Kids a story

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With the way, the economy was heading our church in cooperation with several other churches combined efforts to provide a safe place for orphans to live. It was to be set on a piece of land of a rich person, in one of the churches owned and was willing to donate; it used to be a country estate/farm turned into a hunting lodge. The youth groups from all the churches got together along with some of the adults to put together a place that was mostly self-sufficient. I was on the committee that did research to present to the elders on what we needed. we found lot’s of information on the internet, including some stories by fleataxi, TOM (tired old man), and Jerry D Young, along with many other useful things to know, we also were able to get a CD from Backwoods Home of all of their older issues including things like recipes and other things including solar power information. All the adults started looking into getting as much of these things as they could, at the beginning of the summer we got ready to go and get to work on the property. We all volunteered to do this instead of taking a vacation. We had country churches and rich city churches the city churches were more interested in purchasing things, the country churches donated the animals and plants and seeds to plant. My family and I came from a small town church that did a little of both, the youth pastors were going to stay with the kids, and other professionals like plumbers, electricians, construction, farmers, and vets would come as their schedules permitted. Quite a few of the orphans that would wind up living there also came to help. Sound like fun? Not. It was a lot of work, the old place was big enough but it sure was rundown and dirty, with bugs and the odd mouse or rat, I brought my cat Tiger, she was a great mouser. I sure was glad we were going to stay indoors, the only tent I had was an old German tent, with several moth holes Mom and Dad had patched. It was bought at a garage sale for 2 dollars and that included a sleeping bag and an old lantern, it all was cleaned up and made usable. Not by any stretch of the imagination considered pretty, the sleeping bag weighed a good deal with a plaid flannel liner. Mom relined it with a petty sheet, after a good wash, she also redid the outside with some nylon from an old poncho, along with doing new stuffing, it was now nice and puffy and light, the only thing left from the original is the zipper, Tiger had to travel in her pet carrier, another redone item. Mom and Dad came also, since Dad had lost his job and Mom was a stay at home Mom, they had the summer free and consented to chaperone, it all just worked out that way, we were being evicted and this seemed like a good opportunity. Dad had worked the last 10 years as the custodian at the school, before that he had been a repairperson, Jack of trades. He could do many things. It made him a good fit to teach many things we needed to learn, we would be moving to the orphanage at the end of the summer so all our things were packed and moved. They would be house parents and do the upkeep. Mom had always had a garden and canned what we did not eat fresh. I got along with the orphans better than the arrogant kids did from the city. They thought that since they had the newest and best things they were better than the rest of us.

We had been there working and cleaning about 6 weeks when the man who ran a orchard showed up, he went through the old orchard area, marked the dead trees to be removed. He would be bringing new trees out to replace them, we also climbed all the trees removing dead and diseased wood and cutting here and there to make the trees better and stronger. He also had us dig holes around the trees be filled with manure and fish guts, plus some seaweed stuff he brought. I was sure glad to be through with the stink even tiger avoided me. It is strange she does not like fish. We finished repairing the old barn. Everything was still in good shape since it was all made of stone with slate roofs. Thank goodness, there was no rot. Tiger was growing fat from the mice she was catching in the house, we needed a cat in the barn to kill those mice, When the livestock arrived so did a couple of barn cats. They would come up to you but would quickly run off not wanting you to get to familiar. Along with the cows, we now had some horses. Nothing fancy, also brought were wagons for the horses to pull. One of the farmers brought his tractor along with the stuff to get the fields back in shape. The older boys had been out cutting down all the trees trying to grow up in the field and had fixed all the fences. The goats had gone through and made good work of removing all the small brush. We did discover some berry vines and moved them to an area the goats could not get to just outside the fences. We also found the old wood stoves for the house, cleaned and reblacked them. An odd person from the city, came, cleaned, and repaired the chimneys. He removed the bird’s nest that he found. Then he repaired the screens at the top of the chimneys to keep them out in the future.

Mom had a garden going first thing, even though it was a little late to get it growing. All the old bedding and manure in the old barn plowed into it. We were starting to get the first of the things from the garden, some of the kids had not liked salads before now did since we had it so often and Mom had a killer dressing she made. Mom was thankful so many of the herbs were still growing in the old herb garden. She had taken some of the new manure and added it as a tea to the beds and the plants now looked happy. Our plumber from home had been here all this time and had been fixing all the piping in the house; the well had tested good having been new when the previous owner bought the place. He had also set up a solar heater for hot water, using the old dish from satellite receiver left out back. One of those huge ones now lined with reflectors to heat the water running through pipes attached where the heat focused.

I am a rainbow; well I do have many colors of paint on various pieces of apparel, and anatomy, luckily, I had a shower cap to keep it out of my hair. I learned that when I had helped paint with my mom and dad, just once was enough of having my hair grow out so I could cut off the paint I could not get out of it. Now we are building bunk beds, we have several rooms large enough for sharing and are taking old broken beds and using parts to make bunk beds with new wood to keep them strong and able to withstand the occasional jumping. We also built wooden lockers and chests for the rooms, the city churches are getting mattresses and linen. The women’s ministries in several churches are quilting up a storm. In my humble opinion, I think it will be warm and cozy to be here. Also coming is tons of clothes both used and new. We are getting more kids coming out, I overheard that parents could not take care of them when they lost their jobs and homes, so just dropped them off at churches or sent them on a church bus and left before they came home. Some literally just have the clothes on their backs.

My name is Esther; I am 16 years old and an only child. I am small for my age at almost 5 feet tall, I look like I am in grade school still, and I have long auburn hair or as my dad would say red hair and a temper. My mom says I look and act just like her Aunt Esther that I was named for. I hope not, as she was a spinster and ended up with a house full of cats; Tiger was a kitten she gave me before she died. I was born in September 1995. This year I will be 17, my mom has home schooled me and I will finish my high school work this year. My parents say unless we elect a better president this year, the country will finish falling apart. Unemployment is going up all the time and most times people can’t make it without at least both parents working. That was the reason they were so happy with being able to come here. They will be house parents and caretakers of the place. We live in Missouri, now in the middle of nowhere. The kids have decided to call it Erehwon, which is nowhere backwards. We had been living near St Louis and that is where most of the city kids live.

The goats had disappeared this morning, several of us older kids started after them, up until now they had been eating down the brush in the closest fields, made a good job of it also. I took a walkie-talkie with me on my four-wheeler, and scouted the fence line now that I could drive around the field. I found the gap in the fence and could see the path they had eaten in the next field, the other kids soon caught up and we went after them on foot. We were in high hopes they had not gone far.

Soon we came upon them cavorting around a stone barn in this field. I can just see the work this will take to get into usable shape; inside it still had a bunch of old farm things. I recognized a plow and a few other things although I could not name what they were; I had last seen the like in a museum of farming from the past that were pulled by horses or oxen. Covering it were spider webs and dust, and old tack that hung from the posts looking old and dried out, probably to far-gone to only be useful as patterns to make new.

I called dad on the walkie-talkie and explained what we had found. In his excitement, he forgot to release the talk button and I could here him hollering at the boys he had with him, “come on we have found another barn.” I got the rest of the kids with me to go back and make sure this area was fenced in for the goats. They could clear this field if we could make sure they were secure.

Mom was in the house with the younger kids, she had the preteens working their way through the attic and the cellar, and it was not finished enough in my eyes to deserve the term basement. It did have a stone floor but in places stones had shifted so you had to clean around them to reseat them, they appeared to be just set in dirt. Both places were full of dust. Now I knew why no one wanted the old place due to the work it needed cleaning it up. We have found lot’s of antique’s and stuff to send back and sell to help buy some of the things we need to do once all the donations quit.

Dad thinks the donations will taper off and quit within a year, as more people become out of work, he is looking to make sure all of the things we can’t grow or make will be on hand before we run out of time. He hasn’t always been this way. Oh he has always been a penny pincher and his favorite expression is wear it out, make do or go without. Mom is the same way most of our clothes are used, remade and then made into something else when no more wear is left in them.

When I was still little Mom would buy formal gowns at the thrift store and pieced them out to make me a fancy coverlet that and some embroidery were fit for a princess at least that is what I imagined. Not to be outdone Dad bought a plain wooden bed and carved and added to it till I thought my bed was like a throne. I always felt so loved when I went to bed, to me it was better than something store bought new since they both spent so much time and effort to make me feel special, even today I look forward to getting my stuff into what will be my room.

Well back to telling about our new place, it is sure hot this year, Mom had kept up the garden, teaching the littlest ones about all the plants and how they grew. Learning weeding wasn’t such a chore if you were saving your favorite food from the evil weeds and monster bugs; everyone got a running account of the daily war at the supper table. The little boys were valiant knights slaying dragons and the little girls were Joan of Arc marching to battle. I don’t know how she can get them believing all these things so fast. Just a few months ago most of them didn’t know anything about a garden, now they were the keepers of one, and proud of it. Mornings she would marshal her troops and outfit them with their tools for the day. Dad had taken some of the cheaply made garden tools a shortened the handles to better fit them, knowing they wouldn’t last if used to hard, he said it was the right tool for the right job.

Mom wanted to get busy canning the things that were starting to make in larger quantity than we could use on a daily basis. That included the green beans, peas, and squash, cucumbers and soon the tomatoes. Dad set her up an outdoor kitchen using a propane cooker originally from a turkey fryer, and a sink originally used as a laundry sink. It was big enough to hold the big pots. The churches sending us things had outdone themselves finding jars then adding new lids and rings where needed. Mom had also found a stash of old jars in the cellar which she had sent most of them into town to sell, except the large ones for refrigerator pickles.

Mom had also found several big crocks that she thought had been used for making sauerkraut and other fermented or brined foods. Also had come a large assortment of oil lamps, which Dad had gone over and cleaned and fashioned ways to set them up on shelves with a reflector behind them so they wouldn’t be accidentally knocked off a table. We had our own as Mom had collected them through the years both from family members and thrift stores. Mom was really proud of the Aladdin lamps she found. Dad put new wicks in and replaced the chimneys on the ones that needed it. He also set up a barrel in the cellar with kerosene to use in them. He was having the people coming to work here to bring us some each trip. It was filling but slowly.

The kids from the youth groups had to leave to get back to school and I hate to say I miss them, Most of the kids arrived that will be living here. Some of them are worthless, a few of the teens didn’t believe they wouldn’t eat if they didn’t work, and then wanted to call the police when the rule was enforced. No phone so they were out of luck. When the next group of people arrived to help around the place you should have heard the complaints. Some of the kids had been homeless before so even though they had to be taught how to do things they came down hard on the complainers. I think they would have done anything not to be homeless again. One boy my age Samuel said he had been homeless twice, the first time when his Dad left his Mom and him, he was still in grade school then again when he was 12, his mom died and his Dad started drinking, I think that was harder on him, his Dad was one that dropped him at a church and took off. He was glad to have a good place to live with plenty of food. Dad took a special liking to him and had started teaching him lot’s of the tricks to keeping things going.

sorry yes Jerry, we had an insurance man where I live named Rodney and I used to hear his commercials all the time, In my feeble brain I sometimes mix the names up. here is some more

Part 3

Well as Dad says, the other foot has dropped, this week we had the state social workers drop in, and it looks like we will have more people living here than originally thought. As I explained earlier we were going to consolidate several already set up children’s homes into here to get the kids out of town, we are now planning on some of the house parents moving here to help with the kids. Our newfound second barn will be turned into a learning center and apartment for 1 family, and then they are in discussions on how to house the others.

I’m just a kid so this is all second hand, mostly from the other kids, several of the social workers the kids like however not all, I thought one looked like he had eaten a sour apple, you know teeth clenched and a look like he was gonna barf. So far we have the go ahead, as I understand it the state just doesn’t have the money and manpower to put a wrench in things, not enough foster parents available, so I think they are classifying our place like those famous boys ranches you used to hear about, Dad did agree to take on several kids that were about to age out of the system. He will train them in all the jobs he needs help with.

How can anyone get through school and not know basic skills eludes me, I got the job of bringing them up to speed in basic math and reading. I think I’ve pulled half my hair out. Math is used every day, Mom was great setting up a meal with pizza so I had a way to illustrate fractions to them, without them realizing what was happening, with so many kids and trying to keep track of how to cut them up so everyone had some then some wanted some topping but not another.

I had them figuring out how many pieces equaled a half or fourth of a pizza from the different number of pieces they were cut in, easy if it was cut in 4 pieces but if cut in 6 or 8 or 10. Once we got a visual on what a fraction looked like, in a food they wanted and with trying to even out the portions they were pros, as long as we didn’t call it MATH, no problem.

Next stop is the barn to portion out the feeds for the horses and other animals, this is done so the smaller ones get it right and not give to much or to little to each animal, that was a little harder but they pulled through, Samuel helped a lot, he had gone to some of the same schools they did and could explain it better. We laughed later about not mentioning MATH. Just explaining what portions to feed, Then hold it, cutting up apples and carrots to add, so each got the same amount, then the hay, we had bales that opened up with about 10 flakes each, so each horse got 2 flakes and each cow got 2, Then I had them write up what each one got.

Poor Wayne he needed lots of help with that, but as long as we didn’t call it MATH or READING, he got the hang of it. He must have been really smart to get this far faking it. He was just hung up on the labels. I also think he might have one of those learning disabilities like dyslexic or ADD; he got it in the action of doing if not able to perform like a regular school required, and he panicked if he thought it was a TEST.

OH lord, I didn’t pray for patience so why are you teaching me so much about it. Old sour apple cornered me before he left going on about me being home schooled. I was saved by this really nice older lady that I later learned is a big shot at social services and they left, I do have to test out for my high school degree.

That is next month. Then I will be sent a diploma, from our home town school, which is where my home schooling has been registered.
They are sending us the supplies for all the kids to be home schooled. We are too far to send them to a regular school and the state doesn’t have the money to do special transportation. We will get regular visits from a home schooling teacher to check on our progress

When it rains it pours. I feel like I am living in a noisy beehive. Construction has started for the new housing and learning center. The churches got together and decided to have a construction crew come in to build, the owner goes to one of the churches in the city so he bid really low, basically just the materials, and all that wholesale, most of his workers also go to that same church. Dad said to watch out for this one man he had working for him, he said he seemed off.

Wow, it’s my birthday and Angie a girl my age got cornered by that man, nothing happened but he is gone. He tried to put his hands on her, and I don’t know what, she kicked him, she said it had happened before and while she was in counseling she attended a self defense class. He was all doubled over and puking up. The men tied him up and took him back. Angie was wearing these old pointy toed cowboy boots, he was swearing he didn’t do anything but her clothes were torn and no one believed him.

Angie is 17 going on thirty to hear her tell it, her stepfather molested her and her Mom didn’t stop it. That was how she wound up in foster care, she said after she got into church she was finally able to put it behind her and forgive them both. I think she is my new best friend, she is teaching me self defense also.

Mom has taken her under her wing and they are sewing up a storm, Mom found out what sizes she wears and new undergarments are being sent out for her, plus Mom is making her a new outfit for her baptism day, the preachers from several churches are coming and we are doing a dunking in the pond.

I am so full just roll me down the hill, apparently all the ladies from different churches found out about our dunking, and brought all sorts of dishes to eat, they rolled in with the preachers. After a few times being grilled about what happened with Angie, all of us teenagers dressed in our chore clothes and got scarce, but not without full plates of food. They were like a bunch of broody hens clucking after their chicks with the littler ones.

We will now have a nurse living with us, not exactly a nurse, a Physicians Assistant, along with her 9 year old daughter. She was married to that creep Angie kicked. They went back to town to pack and finish some lawyer stuff; I didn’t get what that meant. They will be back in a couple of weeks.

I think I need to explain a bit, when they arrived back in town with Mr. Quincy, the police were going to let him go after the doc’s had made him more comfortable, Amanda his wife was making a fuss about it, but then found out from her daughter Jennifer that he had done the same thing to her, Mrs. Quincy decided he wasn’t coming back there with them. In the mean time, a Lawyer had shown up for Mr. Quincy and thinking they could turn it around and charge Angie with assault, getting Mr. Quincy out of the charges they had on him now, Amanda knew the Doctor in charge and when he called her to tell her what was going to happen, Amanda and Jennifer went to child services to report the abuse at home, so now she was getting a divorce, this being her 2nd marriage she already knew an attorney, and the papers were quickly filed, Jennifer wasn’t his child she was from Amanda’s 1st marriage so visitation wasn’t an issue.

Turns out Mr. Quincy had been charged before and got out of it after intimidating the girl. This sounds like one of those soap operas doesn’t it. Angie wants to meet Jennifer and help her get through the feelings she will have. I can’t imagine how she must feel. My Dad was always my pillar of strength helping me get through the rough spots in life I could always talk to him. We always prayed before and after our talks so maybe the big guy had a hand in it. Angie and I made a deal to start and end each day with the Lord’s Prayer. She learned about forgiveness after she started saying it every night, and that was the way she broke the hold the molestation had in her life. She even brought the 12 step program book she used it was through her Church, and was called Overcomers it was originally designed for alcoholics and drug dependent people but explained it helps anyone who has problems.

Mom had an idea to bring all the Nanny goats up to the main barn to milk them since we were going through so much milk and most of the kids complained about the instant stuff. Dad and the boys built milking stations to use when we milked them, they went out in the 1st pasture to finish eating the brush, All the trees were now down and the goats also went to town on the tops of the ones whose leaves were still green, It was funny watching all the babies climbing up on the stumps and trunks. Dad along with the help of the construction people had fixed up a nice gate where the fence had been broken down. He decided some trees had grown through it and broke the wires as the trees grew, it was a section with to much brush to see clearly, also where we got a lot of blackberry canes came from.

We gave all the nannies a good bath to get of the stink from the billies. First time through we used Dawn dish soap. Then a nice smelling herbal soap my Mom made. We finished of with a rinse that included apple cider vinegar. We also had to clean and sterilize the pails we were to use. I found out Mom had found some stainless steel pails in a thrift store and bought them, thinking they were too good to pass up and knowing they would last longer she got them far cheaper than she should have. We milked each morning then let the kids nurse the rest of the time. 5AM comes early.

Angie and I still laugh thinking about that first day, Mom ended up coming out to show us how to milk, she grew up around goats so had some experience. Letting them eat while we milked saved us time in the end because it held their attention. Then we took the milk inside, Mom strained it into a big container with a lid on it then put it in the cellar where we had found a spring box, it seems one corner of the house sat over an underground stream the water was super cold, it apparently had been dug out and lined with stones, that corner of the cellar was the coolest and lined with bins for root vegetables I was told.

Dad had been busy during this time making fishing poles for all the little kids, on one of his outings he had come upon a clump of bamboo, and he and the boys cut all they could carry back, to construct he took a piece of wire that used for snares is a good weight, then drilling a hole through the bamboo pole every couple of feet he would poke the wire through and on the top take a twig about the size of a matchstick and winding the wire around it then poking the rest back through the same hole these ends were then wrapped around the pole than using his supply of fingernail polish picked up here and there through the years would paint the wrapped wire on the pole for protection and a smooth finish the twig or matchstick was removed usually by breaking it where it was wrapped and pulling both ends free, with a final one as near the end as he could get it, these became the line guides a small spool of fishing line was attached on the big end the line threaded through the guides to the end where they then attached the hooks sinkers and bobbers. I learned to fish with one similar, not too different than a cane pole which dad says he never sees in the stores anymore.

On the weekend set up for fishing as many of the families from our donor churches that could came out to help the kids fish, bait hooks and unhook fish that were caught, also lot’s of fishing gear arrived with them, the women sent all the supplies for a big fish fry, along with already made Cole slaw, potato salad, and fresh ears of corn to roast. OK roll me down the hill again.
Someone had found some used outdoor games that the ones who didn’t go fishing got to set up, badminton, horseshoes, and croquet. During all this was when the sheriff shows up. He was here to talk to Angie about Mr. Quincy, he turned out to be a nice man and stayed around and ate some fish with us of course the fish he ate each had a story of the tremendous fight it put up and how the mighty fisherman won the day, he must of like kids some cause they were all pretty smelly after helping to clean up their catch. We ended up seeing more of him in the weeks to come. It turns out that no one knew at the time but when Angie was attacked there was more to it and Angie was scratched under her arm and got an infection in it since it was never cleaned properly, she ended up going to town to the doctor. And that had to be added to the sheriff’s report.

Angie returned from the doctor’s visit very subdued, she had some antibiotics to take, from what I dragged out of her Mr. Quincy had a ring on his finger with an infected scratch under it, they had found it when he was there and thankfully knew what to give her, Amanda and Jennifer showed up with her and her talks with Jennifer had been traumatic for both of them. Jennifer felt like her father didn’t deserve forgiveness and Angie couldn’t get her to see forgiveness helped the forgiver more than the forgiven, the most she could do was get Jennifer to pray with her. That night we said the Lord’s Prayer together.

Our Father who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy Kingdom come thy will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven
Give us our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom and the power forever

Jennifer broke down and cried, Angie spoke to her about letting go of it by giving it to Jesus, and asking for his help in forgiving, to pray good things for her father even if begrudgingly, she said as she did so it will get easier and easier, until with the forgiveness come an insulation from the past pain to let you heal, like putting ointment on a wound with a bandage it’s still there but not as raw. Jennifer wept and we all prayed together.


The home schooling supplies arrived, and Mom split all the kids into teams, including the boys that dad was working with, each team had some from each grade level, the older once helping the younger ones, top work on getting them all up to their proper grade levels. I was added to the ones that needed the most help, it was cool seeing the ones who were older and could barely read learn so much helping the younger ones with the same struggles. The younger ones adored their older teachers and the responsibility of helping the younger ones gave the older ones a new respect for themselves. Mom also brought out all the craft supplies to be divvied up; all the kids counted things out to be sure everyone got an equal share. Mom presided over the final piles and no one wanted to get on her bad side. The piles were packed up in boxes labeled with each group’s team name they selected. She also reminded us all that Christmas this year would be all be made by the giver or traded for between kids. So those skillful in one area would either help another who was not or trade for their work on what they wanted to give. Some even collaborated to make an item. Soon we had a barter closet where things were put until barter was agreed on. Angie, Jennifer and I made numerous jewelry sets using different cords, ribbons or string intricately tied inset with beads and sometimes with pretty polished rocks with holes we had drilled in them. Some of the girls had learned to knit and crochet so cornered that market Mom had some knitting circles Dad had made for her that knitted a tube; these were turned into hats, scarves and leg warmers. Dad has a twinkle in his eye I can’t wait to find out what he is making this year.

The Barn/Learning center is almost ready, one change not 1 couple but 3 will live there one on each floor, although having the extra help in the house helps. Another surprise is the construction guy knew someone who can put in an ammonia refrigeration system so one room will be refrigerated. Since they won’t have a cold stream to put things in to keep cold, it will have one section that will keep frozen stuff frozen, so our canning things will stretch further, and we can keep our meat good until it is gone. Even eating so much chicken and eggs our flock is growing Mom is keeping the broody hens’ busy setting on eggs, once the room is done I think all the men who can hunt will be up for deer season. One of the men is a butcher so will cut and wrap it all here so it will be done properly.

Mom wants dad to go hunting for turkey for her to fix for thanksgiving. Dad just grinned and said he would. He started teaching the older boys how to shoot, they had to learn all the firearm safety rules and you can hear Dad question them on it throughout the day, I think most of us have it memorized as well as they do.

We have Kittens, 3 of them, Mom said they will be taken to be fixed as soon as they are old enough; she is fit to be tied. We have 2 boys and 1 girl. The youngest kids are vying for a chance to work in the barn and cuddle them a little The Momma Kitty is good about leaving the nest and letting them touch and pick them up as long as they don’t move to far with them, once someone tried to sneak one out and Momma Kitty ran in front of him and started hissing and yowling. I think that cured him better than his punishment of not getting to go see them for a week.


Halloween is coming up, the kids are disappointed we don’t celebrate it but Mom agreed to a festival for the kids but they have to put it together themselves. The only rule is nothing modern, any games have to be something they can all do, I showed them a bunch of games I knew were good to do. We will have horseshoe throwing, sack races, and three legged races, a taffy pull, and a tug a war and for the littler ones we will have a fishing game. The kids are getting together everything they will need, we agreed to all make something for the prizes. Some of the girls into the cooking thing will bake cupcakes and popcorn balls.

What a mess! The sheriff stopped by today during our festival, and brought out 2 big dogs, they are Great Pyrenees; they started out white but now are red, yellow, green and blue. They arrived in the middle of the taffy pull, Mom colored each batch a different color and flavor, sounds good, right? It was until 2 big white dogs and a bunch of kids romped in the middle of it. We did get some to eat and were just finishing up which meant the kids were really sticky. Now everything is sticky especially the dogs. The story is a Mrs. Stone ran a farm until she had a heart attack then a stroke during a heart operation; she has been in the hospital the last few months while her nephew was seeing after the animals.

When the vet went out to check on one of the pregnant animals, he found out the nephew was not around and the animals were starving. Turns out he had taken off for a couple of weeks on vacation, and left all of them locked in the barn. Although the vet thinks it was longer. Several died, and the rest were seized and the county had no where to take them when the vet is through doctoring them, Sheriff Marshall told Mrs. Stone about our place and he was coming to see if we could take them in Mrs. Stone will provide their feed, she is a slightly eccentric multimillionaire just wanting to know her animals are well taken care of. And thought the children could enjoy them too. All the Animals are heritage breed farm animals, some worth quite a lot, the original animals have been in her family for generations and she grew up with them. They in fact came from this farm, as it was her family’s farm generations ago.

The sheep will be the first to be brought out, they were out to pasture already with the dogs so were in the best shape, although I can’t say the same for the dogs, they are still pretty thin, Mrs. stone will be moving to a rehab center soon and wants to stop in on the way.

Mom decided to call one dog Taffy and the other Oh No, I don’t think she could say no to either the dogs or the kids. Sheriff Marshall said they are house broken and well behaved as they have been in his care. Jennifer is in love, she has always wanted pets and never had any, and Tiger avoids everyone but me. So Jennifer hasn’t had a chance until now, our first job is wash the dogs then wash the kids. With that commencing the sheriff became scarce. I was about a week later that Mrs. Stone arrived in a big van with a wheelchair lift her attorney in attendance along with 2 big boxes of records. She lovingly showed us some of the pictures of the animals we would be getting, crying over the loss of the ones that died.

Besides the sheep we will be getting milk cows, chickens, turkeys, pigs, rabbits, and donkeys, one of the milk cows is pregnant due soon and the other is dry. Her last calf is a bull is included, although she already had an agreement to trade him to another farm for later breeding the cows to his other bulls. It has been decided she will have a new barn built for the new animals and the feed delivered, she will pay the vet to come out, the construction crew already here will build the new barn after they have finished with the present job. She also is having a small cottage built here for her after rehab is up, she will pay rent once it is finished. She is also putting up some wind turbines and solar panels on all the buildings. Yeah electricity again.

I passed my tests and will graduate in May at the High School where we used to live. Not that it will make a difference in what I do everyday. I didn’t like it hanging over my head. Dad was planning a hunt for after thanksgiving, he was teaching the older boys to shoot. Some of the men from our churches were coming also; one is also a butcher and will make sure all the meat is cut a wrapped properly. Another new addition at the education center they will be 3 of the house parents moving over there one for each floor along with some of the kids. Also being built is a cold room, part freezing and part just cold; one of the guys can set up an ammonia refrigeration system. Will be great next year as not so much will need to be canned, just frozen. And our meat can all be frozen. Not all canned, like now.

Mom announced all Christmas presents were to be made and out came the bins of craft supplies, some knitted and crocheted, some of us made jewelry sets out of braided cords and ribbons adding beads or tumbled rocks with holes drilled through. Some painted pictures; a lot of the boys were out in the barn with the men working with wood or metal. Some of the kids decided they would trade around their crafting to have different things to give, also only the kids were to receive presents. Although we could give presents to the house. That sounds weird, but decorations for the wall, rugs, hot pads or coasters, things anyone could use.

Mrs. Stone has had all the old records of the estate sent out to Mom and Dad, I think the original farming area is much larger than we thought, there is supposed to be more outbuildings in the surrounding fields, Dad is Moving the billies to another field and the Nannies and the kids will be in the 2 fields we are presently clearing, the first just needs a few more stumps pulled then plowing, leveling and disking to be planted in the spring, the 2nd field is still having trees cut down in it then the stumps pulled, the sheep have arrived, they look pretty unkempt, but are all healthy.

I have my own room now, the move to the barn is finished, and we still have lot’s of people here. Dad is looking for additional buildings to repurpose, Now the new barn is being worked on, it will have a cement floor in the dairy portion, with drains and sinks to clean up the milking equipment, I understand we will have a small milking machine and pasteurizer for use when we have the cows milking, each cow gives lot’s more milk at a time than a goat does, I think Mom wants to also make cheese once our milk isn’t all used up every day. We are already making butter with the milk from the goats. I understand with the cows we will have lot’s more milk to work with.

The Nannies and kids come scrambling up to the barn when the kids blow the whistles we use. That is when they get fed then bedded down for the night. The little billies start butting heads some will soon be weaned to leave the nannies and join the other billies. Dad will be picking out which ones to sire the new kids; the donkeys will be arriving soon. The vet said you can’t rush the fattening up process that could cause more problems than going slow. Horses and donkeys can develop all sorts of problems from improper feeding, with horses having more problems than donkeys. The cows will be last I understand because of problems with their udders. I don’t understand so I can’t write in more detail. Although one has been bred and the one calf won’t come he will stay at the breeder’s place, which is where the cows are now.

The pigs are used to being in a pasture and put in a barn at night, I thought pigs lived in a sty. A place with mud, but these apparently aren’t used to that, we are putting up better stock fence to keep them in, Dad says the old fence isn’t in good enough shape to prevent breakouts if they try to get out. The older boys are working on that project along with cutting the trees in the second pasture. Dad came in really excited he said he found the stream that the papers said had a mill on it. He even found the stone bridge over it. He said he followed the song the frogs were singing. There is a pond just down the stream from the bridge.

I wonder how much work that building will need, and if we will move anyone there. Mom wants Dad to keep looking so next year we can hopefully grind our wheat there. Using the grinder we have now can barely keep up with the baking being done for everyone, plus sending the flour to the other building for their baking, they were given most of the white flour we had, so now we use the whole wheat flour we grind here for everything. Some of the kids had never eaten whole wheat homemade breads and thought it tasted funny, I have always eaten it and the white kind is tasteless to me, the kids are looking a whole lot healthier, the skinny kids have filled out and the fat kids have slimmed down, working instead of sitting around, and eating a more balanced diet, no sodas, no chips, and no fast food. Mrs. Quincy has made a big deal out of it. I think its normal; I’ve always lived like this, except not so many people.

Mom says the election coming up has gotten strange, they quit publishing the polls on who was ahead, and it just dropped out of the news, last she saw was Obama was behind by a large margin. Now no one is saying anything about who is ahead, in fact Obama hasn’t been campaigning much. We are just seeing the same old commercials. The election is in a few weeks and nothing is being said. He hasn’t appeared live anywhere. No rumors and the talking heads are not saying anything. Romney has publicly asked for some public debates and has said he was turned down.

I still don’t know what is going on in politics, however I heard all the soldiers are coming home from the middle east, the brief time Obama was on the TV, and he looked old, old and tired, I don’t know about the election I think it is still on. I am so confused. All these people on TV just keep going over every word and gesture like they can make more sense of it if the keep repeating it over and over. We finally turned it off and got back to work on our chores. Mrs. Stone called to say she will move in as soon as the house is finished she will have a nurse and a physical therapist living with her. She said she just wants a chance to be outside and see her animals and the kids instead of walls and a ceiling.

We have been reading Swiss Family Robinson in the evenings I think the younger ones imagine we are on that island, hey if that helps I’m all for it. There has been some arguing on who will be in charge of which animals, so Mom suggested we start finding out about them, where they originated and why, then why they came to be in this part of the country, and how they differ from modern breeds. We are picking teams to help with the research, and then we have to present what we find to Mrs. Stone when she arrives.

All the kids want to find out how life was when the house was part of the farm and present that to Mrs. Stone also, they are looking for games and recipes and clothing, everyone has something they want to find out about, it is sure keeping us teens on our toes helping the younger one’s find the answers to their question’s, good thing we have the internet link that the construction guy had put in for his business, it’s funny we are living half in the present with some electricity and using oil lamps and wood stoves to heat, while being able to get on the internet to find information for our projects. The girls at least have changed their minds on dressing up in old style clothes when they found out it was long skirts and no pants, no way am I giving up wearing jeans.

This is what we found out about the cows it is copied from theAmericanLivestock Breeds conservancy:

The Shorthorn is likely the most famous and *influential breed of cattle in the history of agriculture. It was among the first livestock breeds to be improved, during the 1700s, and had one of the first herdbooks established, in 1822. Since the early 1800s and until recently, Shorthorns were the most popular cattle in Britain, and they were exported around the world. The story of the Shorthorn has been recorded in countless publications, and images of red, white, and roan Shorthorns dominate sporting art. Yet the breed is now in decline, and its rise and fall is reflective of great changes in agriculture over the past two *centuries.
The Shorthorn was historically called the Durham because it originated in the county of Durham. Imported Dutch cattle were crossed with native stocks and selected for performance in both meat and milk production. The breed became known early in the 1800s, especially through a traveling promotional *exhibit of the famous “Durham Ox.” The Ox, calved in 1796, weighed over 3,500 pounds at ten years old and brought much acclaim to the breed. Shorthorns were first imported to America in the late 1700s, with the largest number of cattle brought in after 1820. The breed was initially concentrated in Ohio and Kentucky, a region rich in grass and corn to feed cattle, but by the end of the1800s it was spread throughout America. The Shorthorn was valued for its dairy and beef *qualities and also used as a draft animal.
Dual*purpose selection has been the major theme of the breed's history. Breeders have always differed in their view of the Shorthorn’s purpose, with some selecting for maximum dairy production, others favoring beef, and still others selecting for a balance of the two. At different times, one type of selection would outweigh the other, and then the tide would swing back. For example, the Shorthorn first gained value in the United States as the premiere dairy breed of the mid*1800s, though by 1900 the beef type “Scotch Shorthorns” were the most desirable.
Early in the 1900s, the breed was formally split into a beef type, called Beef Shorthorn or simply Shorthorn, and a dairy type called Milking Shorthorn. Most breeders favored *selection for beef, and this trend has continued, especially with the rise of the Holstein as the dominant dairy breed. The Milking Shorthorn, despite its many fine qualities and history of dairy selection, could not compete with the quantity of milk produced by the Holstein, and the breed lost *favor.
Another factor in the decline of the Milking Shorthorn has occurred more recently. In an effort to increase milk production, the breed’s herdbook has been opened to substantial introduction of outside blood, first from Illawara (Australian Shorthorn) and then Red and White Holstein. Today, many of the bulls registered as Milking Shorthorn are actually one*half or more *Holstein. While these introductions did increase production, they also reduced the breed’s genetic uniqueness. The breed became less distinct from the Holstein and therefore less *useful for commercial crossing. It also lost consistency of performance in its historic traits, such as the ability to produce on grass. This is a major *obstacle in its promotion for low*input dairying.
The Milking Shorthorn is medium to large in size, with cows weighing 1,200–1,400 pounds and bulls about one ton. Milking Shorthorns are red, white, roan, or a mixture of the three, sometimes with extensive speckling. Most cattle are horned.
Although there are several thousand Milking Shorthorns (called Dairy Shorthorns) found in Britain, the breed is declining globally and in North America. Pure American strains are the conservation priority in the United States. These strains will perform well for grass*based dairying, as they are forage*efficient, healthy, long*lived, and productive, with the additional value of high quality beef.

That sounds good for keeping I guess this breed works better for a family to have where it is eating grass during the day, and not always cooped up in a barn. It is also listed as critical which I guess means more people need to have them.

Well this is what the say about our sheep:

Jacob Sheep
Sheep with spots have been described in many cultures throughout history, appearing in works of art from the Far East, Middle East, and Mediterranean regions. Among these accounts is the Biblical story of Jacob, who bred spotted sheep and for whom this breed is named.
Spotted sheep were documented in England by the 1600s and were widespread by the mid-1700s. They became popular in England as ornamental, or "park" sheep. Jacobs were ideal for this role, as they were picturesque but required minimal care. Scant selection occurred for anything but hardiness, spots, and four horns. The result was a -primitive breed that looked after itself well.
Jacobs are small, horned, black and white sheep. Ewes weigh 80–120 pounds, and rams 120–180 pounds. The sheep are white with colored spots or patches. The colored portions of the fleece are usually black, but they can also be brownish or a lighter color called lilac. The Jacob is a multi-horned or “polycerate” breed. Most animals have two or four horns, though six horns also occur. Both sexes are horned, and the rams can have horns of impressive size and shape.
The breed produces a medium fleece that is light and open, with a staple length of four to six inches and a weight of three to six pounds. Unlike most other medium wool breeds, quality of the fleece has been a major selection factor in the recent history of the Jacob breed. As a result, it is much sought after by fiber artisans, who enjoy its characteristics and color combinations – black, white, or a blend of the two.
Jacob sheep were first imported into North America beginning in the mid-1900s, and most of today’s population descends from imports of the past 30 years. The breed has enjoyed widespread popularity among small flock holders as well as handpsinners and weavers. -North American breeders have selected primarily for fleece characteristics, and the conformation of the sheep has remained very much like its historical description. Variability is present, but this is -characteristic of an unimproved, primitive breed. During the same period of time, the British Jacob has been selected for greater commercial productivity, including larger size and more uniform appearance. In this way, the populations in Britain and North America have diverged. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy has listed the North American population of Jacobs as a conservation priority.
The distinctive appearance of the Jacob has sometimes worked in its favor but at other times has proven an obstacle to its conservation as a pure breed. Spotted sheep of all shapes and sizes, including spotted Jacob-Dorset and other crosses, have been sold as Jacobs to unsuspecting buyers. Identifying and recording the purebred Jacob population has been a continuing challenge for American breeders.

And I just thought they were dirty.

Sorry.

Thank you awaiting MOAR.

Mrs. Quincy, is busy, it seems the social workers sent out vaccines to update us all on our shots, my arms are sore, I found out it isn’t just the regular shots but others like we were going in the army, some of the littlest ones are really cranky and not feeling well. Mom has made everyone drink this green drink that include a bunch of herbs, she says it is full of vitamins to help our immune systems, even the adults are getting the shots, I thought only the kids going to school needed them, but that is apparently not so, then a bunch of medical supplies arrived and we are setting up a clinic with beds in it, it is on the ground floor, in what I think was in times past a parlor, Mrs. Quincy is setting up her office next door to it.

More news on the home front, we have some animal trying to kill all our chickens, Dad thinks either a raccoon or a fox or both, Angie and I are the only girls trained in using guns, and we get(after lots of pleading on my part) are going to watch at night with a pair of 22 rifles to try and keep our hens safe, several had their heads pulled off out I the run and something got into the hen house and ate them on the spot, it looked like. Sitting in the loft of the barn watching the hen house and run is cold and tiring business. I do wish the little kids would get to sleep so it will be quiet.

We got the raccoon family, one was at one end of the run scaring the hens to the other end where another one was at and when the hens got close enough he reached through the chicken wire, above where the tighter woven wire was and twist their heads off, such a waste, they only got 2 hens and we got 3 raccoons. No sign of what got in the hen house, so that means more nights in the barn.

Obama is still being quiet on what is going on, however as the troops arrive back they have been sent out to guard the power plants. Dad said they had to have been ordered back long before the announcement for so many to be arriving so soon, The news still has people talking about that just repeating things over and over, do they think people don’t have brains or do they think they can do our thinking for us, when they don’t do such a good job of it themselves. The health department did announce the production of new vaccines for everyone to take, said something about West Nile and a new flu, that’s not what we got, Mrs. Quincy said we had our shots so we weren’t affected.

With so many people homeless how is everyone going to be notified? I guess it is being done, the health clinics are in the news with record numbers of people showing up for shots. The news is reporting an epidemic in Africa and the Middle East. I don’t think it is the flu or West Nile, but news is sketchy some of the news people who are going there to report it are getting sick also.
Since no country will let anyone enter that has been to either area it seems foolish to go to me, The odd thing is no communication is coming from either place no radio, no phone calls, How can an area be cut off like that, at least we have no word that anyone has died, just flu like symptoms, spreading rapidly. Lot’s of Americans are insisting we send in teams to help the people there but so far nothing.

Mrs. Stone arrived from the rehab place, she is still in a wheel chair but she just seems to have more energy, She has talked to the construction guys and they and there families are moving down to her old farm, to be close and continue even more projects, additional fencing is being added in addition larger herds of heritage breeds, I don’t have all the info yet, but they will bulldoze down the overgrowth to make a good way down to the pond and stream so we can find the old mill and find out what parts it needs to be put in running order. It is like she has a bee in her bonnet.

Thank you :).

New kids arrived, they have been in foster care a while and the woman that had taken care of them in had a bad reaction to the vaccine, and is in the hospital, she was getting older and was told she can no longer take care of them, there are 6 of them 3 boys and 3 girls, they all are around the same age and insist they are related, don’t think so, that lemon mouthed man brought them out, he treated the pretty blonde haired blue eyed girl like a princess and the others like servants, she was ok, she wasn’t having non of it, one of the girls wasn’t sure about being in a Christian place, said she was Jewish, and one of the others said he was a Muslim. Mom told them it would be nice for everyone to learn about the others religion. And then asked if she ate kosher, she didn’t think so, but did not eat pork the boy said he also did not eat pork. The girls will be sharing with Jennifer, and the boys will be with the other boys their age.

Obama is still being low key; we still have no clue about what all the weird stuff was about. We did find out the areas where people were sick in Africa had something that was messing up there communications, and yes people were sick but no one was just dropping dead, they have had some die but they weren’t worried, makes me feel a little better, still no clue about the middle east, glad our troops are out of there.

Mrs. Stone and Mom decided we all needed a day of fun, Saturday we are going to have a hay ride and picnic. We have been searching for all the nursery rhymes to sing and do with the younger ones. Some of the kids haven’t heard or sung very many so we will all learn new ones, I copied all the ones I remembered and printed them out, OK I am trying not to forget any, so will print them, to have as a reference.

The little kids were wild, all of us older teens took a group, so I was glad I had printed mine out with several copies, as each group had a copy, we had the kids enjoying themselves shortly, they all loved the action rimes, I think with all the chores and good food they seem to have more energy and imagination. Some even came up with more verses.

Alphabet Song

a-b-c-d-e-f-g

h-i-j-k-l-m-n-o-p

q-r-s, t-u-v

w-x, y and z

Now I've said my A, B, C's

Next time won't you sing with me.

10 little indians

One little, two little, three little Indians
Four little, five little, six little Indians
Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians
Ten little Indian boys.
Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians
Seven little, six little, five little Indians
Four little, three little, two little Indians
One little Indian boy.

Ladybug ladybug fly away home


Ladybug ladybug fly away home,
Your house in on fire and your children are gone,
All except one and that's little Ann,
For she crept under the frying pan.

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly


There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I dunno why she swallowed that fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd, to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat.
Imagine that, she swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who swallowed a dog.
What a hog! To swallow a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat...
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a goat.
Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog ...
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a cow.
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat...
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog...
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat...
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse -
She's dead, of course.

The itsy bitsy spider


The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain
So the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

This old man

This old man, he played one;
He played knick-knack on my thumb.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played two;
He played knick-knack on my shoe.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played three;
He played knick-knack on my knee.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played four;
He played knick-knack on my door.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played five;
He played knick-knack on my hive.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played six;
He played knick-knack on my sticks.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played seven;
He played knick-knack up in heaven.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played eight;
He played knick-knack on my gate.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played nine;
He played knick-knack on my spine.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played ten;
He played knick-knack once again.
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.

Mary had a little lamb

Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.

And everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
and everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day
school one day, school one day,
It followed her to school one day, which was against the rules.

It made the children laugh and play,
laugh and play, laugh and play,
it made the children laugh and play to see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out,
turned it out, turned it out,
And so the teacher turned it out, but still it lingered near,

And waited patiently about,
patiently about, patiently about,
And waited patiently about till Mary did appear.

"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
Love Mary so? Love Mary so?
"Why does the lamb love Mary so," the eager children cry.

"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
The lamb, you know, the lamb, you know,
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know," the teacher did reply.

I'm a little teapot, short and stout
Here is my handle (place left hand on left hip to imitate handle), here is my spout (move right hand to imitate spout).
When I get all steamed up then I shout.
Tip me over and pour me out (lean to the right to imitate pouring tea from the spout).

Goosey Goosey Gander

Goosey Goosey Gander,
Wither shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my Lady's chamber.
There I met an old man
Who wouldn't say his prayers,
So I took him by his left leg
And threw him down the stairs.

Baa, baa, black sheep

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.
One for the master,
One for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.-b-c-d-e-f-g

Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey.
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her,
And frightened Miss Muffet away!

Five little speckled frogs

Five little speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious grubs.
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were four green speckled frogs.

Five little speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious grubs.
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were four green speckled frogs.

Three blind mice

Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
See how they run. See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer's wife
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.
Did you ever see such a thing in your life
As three blind mice?

Polly wolly doodle

Oh, I went down South to see my Sal
singing Polly wolly doodle all the day
my Sal, she am a spunky gal
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,
fare thee well my fairy Fay
for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Oh, my Sal, she is a maiden fair
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day
with curly eyes and laughing hair
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,
fare thee well my fairy Fay
for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Oh I like watermelon and I have for years
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day
I eat watermelon because it gets upon my ears
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,
fare thee well my fairy Fay
for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Oh, a grasshopper sittin' on a railroad track
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day
a pickin' his teeth with a carpet tack
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,
fare thee well my fairy Fay
I'm going to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Behind the barn, down on my knees
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day
I thought I heard a chicken sneeze
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Oh he sneezed so hard with the whooping cough
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day
he sneezed his head and his tail right off
sing Polly wolly doodle all the day

Fare thee well, fare thee well,
fare thee well my fairy Fay
for I'm off to Lou'siana for to see my Susyanna
sing Polly Wolly Doodle
sing Polly Wolly Doodle
sing Polly Wolly Doodle all the day

Row, row, row your boat

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

Skip to my Lou

Fly's in the buttermilk,
Shoo, fly, shoo,
Fly's in the buttermilk,
Shoo, fly, shoo,
Fly's in the buttermilk,
Shoo, fly, shoo,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

Cat's in the cream jar,
Ooh, ooh, ooh,
Cat's in the cream jar,
Ooh, ooh, ooh,
Cat's in the cream jar,
Ooh, ooh, ooh,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

Off to Texas,
Two by two,
Off to Texas,
Two by two,
Off to Texas,
Two by two,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

VERSION 2

Lost my partner,
What'll I do?
Lost my partner,
What'll I do?
Lost my partner,
What'll I do?
Skip to my lou, my darlin'.

Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

I'll get another one
Prettier than you,
I'll get another one
Prettier than you,
I'll get another one
Prettier than you,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'

Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

Can't get a red bird,
Jay bird'll do,
Can't get a red bird,
Jay bird'll do,
Can't get a red bird,
Jay bird'll do,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark;
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

Humpty dumpty

Humpty dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty dumpty had a great fall
All the King's horses
And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again

Little boy blue

Little boy blue come blow up your horn.
The sheep's in the meadow,
The cow's in the corn.
But where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He's under the haystack,
Fast asleep.

Little Jack Horner

Little Jack Horner sat in the corner,
Eating a Christmas pie:
He put in his thumb, and pulled out a plum,
And said, “What a good boy am I!”

The cow jumped over the moon

Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Jack jump over the candlestick

Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick,
Jack jump over the candlestick.

Jack jumped high,
Jack jumped low,
Jack jumped over and burned his toe.

One two buckle my shoe

One two buckle my shoe

Three, four, knock at the door

Five, six, pick up sticks

Seven, eight, lay them straight

Nine, ten, a big fat hen

Eleven, twelve, dig and delve

Thirteen, fourteen, maids a-courting

Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen

Seventeen, eighteen, maids in waiting

Nineteen, twenty, my plate's empty

Hush, little baby

Hush, little baby, don't say a word
Mama's gonna buy you a mockin'bird

If that mockin'bird don't sing
Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring

If that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass

If that looking glass gets broke
Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat

If that billy goat don't pull,
Mama's gonna buy you a cart and mule

If that cart and mule turn over,
Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover

If that dog named Rover won't bark,
Mama's gonna buy you a horse and cart

If that horse and cart fall down,
Then you'll be the sweetest little baby in town

Rock a bye baby

Rock a bye baby on the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle will rock,

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.

Pop! goes the weasel

Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.
Up and down the City road,
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

For you may try to sew and sew,
But you'll never make anything regal,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

All around the cobbler's bench,
the monkey chased the weasel,
The dog, he thought 'twas all in fun.
Pop! goes the weasel.

A penny for a spool of thread,
A penny for a needle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

Five Little Monkeys

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed;
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”

One little monkey jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,
“No more monkeys jumping on the bed!”

No little monkeys jumping on the bed;
None fell off and bumped his head.
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,
“Put those monkeys back in bed!”

One Potato, Two Potato

One potato, two potato,
Three potato, four;
Five potato, six potato,
Seven potato, more!

Pat-A-Cake

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Roll it and pat it, mark it with a "B"
Put it in the oven for Baby and me.

This Little Piggy

This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef.
This little piggy had none.
This little piggy cried, "Wee, wee, wee, wee."
All the way home.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Old MacDonald had a farm
E I E I O
And on that farm there were some ducks
E I E I O
With a quack-quack here
And a quack -quack there
Here a quack, there a quack
Everywhere a quack-quack
Old MacDonald had a farm
E I E I O

Pig: oink-oink
chickens: peep-peep
dog: bow-bow l
ambs: baa-baa
Cow: moo-moo
horses: neigh-neigh
Crows: caw-caw
cats: meow-meow

The Wheels of The Bus

Children perform actions and sounds suggested by the words
The wheels of the bus go round and round,
Round and round, round and round
The wheels of the bus go round and round
All through the town.
The driver of the bus says Move On Back! Move On back! Move On Back!
The driver of the bus says Move On Back!
All through the town.
The people on the bus go up and down, up and down, up and down.
The people on the bus go up and down all through the town.
Substitute these also:
The horn of the bus goes beep beep beep.
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish.
The doors on the bus go open and shut.
The bell on the bus goes ding-ding-ding.
The driver on the bus says, "Move on back"...
The lady on the bus says, "Get off my feet"...
The baby on the bus goes, "Wa-Wa-Wa"...
The people on the bus say, "We had a nice ride"...
Use a child's name as in "Mark on the bus say Let Me Off!" etc.

The Farmer In The Dell

Traditional Song

The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Heigh Ho! the Derry O!
The farmer in the dell
2. The farmer takes the wife
3. The wife takes the child
4. The child takes the nurse
5. The nurse takes the dog
6. The dog takes the cat
7. The cat takes the rat
8. The rat takes the cheese
9. The cheese stands alone.

Hokey Pokey

In a circle
You put your right hand in
You put your right hand out
You put your right hand in
And shake it all about,
You do the Hokey Pokey wiggle
And you turn yourself about,
That's what it's all about.
Continue by putting in all the other parts of the body, and finish up with your whole self!

delete

This has been a hard chapter to write, the first time I couldn’t copy a chart I needed so, changed the subject, found the research was taking too long then I changed to this chapter which I had planned to be later in the story, so if something seems out of place that is the reason.

Antik

Part 11

Romney has been elected to the presidency. Today will be remembered by where you were when you heard the news announcement. President Obama has been attacked; He was not at the white house he was in Detroit, where he was speaking and was hit with all sorts of explosives, and they have even mentioned maybe an RPG, right now they are playing different tapes over and over, I feel sorrow for all they people who protected him, they are saying he has been undercover the last few months since they had Intel he was marked for death. At first they thought it was a riot, as they were moving him out of the area, they were hit. Al Quida had put a bounty on his head; they had even printed playing cards with different government officials on them. Was he foolish or brave? I know the secret service men were brave. Now I feel sorrow for their families, the news people are sticking microphones in their faces asking questions, it makes me sick. Don’t they have the right to grieve in private? Now with only Romney in the race it looks like he will win.

Lat night we had riots in all the cities, I understand we will be getting several of the families with kids, from St Louis it seems some of the men expected this to happen and they all met at the church to get them ready to go, they are bringing the last of the food they had gathered for us, and also other things I’m not sure what else, all they men with guns are escorting them down. I am worried, the stuff I saw on the TV before it went off looked crazy, why would people burn stuff down. We are all praying they have a safe trip. Sheriff Marshall was here a little while ago warning us not to leave the farm, he is afraid there will be trouble for us if we go into town. Mom and Dad told him they wouldn’t want to go into town. We had chores to do so I didn’t hear the rest of what they said but he left before we got back inside, I had to get the goats back out to pasture and bring the milk in.

We had a lot of eggs as the younger hens had started laying; Dad said it was too late in the year to worry about hatching out more eggs so we brought them all in. I saw Mrs. Stone on her porch waving to me, she had added some of those little vehicles called gators and wanted to know if we were taking things down to the Ed center. She wanted us to load one and drive down. I think she liked getting out and visiting. Soon we had their portion of the milk and eggs in the back and off we went. It was cold this morning so she had brought blankets for our laps, we were nice and warm in our heavy clothes and coats, and I don’t think Mrs. Stone was as warm as she pulled out some tea bags and some hot chocolate to make when we arrived. The workmen were building a large shed next to the ed center, they will have a few goats for milk and some chickens for eggs living there once it was finished, They already had an area tilled and ready for the garden going in once spring arrived, Dad had been hauling some of the manure down so that part was a little smelly. It will be nice in the spring, Mrs. Stone had also brought some flower seeds, she was explaining which flowers attracted which beneficial insects and to plant them near which vegetable to not only attract good bugs but discourage bad bugs, so we will have flowers next year too, Mrs. Stone will plant flowers around her little house to collect seeds from for the following year. She also explained to me to tell Mom she also had some flowers good for healing. Echinacea and yarrow, and handed me a list to give Mom.

She also has some recipes for salves and tonics to make, she said Mom will need to come over and help her decipher the handwriting from her grandmother’s book. She has been working on growing and gathering seeds for years. She thinks she has some for all the plants she could figure out, there were even pretty little drawings of some of the plants she picked wild. Over the last few years she had met a botanist who helped her figure out the correct plants.

When we returned and I had helped Mrs. Stone back in her house, I handed Mom the list and explained what I was told, Mom was very excited, I thought she would run over there but she had everyone come into lunch, she had baked a casserole, she waited till the next day for her visit, to avoid waking Mrs. Stone from her afternoon nap. Dad was working on an inventory of all of our food stocks. I was glad the TV was off, the news this morning was so depressing. Angie and Jennifer were in the attic cleaning and going through all the junk up there, I found them when they came running down to talk to Dad, they had found an old spinning wheel they wanted him to look at to see if they could learn how to spin, he told them he could, he had made Mom one a long time ago. He said he would come up when he was done to look it over to continue cleaning and dusting until he came up.

Very good so far! More please!

Part 12

Dad was going to be a while, so I decided I would help him, he would move things while I kept the tallies, one trip down they had bought out an auction on a whole load of canned food where the truck had wrecked, a few cans had broken open and made a mess, not to mention the spaghetti sauce jars, but it all cleaned up, there was so much more than we had thought, those that had been messy had all been taken out of the original cases, although the clean ones had been left in them, it looked like a good bit of food good thing so many bags of rice and pasta had arrived.

Mom had a casserole that used almost any kind of vegetable even to adding them to spaghetti, the kids no longer asked what things were in it and tried it first, when Mom had made them go through there food to separate what they made faces at, and eat everything anyway, they just decided Mom knew best, so unless they really didn’t like something and decided to go without they all ate it like it was added to their plates, they knew if later they said they were hungry they would get the same plate of food to eat only it was now cold.

Dad and I were done in short order. He had a pleased look on his face, now up to the attic. The girls had indeed found a spinning wheel they had also shined it up very prettily, Dad said he could mend or replace the leg that had broken, then exclaiming he pointed out another machine as a small loom, I guess since the farm had had the sheep in the past they processed the wool here, Dad was now looking at some of the things the girls had set aside as junk, telling them to clean this thing and that he said they also must of dyed things here.

Dad’s folks had taught him all sorts of old ways of doing things, that was where his interest in rebuilding useful old machines came from, he had built himself an old fashioned workshop with the treadle power mostly used. I once saw a show the old Yankee workshop, and which Dad was very fond of only that guy built furniture with the tools, dad built machines that farms used, and I think that was part of what got him so excited about this farm.

We soon had the things Dad wanted to be cleaned set aside, also giving us room to work into the stacks of old dusty bric-a-brac, He found one more thing he pulled out, a trunk with jars and jars of who knows what it looked like some kind of old chemistry set, Dad explained this was used to make things like in a still room, everything from medicine or dyes. We very carefully dusted it clean then carried it down for Mom; Dad was off to get the boys to help carry the things to fix to his workshop. I was surprised to see Angie and Jennifer also excited. They just have no idea of the work they will have ahead of them.

Early the next morning the caravan from the city arrived, I was surprised at some of them, apparently part of the group had been storing things for a long time, they had food (freeze dried) and dehydrated for all the people who came they called themselves a MAG. They also had some animals. Mostly bunnies and chicken but also a few goats and about 3 small pigs, they also had travel trailers filled to the brim, I don’t know how they expect to get in them to sleep. They said they were security for the caravan, though they did have their families with them. They told us they were all retired from the military and 2 men who worked for the electric company brought solar panels and a windmill to put up for their electric needs, then they got with Dad to show him plans they had to build wooden windmills to not only help supply power but could pump water to, I heard they want to see about setting up closer to the old mill. We had finally found it but hadn’t been able to get inside it.

Oh here I am nattering on about our goings on and I bet you want to know what was in the news. They are having Romney assume the presidency now apparently the vice president was in the hospital and couldn’t take over until January when Romney should. The TV talking heads had said they thought that was why the attacks took place, that didn’t matter to all of the rioters they were continuing to riot. The first thing Romney did was cancel all of the executive orders.

He also had all the prisoners who had been put in prison by the epa to have their cases reviewed for release, if no other laws were broken they would be released, in other words if no criminal laws were broken they were no longer criminals they would also go through the rest of what he considered political prisoners, or rather those in solely for bureaucratic laws to be reviewed, and released if innocent of criminal laws, he also started the ball rolling on repealing the health care laws. He also advised the rioters that he would impose martial law if they continued. Anyone convicted of a criminal crime and carrying a firearm would be considered an enemy combatant would be detained under the patriot act.

That stopped a lot of the looters but not all; many were arrested, and found later to be backed by foreign agents. Lot’s of the police and firefighters had been killed, He appealed to the militias in the states most severely affected to come forward to be the police force, and they slowly came forward and were trained by the military.

So much had been destroyed that America had to rebuild industry from scratch. So much had been moved out of the United States. We didn’t have enough credit to buy it back. A law was also passed that any company that had their headquarters here needed at least 50% of there manufacturing here or look for another country to headquarter in. That did help however the other nations weren’t so happy. The unhappy nations were the ones no longer getting US money. Romney was also cutting down the number of government employees; some were able to get in on all the new manufacturing jobs

sorry did it again.

Part 13

Now things really started happening, Sorry to skip ahead, Thanksgiving was nice, the men got 3 nice big toms, we kept all the turkeys that Mrs. Stone had given us and the rest of the animals came home, The pigs came just after Christmas, all the presents were appreciated I think some just for the work that went into them, although the knitted hats and scarves have gotten lot’s of use, The travel trailers are still close to the main house, when we are able to get back down easily to the mill area in the spring after the snows melt they will move down there, it is nice to have the extra hands for the milking and egg gathering.

The men are working on setting up an area in the barn to start hatching some more eggs so everyone will have their own chickens they are going to use another wood stove, but first they need to make sure it will be safe. Dad says it looked like their used to be one back in the far corner where there was once a small smithy area, that part is all stone, they just need to be sure no hay from the loft could spill into that area.

The loft doesn’t cover that area but the wood wall is not in as good of shape and is not tall enough, I must say all the families that came down are hard working and have been a blessing, Mom has been sharing lot’s of her recipe’s and they usually cook enough for all of them to eat together they also have wood stoves in each trailer, thank goodness they brought a lot of firewood, Dad has been worried about having enough, we still have some dead trees to cut down and cut into firewood, all the men went looking for them and I think they felt they found enough. One of the men had run a firewood business so he brought not only a lot of wood but the tools to cut more including a neat firewood splitter, the boys are sure happy to use it instead of splitting the old way.

We do not allow anyone new into the farm after we heard from the sheriff of the sicknesses that have been going around. It seems since the terrorists can’t cause troubles with getting people to riot they have started using bio weapons, so far we have stayed safe but I just can’t watch the TV anymore. So many are dying, although the doctors and nurses are saving many they can’t be everywhere all the time, and new outbreaks are occurring daily. People are being told to stay home but lot’s can’t Dad says cause they need food and water. That’s another thing wrong they are attacking the power plants and the water. Everyone is supposed to boil their water but the electric is sporadic as things are attacked. The military is doing the best they can. Mom says with no trucks running no one will be getting food or things they need either. Why did everyone think they would always have everything at their fingertips? Unless things get a whole lot better I will never graduate, but then the colleges and universities have closed down till next year.

Angie and I have been reading some of the books we found in the attic, they are really old, from before World War I, and I think that was when Mrs. Stone’s ancestor sold the farm. It was used as a hunting camp for many years. I understand when the boys all went to fight in the war the parents couldn’t keep it all up. All but one boy died and he no longer wanted to farm and sold it when his parents died, Mrs. Stones Mother was his sister and she inherited from her. She married a well to do man who raised horses, when he died she turned their farm into what she had when we met her.

She had kept a few of the animals from this farm and then bred them to increase her herds, getting with others to crossbreed to keep from inbreeding, At the time very few were doing that and it was getting harder and harder to find any that had not been crossbred to any of the new breeds being developed. When she could she would buy whole herds rather than let the breeds die out.

We are helping her with her herd books and it isn’t as easy as it sounds. She said most of the time it was hard finding new blood to breed to. I think she has done really well. I don’t know what will happen in the future, to find new blood for breeding.

We are thankful that most of the city people are staying in the cities, Mom and Dad think unless the utilities quit completely most won’t leave, believing things will get better, The National guard are now patrolling the city streets since so many in the police department have gotten left their jobs to take care of their families.

Sorry for the delay in adding a new chapter, I have had the flu.

Part 14

All of us older kids have been training to help keep watch on the farm, it seems the cities have reached the tipping point and lot’s of the people there are leaving to look further a field for food, and new places to live, We heard from Sheriff Marshall that all the close in areas are being over run, he feels we are far enough away that unless they had extra fuel we will be okay, he also advised we should keep an eye out for anyone sneaking around, he has had numerous reports of animals and people going missing. He also left us a radio to call him on if we spot any trouble, most of the problems were from the other side of his district but it has jumped around enough that whoever they are could still find our area.

We have several gmrs radio’s to send one out to each observation area, we are to radio if we spot anyone then wait for the men to come out to take care of running anyone off. One thing we did find was a lot of game; Dad radioed the sheriff and agreed to harvest some deer for him to give to town. Now even us girls who are good enough shots will get to hunt. The lookouts will stay in place in case we attract any two legged animals to our area. The sheriff thinks that we should be far enough out from where anyone he knows about lives to not be heard.

We have been decorating our Christmas tree; we are making popcorn garlands, crocheting ornaments then starching them stiff, also painting and decorating nuts and pinecones. Some of us girls had gathered fall flowers and dried them in the attic; we have made little bouquets to add to the tree, the little kids are decorating cut out stars and other shapes and one of them found an origami book so they are working on some of the things in it. It is starting to look quite pretty. Packages are appearing underneath the tree giving a sparkle to several of the kid’s eyes.

Today was hunt day; I got a nice size buck. Nothing large, still young enough as my Dad says to be good eating. In total Sheriff Marshall picked up 10 deer, we gutted but didn’t butcher them; he said the butcher in town will do that. I think the butcher wants to hang them a few days to help tenderize the meat. Everyone in town should now have fresh meat for Christmas dinner.