thick bedding.  We fill the old chicken coop from floor to ceiling for storage.  The hay loft above the barn is only half full when we finish.  There's not nearly enough for winter.

The elderberries ripen near the end of the month.  The Littles do an amazing job of picking them off the stems.  I start another batch of wine, elderberry with some blueberries thrown in for sweetness and yeast.

I can blueberries without sugar.  They'll probably be our sugar next winter- one of the few hints of sweetness in the long, cold, dark nights ahead.

April

The rains come.  Snow melts.  Snow falls.  Rain.  Warm days.  Cold nights.  More rain.  More snow.  The roller coaster of spring has arrived in the north.

By mid April it's no longer safe to go ice fishing.  The men have little luck fishing from shore.  The sleigh bogs down as they travel through the bush.  The trails aren't clear enough to use the cart.  Everyone stays within walking distance of the house.

What little grass pokes through the snow is still dead and brown.  We manage to shoot an occasional bird, rabbit and fox.  They stave off starvation for the birds, just barely.  The birds are getting more milk than we are now, along with the kale that I planted midwinter in the sunroom.  I'm afraid I may have to start feeding them my seedlings soon.  They're almost ready to transplant now, with no where to transplant them to.

I busy myself in the greenhouses, working the soil, filling buckets with snow, patching the plastic.  It's still too cold overnight to plant inside, but towards the end of the month the weeds start growing, giving the chickens some fresh greens.

The men cut logs to build more greenhouses for each house.  The ground is still frozen, so no digging yet.  At least they'll be ready when they can dig.  Tree tops are brought up for firewood.  Our wood shed is full, so we begin refilling the basement.

 I can what meat is left in the entranceway freezer.  There are over 700 jars, enough for one meal a day for each house, until fall.  We decide not to butcher anything big until then.  With any luck Dorie and Nelly will calve soon, and we'll have meat for the future.  Mildred's calves are growing well, and Monsoon, the little bull, will probably be on the menu next winter.

The garage freezer is filled with pop bottles of water.  All the extra bottles have been filled and stored in the basement.  The carboys, canning jars, and 5 gallon pails in the cold room have all been filled with water.

There are only a few jars left of pickles and beats, and still a fair bit of jam.  Sometimes the boys take a jar and eat it straight.  What else can we do with it with no flour for bread or pancakes?

Dad and #2 carve a mold of a foot, and make new shoes for #2 from last year's cow hides.  They plan to carve more molds in everyone's sizes, but only #2 is without shoes for now.

We're down to the last four bales of hay.  We need grass soon.  The snow melts slowly.  We put up more fences in the clearings, more places to graze this summer.

We have visitors regularly now.  The townsfolk come out to see if the trails are cleared to the bush every 4 or 5 days.  They're looking for greens.  They cut pine branches for tea, but there's not much else to be found yet. 

A seed exchange is set for mid month.   We go with just a few assorted seed packets.  There are fewer people than last time.  We hear of many who didn't make it through the winter, or chose to head south.  Letters from the south tell of decimated populations, but an early spring, and growing season well under way.  Town governments have begun contacting one another, seeking answers to the questions that everyone is asking- when will the power be back on.  In some areas windmills have been fixed, and pockets of hydro do exist.

We're surprised to find some of the Mennonites there, and they have wheat, barley and oat seed with them to share.  Everyone gets enough seed to grow one acre.  I am thrilled at the prospect of bread in the fall.  They have a working mill, and will grind what wheat we grow, in trade for other goods in the fall. 

Everyone is hopeful for the future.  We've survived the winter.  In another month we should begin harvesting the first spring veggies, and fresh weeds and forage before that.  Hydro in the future.  Some hope for normal.

March

The snow keeps coming.  This will not be an early spring. 

The men continue ice fishing, feeding us, the birds and the dogs.  They bring home logs which we pile outside of the wood shed, slowly getting them cut up by hand saw.  The wood shed is nearly full.

Mildred calved.  She has a lovely little heifer calf, Maureen.  We get busy milking right away.  So much milk, and such poor storage.  I make butter and cheese and yogourt.   It's a great addition to our diet.  The excess milk and whey goes to the dogs and birds. 

Coffee is gone now.  Husband has adapted to drinking homemade tea with me in the mornings.  It's mostly dandelion root, pine needles, mint, rosehips, and yarrow.  It's hot, and we drink it without sugar or honey now.  The milk makes it much more palatable. 

We emptied the freezer in the garage.  I canned the remaining meat for summer.  We started filling pop bottles with filtered melted snow and filling the freezer with them.  When we ran out of pop bottles we made a trip to the dump to scavenge for more.

The dump looked to have been well scavenged already, but we were able to dig out a couple of bags of pop bottles from the recycling bins.  We found a few boards and an old pair of boots that might fit #2.  They have a rip in the side, but I can patch them with a piece of leather.

We stop to visit one of the neighbours on the dump side of town.  He's had a few calves born already, but lost one cow during delivery.  The calf is only a few days old, and not doing well.  He hasn't been able to get one of the other cows to adopt it, and milking enough to feed it isn't going well either.  He agrees to let us take Monsoon home to try on Mildred.

Mildred takes the new calf just fine.  She seems quite content with two calves.  Our milk supply drops a little for a few days, but then seems to pick up again.  It's still more than we can use before it spoils, so no loss.

We get the extra pop bottles washed out and continue filling them with filtered water.  I know it won't be enough to last the summer, but it might make things a little easier when we have to haul water again in the spring.

I start seedlings.  Lots of seedlings.  The plant stands in the sunroom are full of tomatoes, peppers, brassicas, herbs, and perennials.  Mom, Sil, Nira, and Lisa all have their shelves in front of the windows filled with seedlings too.  We are all looking forward to spring.

We got a letter from my sister.  It took 6 weeks to get to us.  She's with her family in Saskatchewan.  Luckily it's a small town, so they're doing as well as most of the folks in town here.  No word from government, military, or any sort of officials.  No power.  Waiting for spring.  She has learned to grind her own wheat.  Everyone there is grinding wheat.  The town plans to get an old mill up and running in the spring.  Meat has been scarce, but they're getting by.  We all write letters back to her, and hope she gets them.

February

It takes several more days of butchering and delivering beef before we are done 'paying' for our hay.  It's all been carted back to our place though, so we should be set until spring.

Delivering beef to folks in the area turned out to be extremely rewarding.  We now know all of the neighbours, who has what types of supplies, and things they'd be willing to trade.  Everyone is looking forward to spring and gardening, and fresh veggies.  There's talk of another seed exchange for those who missed the first one.

We met people with all sorts of poultry.  I manage to make several trades, and have increased my flock to 30 chickens, 7 turkeys, and 10 ducks.  10 of the chickens are banties, so I have hope they'll hatch eggs for me in the spring.

We got lucky and met some people with a small dairy.  They've been trading and butchering their herd.  We arrange to trade them one of our beef cows for one of their jerseys.  Driving Mindy to their house takes four people and a full day.  She's not halter broke and doesn't like being cut out of the herd.  We manage to get her there by blocking the crossroads and walking behind her with a whip.  The trip home with Mildred goes much smoother.  She is halter broke, and walks behind the sleigh quite agreeably.

The new birds bring new concerns.  The coop is not big enough for all of them, and it's not safe to let the banties 'free range' to nest.  We decide to turn the add a room into a new chicken coop.  We have enough lumber left to frame it in, and we take wire off the hay lean-to to separate pens.

The men take turns going ice fishing and cutting firewood every other day.  They've made a trail back to one of the lakes in the bush where the fishing is better, bringing home at least three a day.  The fish are essential for chicken feed.  I boil all of the skins, bones and guts in the doggy stew pot, along with a potato, any table scraps, and a few leaves of assorted dried weeds.  The pot feeds the dogs, cat, and birds.

The wood shed is filling slowly.  The fishermen cut down a few trees each day with the axe, bringing them home in lengths in the sleigh.  We're trying to conserve fuel, so they're using hand saws to cut the wood into pieces.  They alternate cutting firewood for each of our 'houses', building everyone's wood supply.

We continue to eat simple stews, and soups, and are lucky to have eggs each day for breakfast.

I keep busy through the long, cold days, patching clothing, blankets, and sewing new underwear.  Sil has become proficient at knitting socks.  We are on the lookout for old wool sweaters when we got to town.  Lisa and Nira also sew and knit.  Sometimes we stay home alone to work, sometimes we gather at one another's houses.  Mom joins to visit, and knits a bit.  We keep busy, and wait for spring.

Day 61- Let There be Honey

Husband and I set off for the Hutterite Village right after breakfast.  The boys do chores, then work on building toys.

Things are not as quiet this trip as they have been in the past.  People come out of their houses and ask us to stop.  It seems we've traded half of our goods before we even get to Littletown.  Everyone wants to trade and chat.  Some things I agree to trade just because the people are so obviously bored.  One man traded a knife for a bow, and then traded the bow back for a pot that I got from his neighbour.

It's a fun ride, and we're obviously not the first people this has happened with.  People in Littletown come running out of their houses with pots, dishes, blankets, baskets, knicknacks and tools.  Everyone wants to trade something, and no one seems to care terribly much what they trade or what they get in return.  They trade with us, they trade with each, they trade back again.  Everyone is laughing and talking.  It feels like a party.  They tell us there were a couple of people with carts that would come every other week before the snow got so deep.  We trade in our box of books at their library, taking a large assortment of books in return.

We finally get to the Hutterite Village.  The store has only root vegetables available- potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, onions, garlic, and sugar beets.  The men come out to look at our sleigh full of goodies.  They're impressed with Diego's bows, and trade us one bow for enough supplies to build at least a dozen more, and two more for a selection of veggies.  They trade the fox skins for more veggies, and my candles for three large jars of honey.  Most of the other things we had left home with are already gone, and I honestly don't know what to offer them, or what else to take.

We ask the men if there's anything else they're interested in.  They continue to eyeball the sleigh.  Finally one asks what we want.  I ask for seeds, more honey, size ten shoes, sheets and blankets, hankies.  They pick out a few odds and ends, some things I don't even recognize.  They give us a bag of assorted seeds, another jar of honey, and three sheets.  They tell me to come back in a month with two bows and they'll have a pair of size 10 shoes.

We take a detour on the way home.  Most cars on the highway had their tanks punctured, but we find a car on one of the back roads that's still got enough fuel to fill our jerry cans.  We pick up the pace from there, waving at people who come out wanting to chat and trade again.  If we don't hurry home we won't make it before dark.

Diego and Nira are happy with a third of the veggies, a jar of honey, a few odds and ends, and the supplies to build more bows.  They didn't expect to get that much.  I give them all of the toys that were traded, and a stack of books.  I tell Diego that I need two bows to trade for shoes in a month.  He doesn't know what he wants to trade them for, but he'll think about it.

Brother and Sil are at Mom and Dad's when we get there.  I keep a few veggies for us, but give them the rest to split between them.  We're still doing ok, but I keep the sugar beets to plant for seed in the spring.  Dad takes a couple of hand tools.  Sil takes a sheet.  I give them a jar of honey, and mom pours some in another container.  They all pick out a few books.

Lisa and Sally are waiting at our house.  Lisa cooked again, and helped the Bigs build toys.  The Littles kept Sally busy and wouldn't let her in the garage.  All of the dishes, pots and cutlery that are left in the sleigh can go to the cabin for them.  I give Lisa a few veggies, some clothes that will fit her and Sally, and I pour a bit of honey in a smaller jar for them.  There's an odd assortment of baskets, bins, craft supplies, and knicknacks left.  I keep a few baskets, then Husband takes the rest to the cabin.

It's dark out when the horses are finally put away for the night, and I'm exhausted, so I head off to bed.

Day 60

Two months without power.  Without cars.  Without t.v.  Without 'government'.  Without even a radio.  If it wasn't for the meal planner I made a while ago, I probably wouldn't even know what day it is.  One day blends into the next.  Monday is just the same as Friday.  We do what needs to be done- fires and water and cooking.  Then we look for ways to keep ourselves occupied.  Some project to do that might use up a day or two.

Everyone is feeling better now, it seems.  Maybe a little dragged out, and I guess a few sniffles yet, but the headaches, sore throats, and chest congestions all seem to have subsided.  I am so sick of washing hankies.  That could possibly be the downfall of civilization- mama goes postal for lack of kleenex.  Ok, ok, it's not that bad.  Still, there are certainly more pleasant jobs.  I'll be on the lookout for more sheets at the flea market.  I started storing the hankies in old coffee cans, but they may still need a new home.  We use coffee cans for feed scoops, clothespin buckets, and other assorted odds and ends.  It's strange that I now worry about where we're going to get more of something that most people consider to be garbage.

Husband and the Bigs built miniature rocket heaters for everyone's outhouses.  Ours isn't installed yet, because if someone comes over and sees it, it'll ruin the surprise for Christmas, so we're still freezing our butts off, but thankfully only for a few more days.

The weather's been holding steady at about -10°C overnight, and just below freezing through the day.  We've had some light flurries but no real big snow storms.  The snow on the ground is holding at just about a foot deep- perfect for the sleigh.  Husband and the Bigs have had it out a couple of times, just practicing, down our road.  Husband thinks we're ready to try the trip to the Hutterite village.

Today we check in with Mom and Dad, Brother and Sil, and Diego and Nira, and let them all know our plans.  The sleigh is only big enough for two people, and Husband figures it should be safe enough for me to go.  Everyone else will have to stay home.  If they have things they want to trade though, we'll take them along and do our best.  The Bigs wanted to ride along on the trip, but Husband says they'll have to stay at the house with the Littles.

Everyone has empty jerry cans and hopes for fuel.  We can only take 1 jerry can for each of them.  Sil has knitted mittens and slippers, and Brother has the fox skins.  He's gotten a few more since the last time we were there.  They have a box of books to trade in as well.

Mom has some meat to part with.  Dad got a moose.  Dad's made some knives for trading.  They're crude, but sharp.  They have some books.

Diego has 12 bows, but only one arrow for each.  If we can get him some more pipe, thinner pipe, and dowel he can keep making more.  Nira has some clothes that are too small for their youngest, and extra mittens that she sewed.  Nira's hoping for more children's books, and maybe some toys for Christmas.

I have candles to trade, books, a couple of roasts, a dozen eggs, and Husband has been cleaning and fixing things in the garage.  He adds a box of assorted odds and ends to the sleigh.  It's hard to know what to trade, when we don't know how long we'll be in this predicament, or when we'll be able to get more supplies.  What seems unnecessary now might become valuable in the future.

Everyone's priorities seem to have shifted.  Veggies are still high on the want list, but mostly everyone wants something to combat the boredom.  I have a bunch of board games for the kids, and several decks of cards.  We can lend them out amongst our group, but I think I could make copies to trade as well.  They won't be ready for this trip, but maybe next time.  I look through the cupboard and decide to take along an extra chessboard and a nature trivia game that the kids have gotten bored with.  They might be worth something.

After loading the sleigh with everything but the food, we decide to go and see the people we got our chickens from.  The roads are quiet on the way there.  We find a car with enough fuel to fill one jerry can.

They're happy to visit with us- it's been some time since they've seen anyone.  They still have a few more chickens than they'll be able to feed through the winter.  We show them what we have available to trade, and they take some metal thing from Husband's box, a pair of mittens, and the chess board for eight hens and a five gallon pail of goat's milk.

We talk for awhile about different wants and needs.  They figure they've still got enough of everything they need, except vegetables- mostly it's just boring out there all alone.  They miss their car.  They thought about trying to trade a cow for a horse, but neither one of them knows how to ride.  They joke that they'd be happy for a bicycle at this point.  We have a number of bicycles at our house.  I buy them at yard sales, because it seems one of the boys is always needing a new tire, or a different seat, or a gear.  The Bigs rip pieces off of one and put them on another all the time.  I wonder if they could put a few of them together to trade in the spring.

We have a nice, but short visit.  The days are so short now that we can't really risk being out much past two.  On the way home we stop at Diego and Nira's and drop off four hens.  We didn't give them any from the first batch, and I'm really bad about delivering eggs.  Neighbour's had a hen house on the side of their barn that's still solid and secure, so they don't really need to build anything for them, just find them feed.

Diego looks the sleigh over for a bit.  He wants to try putting skis on their little cart for the ponies.

Nira gets a pitcher and I give her some of the goat's milk.  She sees the nature trivia game in the wagon and wants it for the kids for Christmas.  I tell her I had planned to loan her some games, that I wanted to trade this one that the boys don't care for.  She is adamant that she wants it.  I ask her what she'd be willing to trade for it.  She starts getting mad because I won't let her take it for the kids.  I tell her my kids won't have presents this year either.  Husband and Diego come over to see what the fuss is about.

Husband asks Diego, "Do you want to trade the game for a couple of the bows?"

Diego asks, "Do you want them for the boys for Christmas?"

Husband says "Yes".

"Then take four.  You could have just asked".

Husband explains that we didn't feel comfortable taking their trade items just for presents.  We figured we'd find something they wanted to trade for before we asked.  Diego doesn't seem to care.  Nira's happy to have a present to wrap.  It doesn't seem like a fair trade to me, but I guess having something under the tree is more important to them than it is to me.

During supper I ask the boys if we still have that wood toy building set in the garage somewhere.  The wood pieces that came with it were really hard to work with, but the plans are in it to build cars, trucks, planes and boats.  I ask them if they think they could build some toys for the kids and Sally.  They decide to try and find it in the morning.

I look at the calendar again.  I'll have to make my own for next year.  Calendars would make good presents for the grown ups. I guess the whole present thing is easier than I thought it would be.

Day 27-

My cold is somewhat better this morning, but I enjoy my tea with goat's milk and rosehip syrop anyway.  I give the boys theirs the same way.

When I got dressed this morning I realized I forgot about the laundry.  Oops.  Need to get some underthings washed.  The boys probably have a ton of stuff that needs wahing in their rooms as well.

Last night in bed I decided to skip the menu for today, and make balogna rolls for supper tonight.  I wasn't thinking about milk when I made the menu plan, so I had best take advantage of the opportunity.  I get the balogna, cheese and yellow beans out of the freezer.

I clean the bear fat out of the bowl and put it in the coffee pot to melt.  I drain the fat from the pot into the bowl and take it back to the fridge.  I've got 10 quarts of 'lard' from the two bears so far.  The doggy stew gets more cracklings added.

Banana bread for breakfast, bear stew for lunch, no need to make bread.  I only need to worry about getting supper on today.

Husband wants to go and see how Diego and Nira are doing today, and go into town to the library.  I want to stop at the flea market and see if they have any little glasses I can use to make candles.  We decide to give the horses the day off, and take them all back to the creek to graze while we do laundry.

Husband and the Bigs get Samson hitched and everyone loads their laundry onto the cart.  The boys walk with the other horses and let them all loose in the pen.

The water is frigid in the creek and we're all half drenched by the time the laundry is washed.  We hitch Samson back to the cart and take the laundry to the clothesline at the house.  We get it all hung up and then settle in by the fire to warm up.  We change into dry clothes and eat lunch.

The boys help me roll balogna rolls.  I put them in a roasting pan on the stove, rather than the usual glass pans.

We all go to Diego and Nira's together.  The boys can stay and visit with them while we go to town.  We take them a loaf of bread, a jar of bear lard, a dozen eggs, a bag of potatoes, and their sharpened knives.

Diego and Nira are happy to see us.  One of the ponies has injured his leg, so they haven't been able to go anywhere or do much the past few days.  He should be better in another day or two.  They have been working hard on firewood, and probably have enough cut for winter now, but it's all along the edge of the woods.

Nira's weed collection is doing well, and they're learning to like the variety of pickles.  She's not baking as often now, rationing some of the boxed mixes and supplies.  She never believed the blackout would last this long, but she's working on surviving the winter now.

Diego got really lucky and shot a deer a few days ago.  They butchered it and froze it, and even kept the bones and scraps for Tank.  He hung the hide on the side of the shed.  They saved the fat in a bucket outside, but aren't sure what to do with it.  Nira wants to try rendering it this time.

We take it in the house and she gets a big pot out to put it in.  I explain it's not hard, it just takes some time.  I explain the process to her.  I tell her to look for some cotton string to make candle wicks, and small jars or glasses to make them in.

We tell them about the people with the chickens and goat's milk.  They want to go with us next time.

Diego gets really quiet and serious.  He tells us he shot someone.  There was someone trying to steal the ponies in the night a few days ago, and even with Tank barking and Diego yelling, they wouldn't leave.  Diego took his cross bow out to scare the man off, but the man had a gun.  Diego shot him straight through the heart before the man had a chance to fire.  The pony spooked and that's when it hurt it's leg.  They buried the man by the woods.

Everything has been so peaceful and civilized up to this point, it's hard to believe people are getting desperate now, especially with all of the meat available at the flea market.  I think they must have wanted the ponies for travel, not food.

We take their library books, a few jars of pickles, and head to town.  They'd like a different veggie if there's anything available.

Town is pretty quiet, except at the store where a few people are chatting outside.  We go to the library first.  I hang one of my weed lists on the wall, so everyone can see it.  I exchange all of our books.  There's a much better selection today.  Either people are done with them, or are feeling more generous.  Either way, the library is growing with books filling several shelves.

At the store we learn that some people have gotten boxes of books from the bigger library in Rivertown.  They've started their own book exchange, and anyone who plans to travel to any of the other towns is being asked to take a box of books to exchange with them.  We have no plans to travel that far right now, but we'll keep it in mind in the future.

There are a couple of pumpkins available, some potatoes, and a jar of mustard.  That strikes me as funny for some reason, but I'm not sure why.  There's lots of meet available, hanging in the old beer cooler.  That also strikes me as funny.  I trade two jars of pickles for a pumpkin.  It seems a little steep, but I can only imagine things are likely to get more expensive.

We go to the flea market and I trade one candle and one jar of pickles for a box of small glasses.  I know Marsha gave me a deal, but she can see future candles in the works. 

We drop the pumpkin, a few glasses, and some books off at Diego and Nira's and pick up the boys. 

Back at home it's time for chores, supper, and some reading before bed.

Day 25- Chicken Trade

I wake up with a headache this morning.  I think it's my sinuses, definitely pressure.  It snowed last night, just a couple of inches, and it's cold again.  The boys are tired of their endless pancake diet but make a batch anyway.  I get the fat bowl and clean the hardened tallow.  I drain more fat from the pot into it and take it back outside.  The hardened tallow goes into the coffee pot to melt.  I scoop cracklings out to add to the doggy stew and chicken feed.

I dig some bananas out of the freezer to bake banana bread.  I add half a jar of jam to each batch, leaving out the sugar.  I have to open a new box each of baking soda and baking powder.  I have one more box of baking soda, but this is the last powder.  I have no idea how long they should last for.  I don't remember needing to replace them often, but I never needed to worry about how to replace them before.  I write them on the list on the fridge.  You never know- I might be able to find some somewhere.  The first batch of banana bread goes in to bake.

There's enough chili left over for lunch today.  The turkey soup is mostly water, so I dump the remnants into the doggy stew and wash the pot.  We're getting low on water again.  I send the Littles out to do chores and brush clean snow off the cars, tables, lawn chairs, etc.  It's not deep enough to take off the ground.  They fill two big pots and set them beside the stove to melt. 

The Littles do their work books.  Husband and the Bigs go out to work the horses.  I ask them to leave Samson until after lunch.  I want to go see about getting more chickens today.  They give Knightmare an extra long work out today, and she's starting to get it.

I set the clean pot on the counter to plan for lunch tomorrow. I take a package of stewing bear out to defrost in it.  I check my calendar for supper tonight.  I'm off schedule already, after the beans and chili.  Last night was supposed to be roast beef, and hash tonight.  Tonight will be roast beef instead.  Not a big deal.  I get a roast out of the freezer and put it in a roasting pan.  We've got enough bread for today, and banana bread for breakfast tomorrow.  I put the second batch in the oven.

I peel potatoes for supper and tomorrows soup, adding water to both pots.  I add squash, weeds, chives, and a carrot to the soup pot. 

The last batch of banana bread goes in the oven to bake.  I go to the basement and get two small boxes.  I put about 2 pounds of potatoes in each, a jar of dried weeds, a couple of onions.  I debate about other canned goods, but don't want to lose the jars.  I add a couple of carrots and onions instead.  Upstairs I take the banana bread out, remove the oven, and put the roast and chili on the stove.  I pour the melted fat into clean pasta jars.  That gives me an idea.

I add a small candle to each of the boxes.  I'll have to make more candles for trading.  I add 'small jars' to the list on the fridge.  I bag two loaves of banana bread and put one in each box.  I bag another and set it on the side.  I put a copy of the weed list in each box.

Husband and the Bigs come in for lunch.  The boys load my boxes and two empty cages on the cart after lunch.  They go with us to Mom and Dad's. 

Dad has a couple of empty jerry cans he'd like filled if we happen across a car that hasn't been drained.  I give Mom a loaf of banana bread.  She peaks inside one of the boxes.  They'd like a couple of chickens themselves.  Mom packs a small box with odds and ends- catsup and sauce packets from restaurants, a box of kraft dinner, a can of soup, a can of carrots, and a couple packets of microwave popcorn. 

We leave the boys with them to visit, and go to the flea market.  Husband doesn't trust my directions, so he stops in to check with Marsha.

At the closest house that had advertised chickens we find out they've already traded or butchered all they want to part with.  At the second house the people want all three boxes for one bird.  We go to the third house, which is much further away.  We get lucky there.

It's a small farm with an assortment of goats, chickens, ducks and cows.  They don't have horses, so their travels are very limited.  They haven't had many people come to trade for chickens, and they have a lot of them.  With no feed available for sale, and winter setting in, they have to butcher them or get rid of them.  They happily trade us 16 hens for the three boxes of food.  They probably would have given us more, but that's all the cages will hold.

The lady looks through the boxes and looks at the jar of dried weeds.  They're running low on veggies.  I show her the weed list and we go for a quick walk around her yard so I can point out the ones she's not sure of. 

We have a long, friendly chat.  They don't get many visitors and don't have any family around.  We talk about the goats.  They have dairy goats.  Ours are meat.  They have two that are due to kid soon.  I ask what they would want to trade for one of the soon to be moms.  They aren't interested in trading them at this time, but they offer us some milk.  They'll trade milk any time we want to come back, and maybe a pregnant goat in the spring.

We find a car on the highway that has just enough fuel to fill the jerry cans.  We go back to Mom and Dad's.

Dad and the boys have built a small chicken pen out of logs.  It looks like the cutest little log cabin dog house.  They've built a little fence around it, weaving together thin trees and branches.  The boys trim the wings off of 4 hens and put them in the pen.  Dad figures that's enough for them.

We drop 8 hens off at our house, trimming their wings but keeping them inside for today.  We put the goat's milk in the outside fridge.

We load up half of the remaining bear meat on the cart, grab another loaf of banana bread, and take it to Brother and Sil's.  They're a little surprised to be receiving chickens, and at first suggest that we just keep them at our place.  Our chicken pen isn't mobile though, so we already have to supplement their feed with grass and weeds.  It'll be easier if they keep their own chickens and move them every day to graze.  I won't be responsible for providing everyone with eggs if they have their own birds either.

We help them build a little log cabin chicken house to keep them in over night.  The boys explain how they built Grandpa's pen, so they can work on that tomorrow.

We go home.  The boys put Samson and the cart away and do chores.  I check the roast and put the potatoes on to cook.  The snow is still covering the ground, so no weeds to pick today.  Beets for supper veg.

I still have a headache, so I decide to try some pine needle tea.  A friend told me once that pine needles are like aspirin.

After supper I go to bed with a book.  Husband has read through all of #1's James Patterson books.  He needs to make a trip to the library.  The boys play cards.

Day 23- Bear and Market

Everyone's up early this morning.  I'm sure I heard something, but I'm not sure what.  Smitty was growling softly when I woke.  Maybe he heard it too.  Nobody else remembers hearing anything.  They're just awake early.  It's still dark out, but the dogs have been out and they didn't seem to have noticed anything out of place out there.

Pancakes, coffee, and tea for breakfast.  #2 is my resident pancake chef.  He's a morning person.  I drain the bear fat into the metal bowl and take it out to sit on the freezer.  I grab the bowl of chopped turkey, take out a handful, and toss it in the soup pot for lunch.  I drain the beans, reserving the water.  I pour some of it into the soup pot and put it on the stove.

I put the beans in a roasting pan, add catsup, onions, garlic, molasses and a bit of bear fat.  They go back on the stove to bake.

After the boys do chores and feed the dogs I add a couple cups of rice and some weeds to the doggy stew pot.  They grab a bone package and I toss it in.  It'll sit on the counter until tonight.

Husband and the Bigs go out to work the horses.

The Littles get out their work books and do a couple of pages while I tidy the kitchen.  I clean out the breakfast pan, bowl, and utensils and set them in their place on the counter.  Organization makes things easier.

Husband and the Bigs have Samson hooked to the cart when the Littles and I come out to pick weeds.  We decide to go visit Mom and Dad, and take them some bread.

We find a dead bear just off the deck when we get there.  I knew I heard something this morning.  The bear had come looking for food around their grill.  Dad shot him.  Now he'll be food.  Excellent.  Dad tells us to take it home and hang it in the garage.  He'll come over to help butcher tomorrow. 

We visit for a bit, Samson trims their lawn, we load the bear and head home.  We stop and gut it on the side of the road.

Samson refuses to back the cart up to the garage so we can hang the bear.  It's too big to carry, so we use the quad to move it inside and hook it to the come-a-long.  #2 and I start skinning.  Husband and #1 take Samson to practice backing up for a bit, then put him away.

When the bear is skinned we hang it on the wall of the garage.  We're developing quite a collection there.  I give the beef hide and the first bear hide a quick scrape, then salt all three.

Soup for lunch with turkey salad sandwiches.  I even open a jar of mayo.  It's cold enough now that we can just set it outside.  The freezer is getting kind of crowded though, with the assortment of things to keep cool.

Husband and the Bigs hook Tori to the cart.  Her leg is better now.  They use the cart to move our old fridge, which has been sitting beside the work shop, up to the house.  I had planned to use it for storage, but there wasn't much in it.  They set it beside the entrance way door outside.  Right now it will be perfect as a fridge, just a bigger cooler with shelves and no ice required.  In another month everything in it will freeze.  It'll keep the dogs out of things though, and take the clutter off the freezer.

#2 saws the bear carcass in half and we cut a hind quarter down.  I wrap it in a garbage bag and he loads it on the cart.  We grab some bread and a jar of cattail flour and go to Brother and Sil's.

Brother heard the gunshot this morning too.  They're happy for the meat and bread.  I tell them to try the flour.  If they like it they still have time to dig more cattails. 

Their cabin is quite cozy now, with the closet and shelves up, and walls framed in around the girls' room.  They don't plan to put in solid walls, but continue with the sheets hanging instead so the heat will move through freely.  They've built a bench for more seating around the table, and another small table for crafts and cards. 

Sil and the girls have gathered and dried an impressive collection of weeds.  They want to go to the flea market/feed store to see if Marsha has any jars for sale.  I have boxes of old pickle/pasta sauce/cheese whiz jars stored, so they can take some of those, but they'll need more jars for canning next summer. 

Husband figures #1 will be fine to drive, so Sil and I head out with him in the cart.  We stop at home and cut a shoulder off of the bear to trade with.  I grab a handful of change as well, just in case.

The market seems to be doing a bustling business these days, and much like the store in town, has an odd selection of things to trade.  Animal feed is long gone, but the trailers it had been kept in are now loaded with clothing, blankets, assorted building supplies and other odds and ends.  There's a shelf on one wall with food.  I'm surprised by the amount of meat- bear, moose, beef, chicken, partridge and rabbit.  It seems that everyone can hunt and butcher, but vegetables are in short supply. 

There's a list on the wall of people hoping to trade animals they can no longer feed- mostly horses, dogs and cats- but also goats, cattle, rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese.  I get directions from Marsha to a couple of the people who've listed chickens.

Sil finds a couple boxes of jars, some extra dishes, utensils, blankets, and clothing.  I ask Marsha what the bear shoulder is worth to her.  She says we can take all of that and a bit more.  I add all of the jeans I can find and a couple of blankets.  We both figure it's a pretty good deal.  I ask if she's still taking cash and she says no.  I ask about coins.  She hesitates, but still says no.  I expected coins to hold some value over paper, easier to carry than household goods, and they can always be melted down for the metal.  Not yet, it seems.

We drop off my blankets and jeans at our house, load a couple of boxes of jars onto the cart, then go back to Brother and Sil's camp to unload.

The girls get busy jarring up the dried weeds while Sil and I put away the other supplies and cut up the bear.  Husband and Brother load the cart with barrels and buckets.  They go to Sanya and Roam's for water.

By the time they come back and get the water unloaded it's already dark.  We go home, do chores, have baked beans for supper, drain more fat from the rendering pot, and put the doggy stew on to cook overnight.  The fat bowl and baked beans go in the fridge outside overnight.

The boys look through the pile of jeans that I got from the flea market.  They take what will fit, but a lot of them are women's jeans and won't fit any of us.  I'm thinking ahead, of alterations to be made, or reusing the material.  What we have won't last forever.  The blankets get folded and put away in the chest upstairs.  Again, we don't really need them right now, but the time will come.

The boys start playing cards.  Husband reads.  I start writing out three lists of edible weeds- what to look for, which parts to use, how to eat them.  When finished I head to bed.

Day 20- Burns, Books, and Wildlife

Oh my god.  I can't fricken believe it.  Yesterday I moved pot after pot of boiling hot water- filtering, cleaning, filling the bathtub- no problem.  This morning I make a coffee and tea like usual, and then dump the tea pot all over my foot!

I ran to the bathroom and jumped in the tub.  Thankfully I filled the tub back up yesterday, so there was cool water in it, but honestly when it happened I was running for the tap.  Autopilot.  The only ice we have is in the pop bottles I set outside to switch in the cooler every day.  It's pretty much impossible to wrap that around my foot.  Husband takes several wet cloths outside to cool while I hold the pop bottle on it.  It's red and blotchy, but luckily not blistered- at least not yet.  The boys clean up the spill and make me a new pot of tea.  What a crappy way to start the day.

The boys make breakfast- back to the pancake routine.  Eggs need to be saved for baking.

The boys go out to do chores and find a dead turkey.  Two more are missing.  There are large paw prints in the garden.  Large fox or small wolf- hard to say which.  Either way, we are down three more birds.  They check the chickens, which are fine.

It's cool but sunny, so Husband and the Bigs decide to do firewood again after they work the horses.  Knightmare is finally starting to understand the reins.  They give Samson a quick work out with the reins, and then hitch him to the stone boat.  He does really well pulling it.  Husband is certain he's been trained to pull before now.  They decide to go to the back for firewood and use Samson to pull logs.  The Littles tag along.  There won't be much for them to do, other than moving small branches out of the way, until the logs are back at the house, cut, and ready to stack.

I'm left at home with my aching foot.  I switch the cloths on it, but I'm bored out of my mind just sitting here.  I decide to package up my seed.  Some of the sunflower seeds that spilled did sprout, but there's no mold.  I pick out the sprouted ones and toss them in the bird bucket.  I pack the rest in old jars.  It's not a great selection- sunflowers, tomatoes, peppers, parsnip, beans, asparagus, crab apples.  With what I have left from this year, next year's garden should be ok.  Still, I'll have to be much more diligent about saving seed in the future.

Husband has Samson pull up six logs in two trips.  #1 walks him up on the third trip.  He's done extremely well.  They break for lunch and put him back in the pasture.  They make a pot of chicken noodle soup for lunch- nothing fancy, just the package and powder type.  They use the last of the crackers.  I have a couple of recipes for crackers, but we didn't really care for them.  While they might go over better now, with that secret ingredient added in (hunger), I don't think I want to 'waste' the flour to try it.

After lunch Husband puts the oven on the stove top for me.  I'm hobbling better now, but can only handle a couple of minutes without a cold cloth on my foot.  Still, the cattail starch is not drying very well, so I want to put it on cookie sheets in the oven.

Nira and Diego come after lunch.  They had a crazy mad dash for water yesterday as well- baths, laundry and drinking water.  They take my library books, our empty jerry cans, and siphoning hoses and head to town.

Husband and the Bigs cut up the logs and the Littles stack them in the wood shed.  Then they cut more wood from the lot across the road.  I read a book.

Nira and Diego return just before supper.  Things in town seem better than our last visit.  They traded a few jars of pickles for a pumpkin, two turnips, and a cabbage.  The store would have taken more, but there wasn't much selection, so they decided to keep what they had.  They had to go a ways out of town to find cars that still had gas, but they managed to refill all of the jerry cans.  The library has grown, but the selection isn't great.  Nira has picked a bunch of harlequins for me.  Better than nothing, I suppose.  They head back to their place.

Husband takes the oven off the stove.  #4 makes hot dogs for supper.  The temperature is dropping outside, and the cloths are nearly frozen when I switch them for my foot.  It doesn't look like it's going to blister, but still hurts.  The Bigs do chores and double check that the turkey shack is secure.  We're going to leave the dogs outside loose overnight.

The Bigs bring in the heavy blankets that were hung on the clothesline in the rain yesterday.  They're not quite dry yet, so we hang them over door frames and chairs for tonight.

We spend the evening playing clue, and then head off to bed.  My foot aggravates me repeatedly throughout the night, waking me up. 

Day 12- Breaking and Entering

It's more peaceful this morning, with everyone sleeping when I wake up.  I enjoy my routine of making tea and coffee, filtering and boiling water, planning my day.

Diego and Nira come over for coffee.  I get some paper and start making a list of supplies they'll need.  Coffee and a coffee pot are first.  Nira wants sugar too, not that I can blame her.  Then they're going to need containers to put it in, more cooking utensils, a large pot for water.  They have a surprising amount of cash with them.  I wonder if anyone will take it.

Husband gets up and joins us.  I can see he's a little grumpy that he didn't get to sneak sugar into his first cup of coffee, but he started that.  In truth, I have enough sugar for a couple of months, at least, even with a lot of baking.

We talk about what we can take to trade, and I go to the basement for jams and pickles.  I'm somewhat resentful, using my supplies to buy theirs, but then, I'm the one insisting on having my own space.

Brother and Sil arrive.  They're anxious to get going.  The boys get up and I tell them to make pancakes to feed the kids.

The men go out to get the horses ready.  I pack up my books and take them to the cart.

We go to Our Village, where things look pretty normal, except for the cars on the street.  The townsfolk have pushed them off the roads though, so the way is clear.

There are men with guns sitting outside the store.  Since the town is so small, they've picked strategic locations to guard, rather than standing on the roads to stop people from coming through.  They've only had a few squabbles to deal with though, and no outsiders for days.

Brother and Sil use the phone, but there's no answer.

Inside the store there's a weird variety of things people have traded for food and supplies.  There isn't much food left though.  The flour and sugar are gone.  Nira looks over some pots and pans and asks how much they're asking.  They aren't taking money anymore, but they'll be happy to trade for food or anything useful.  She looks over a rack of clothing.  I go out to the cart and get the food.  Three jars of pickles and five jars of jam buy a new outfit for each of the kids, Nira and Diego.  The store owner tells us that meat is most sought after if we come again.  Any kind of meat.  Even horse.  I'm starting to feel uncomfortable.

Sil, Nira and I walk down to the library.  It's self serve, even though there are guards stationed there.  I take my books out and put them on an empty shelf.  We look over the selection left by others, and choose a few each.

Walking back to the store we notice broken windows and buildings that look abandoned.  Not so normal after all.

Another horse cart comes into town, this one has been loaded with potatoes and I see part of an animal.  Moose, I think.  I breathe a little easier.  I didn't like the way the store owner had said horse.

Brother tries the phone again before we leave.  This time there's an answer, but it's not Friend.  Friend's parents have made it to the cottage, but no one else is there.  They're happy to hear that Friend is on his way.

We leave town and head for home.  As we pass northern neighbour's place, I decide we should stop.  He never picks his rhubarb, and has let me have it before.  Husband and Brother snoop around through the outbuildings and find a small woodstove that isn't being used.  Neighbour had a broiler installed a few years ago and probably took this out of the house then.  We decide to borrow it for Nira and Diego.  Then we decide to borrow some other hand tools as well.  I'll make a list when we get home so we can return them if things ever get back to normal.

We're about to leave when Nira wonders if they left any food or blankets.  By the looks of the town it won't be long before someone is out here breaking in anyway, so we decide to check.

We break a small window with a rock and Nira climbs through.  She unlocks the door for the rest of us.  There is food, lots of clothing, blankets, and everything else you'd expect to find in a normal house.  The pantry is nearly full- it looks like Neighbours only took a bit of this and that from here and there.  They probably didn't have room to take it all.  We take what we can fit on the cart and leave the rest.  We can come back for more later.

Back at the house Nira tells Diego about everything left in neighbour's house.  They decide to move down there instead of bringing everything here.  It's true, they'll have everything they need there, but they'll be more exposed.  It'll be better for us though, with someone at the end of the road if people come to raid, so we don't argue.  They can always come back here if things don't work out.  We unload the horse cart at our house, so the kids will all fit in.  I suggest Nira take inventory of the food there, keep picking weeds, and ration things a bit, but I don't think she's listening.

Husband takes them down and drops them off.  He agrees to go back and check on them in a couple of days.

Back at home it's quiet and peaceful.  We decide to take the woodstove back to the cabin while the cart is still hooked up.  The boys grab some old stove pipe and the tire rubber for the door.  We leave the stove and pipe inside and put the door on.

It's time for lunch, with a whole lot less people to feed.  We decide to splurge and cook some burgers.  Supper will be a small roast that I cut off the beef.

We spend the afternoon getting firewood.  It goes much faster with the big boys.  We keep all of the thinner branches in a pile as we trim trees.  we take them to the chicken pen and weave them into the fence wherever there are holes.  It takes a while, but finally I think the pen is secure enough to keep out the foxes.  Our new chickens are put in the coop for the night.  They won't get to try out the pen until tomorrow.

We eat supper and then play Risk for a couple of hours before bed.

Day 10- A Trip To The Potato Man

I'm up early.  Or still.  I didn't sleep much last night.  I stoke the stove, start coffee and tea, and then start a batch of bread.  I pour myself a cup of tea- it'll be the last one with honey.  I wonder why I never went to the local apiary myself.  I always meant to, to see if they had larger jars or better prices than what the grocery store carried.  But then, I also enjoyed the convenience of buying it from the grocery store, and the best way too show them that was to keep buying it there.  Except now, I don't know where they are and I can't call for directions.  I know they're somewhere near the potato man.  It would have been good to make two stops on one trip.

Husband gets up and pours himself a coffee.  He puts his sugar in, then hides the canister at the back of the cupboard.  He sits down at the table and sees the empty honey jar.  "So I suppose this means I'm going to have to start sharing my sugar with you."

I laugh.  "Yeah, unless you want to go on a wild goose chase and find me some more honey."  He looks over the jar.  Just a rural route number, no road address.

"Why didn't you ever start a beehive?", he asks.

I just stare at him.  "Seriously?"  He starts to laugh.

"What?  My super woman afraid an itty bitty bee's going to kill her..."  He's roaring now.  I can't help it.  I laugh too.  I had thought about getting a hive, but I am allergic.  The bumbles are better suited to our climate and less likely to attack me, so I never pursued it.  Though in all honesty, the bees get a bad rap.  I've never been stung by a bee- it's always the wasps and spiders that put me in the hospital.

There's a tap at the door and the dogs go wild.  I think they're edgier since it's so quiet now without the constant hum of all the hydro sucking appliances.  Husband grabs two of them and I get the door with just Smitty as my guard.  To my surprise, it's Brother and Sil.  They join us for coffee, and I sneak them some sugar but tell them not to tell.

Brother is going with Husband for potatoes.  He wants to try calling the girls again.  Sil wants me to take her for a walk and teach her the weeds.  Mom and Dad still aren't concerned about how long this is going to last for, but Sil knows we could be in it for the long haul.  She's extra uncomfortable not having any food storage here.  We're  discussing my storage when Nira and Diego come in.  Nira's surprised that Sil wants to forage and store whatever she can find.  I think having Sil in on the conversation helps Nira to see the light.  Sil keeps telling her how lucky we all are that I've been feeding my family weeds for years.  Most people don't know what to look for.

The boys get up, and the kids come in.  There are too many people in my house.  I leave #2 to organize breakfast, and show Nira how to cook again.  I go out to the garage to cut and wrap some beef.

Casper's only been hanging three days, but my mouth is watering.  The meat is so much thicker and heavier than Steaks' was.  It smells divine.  I split the hip and cut down one quarter.  I almost drop it.  He was a big boy.  Dorie sure did a fine job!

I start cutting the meat off the bone.  The rump is big enough for at least six roasts, eight if I really want to stretch it.  I cut the legs into stewing beef.  I look over the pile of meat.  By pre blackout prices, a roast should be worth a bit more than a bag of potatoes.  I decide to send them with 7 roasts and 2 packages of stewing meat.  I tuck the rest of the meat into the freezer.  I take the bones in the house.

The kids and the Littles are gone when I go in.  There are plates everywhere, and most still have bits of pancake on them.  It amazes me how wasteful city people are.  At least I don't have to worry about what to feed the dogs today.  Everyone else is finishing their pancakes.  The blueberry sauce is empty, and they've started a jar of elderberry.  #1 must have picked it.

I put the bones in a stock pot, then filter the water off the stove to fill it.  #1 gets me a couple of carrots and an onion from the basement.  I know this is breaking my own rules, but the stock will make several meals to come, not just today's.  I chop the carrots, then change my mind about the onion.  I go out and pick a few chives instead.  I spice it with rosemary, thyme, and garlic, and set it on the grill.  #2 hands me a plate of pancakes.  He and I sit down to eat.  I'm annoyed that he's still cooking, but Nat has finished her pancakes.

Husband, Brother and Diego go out to get Tori and the cart ready to go.  #1 finds and loads a couple of garden forks and several feed bags, in case they have to dig.  Husband hasn't thought of anything worth trading, other than food.  They load the meat I had wrapped.  The cart is almost full.  I send #2 out with a few jars of jams, a small bag of carrots and a blanket to cover it all.  He saddles Knightmare.  He'll ride alongside the cart.  I tell him to put the saddle bags on too, just in case.  The men get their guns.  There's only room for 2 on the seat, and one in the cart.  Someone will have to stay.

#2 says, "Let's ask southern neighbour for an extra horse."  That's not a bad idea.  I give Husband all of the paper cash I have saved, except $20 in small bills, just in case.  We say goodbye, and they head out, with #1 walking along.  If they can't borrow a horse, he'll walk back home.

They find the neighbours putting the last of their hay out.  They tell them their plan and ask to borrow an extra horse.  Sanya tells them they can keep one if they're willing to feed it.  She picks one of her favourites for #1.  She also decides to join them.  She rides one of her horses that's also broke to pull, just in case Tori can't handle the trip.  Roam saddles two horses, and leads a third from the barn.  He figures they can't feed it anyway, they might as well try to trade it for potatoes.

It's 42 kilometers to the next small town, so it's a pretty quiet ride for a while.  There are few houses alongside the highway, and most look abandoned.  The worst they encounter for a long time are cars abandoned on the road that they have to work their way around.  Most of them have smashed windows and have obviously been rummaged through, probably people looking for food.  They shoot a few partridge on the way. 

After about an hour later, they are hit with the stench of rot.  They can see the crows up ahead.  They expect to find roadkill, but as they approach a house on the side of the road, they see people have been shot.  There are three near the road and a fourth near the house.  They are about to stop when the door opens and a woman with a gun yells, "Keep moving!"  They wave and continue, guns cocked.

They reach Littletown after two hours.  People are out and about chatting, kids are running around playing.  Things look normal, until they arm themselves.  Several men walk out to the road.  They're wary, but calm.  They chat about the blackout, supplies, survival.  The people here have banded together, and most are doing fine.  Husband tells them our village is ok too.

Brother asks if the payphone is working.  It is.  He calls the girls.  There's still no answer.  They continue down the road.

It's almost another hour before they reach the next village.  It looks like a major city from days gone by.  This area is mostly a Hutterite community.  They're doing well.  The country store is still open, though it's lit by lanterns and has no feed.  Husband stops in and looks around.  He buys a small oil lamp for $7.  #1 spots my honey on a shelf.  Husband grabs two jars.  It's another $20, but he figures it's worth it.  The man at the counter tells him the apiary is part of the community, so the honey is always there for sale.  He also says they're still processing chickens down the road, if we have money, we can have meat.  We aren't worried about meat.

Diego looks over the woodstoves for sale.  These are serious wood cook stoves, with serious price tags.  He asks if they would consider trading for one, since our money is all locked up in the bank.  The man scratches his chin for awhile.  "It would have to be a big trade", he says, "like a couple of cows or horses".

Roam jumps in and tells him he has a horse with him that he was hoping to trade.  The man calls someone else out of the back to go and see the horse.  Outside they settle on a price, not in cash, but in goods.  Roam and Sanya discuss a variety of things they need, but the big question is how to get them home.  They tell the men about their other horses, and no hay.  The men ask where they are, and agree to trade horses for hay.  They'll deliver it and take the horses they want with them.  Sanya is happy her horses will be fed, and she won't lose them all.

They continue on their way to the potato man.  It's only another half hour up the road.  No one is around when they get there, and they see bullet holes in the sign.  The men call out to the house and fields but nobody answers.  Then Husband yells, "We have food to trade or money to buy!"  A curtain moves in the window and they can see the potato man peek out.  Husband pulls the blanket back, and lifts a package.  "Beef!", he yells.

The potato man and another man step outside with guns.  "The beef is probably rotten!"  He yells.  Husband tells him we slaughtered our cow just three days ago and wrapped the meat this morning.  He takes one package to them and opens it so they can smell it.  "That's not rotten.  That smells good!"

They start to discuss a trade, but the potato man has been robbed several times.  He has no fuel for his equipment, and most of his crop is still in the field.  He agrees to let them dig the potatoes themselves.  They decide that ten bags of potatoes are a fair trade for all of the beef, jams and carrots.  He tells them where to dig and welcomes them back any time.

It takes a couple of hours to dig and fill the ten bags of potatoes.  The cart is overloaded.  Tori is already sore and tired, so Sanya switches her horse on the cart.  #1 trades horses with her.  He's lighter, so it will be easier on Tori.  They cover the potatoes with the blanket and Diego sits on top of them for the ride home.  There's really no hiding what's under the blanket though.

When they reach the Hutterite village, Husband decides to go back to the store.  He asks the man about live chickens.  We lost all of ours to foxes this year.  The man from the back takes him to a farm in his buggy where Husband pays $20 for 4 hens and a rooster.  He doesn't have a cage though, so he cuts some air holes in a feed bag and hopes they make it home ok.

Back on the road they pass some people headed south.  One of them is bleeding.  They watch the cart of potatoes go by, but don't try anything with everyone holding guns.

In Littletown they are wary, not wanting their haul to be raided.  The men come to the road to chat again, and ask if the potato man is ok.  They've made several trips there themselves.  They chat about the Hutterite village.  A boy notices the chickens in the feed bag and gets upset.

"They shouldn't be in there like that!", he says.

"We don't have a cage.", Husband answers.  The boy runs off and comes back with an old laundry basket.  It's cracked in several places.  "Put them in here", he says.  They transfer the birds, and put the feed bag on top.  He gets some string so they can tie the feed bag over the top.  Husband thanks him profusely, telling him he was worried about the birds making it home.

They talk about the city to the south.  There haven't been any visitors from there, and the townsfolk think any who have left the city headed south.  Not many people head that way and return though either.  Most people come from the north, hungry and desperate.  They had to shoot at a group earlier in the day that tried to break into a house.  Husband tells them they probably passed them, and one was bleeding.

Brother decides to try the phone again.  There's still no answer at his house.  He tries calling a friend, and is surprised when he answers.  He is relieved a moment later, when he is talking to his daughters.  Friend went to their house.  He has an old truck that's still running, and wanted them to travel north to his cottage together.  Things are crazy in the cities.  He found the girls home alone.  They loaded up all of Sil's canned goods, sleeping bags, hand tools, and winter clothes for everyone.  They've been in Friend's village for days.  Friend wants to leave after dark and travel through the night.  He thinks he has enough fuel to make the trip to Huntsville.  This will put the girls several hours closer to us.  He gets the phone number for the cottage and tells them to take the rotary phone with them.

They leave Littletown and head for home.  The rest of the trip is uneventful, except for shooting a few more partridge.  They leave Sanya and Roam with one bag of potatoes and bring the rest home, along with the horse #1 had been riding.

We're all relieved when they're back at home.  It's been a long, worry filled day.  I am thrilled to see the chickens.  We will have eggs again!  I am not taking any chances with these- I put them in the basement for the night.

Brother tells Sil and the rest of us the news about the girls.  Mom and Dad are here too.  Dad thinks he can get our old diesel truck running, and he should have enough fuel to get to Huntsville and back.  He'll have to put his farm fuel tank in the box.  They decide to work on it in the morning.

The Bigs put the horses back in the pasture.  Everyone helps unload potatoes.  Nat is upset that all of the potatoes are going in my cold room.  I tell her until she digs a root cellar that's the only place that makes sense.

We clean the partridge and I slice them up.  I put them in the cooler tonight, we will feast tomorrow.

When everything is unloaded, Husband brings me the blanket.  It's much heavier than I expect.  He smiles as I unwrap it and discover the honey.  This is so much more than I was expecting.  I start to cry, cause, you know, sometimes I get girly like that.

This morning, after the men left, we women went on a weed walk.  Nira and Sil are both quite confident about which weeds are safe to eat.  Back at the house, Sil helped me roll out bread.  She wanted to learn how to make it, so we started another batch.  Then we rolled it into bread bowls.  We canned several jars of beef stock, and made a big pot of beef soup for supper, with a variety of weeds, a few potatoes, the carrots from the stock, and all the meat off the bones.

We light a fire outside and sit around it eating and talking for hours, listening to the men's tale of adventure.  The kids are all enthralled by the story telling, listening intently.  It's like a pirate story for them.  I think we better make time for 'school' for all of them.

We talk late into the night.  Sil and Nira ask about how to build a root cellar.  Mom and Dad tell them about root cellars they had when they were kids.  I suggest they start digging right through the floor of their camps, so it'll be accessible through the winter.

We talk about the woodstoves and doing a trade.  Two cows would leave us with only 1, the calf, and our bull.  That's too steep of a price.  Dad's pretty sure he can rig something together for Diego and Nira anyway.

We all go to bed well fed, calm and more content than we have been in a long time.