Jason closes his journal... Thanks!! I love you!!

[TanksHill]

You have a beautiful family. What a wonderful opportunity for you to travel w/ your family and work at the same time.

 

[Tallman]

Hey Ped, what a good lookin bunch. I didn't know that you were such a young squirt!

 

[modern_pioneer]

Passing it forward, and I like the returns.

Many years ago I began to think about karma and how it affected my life on a almost day to day bases. I didn't do what Earl did, but I started to think how I could make my karma better. There is a period of six years that I will not talk about in public or with my family. I signed up to be a soldier in the Army. I did my job, at the start I was happy to serve, but after my second tour and two military police actions, I knew that the job I was doing wasn't for me. That is all that needs to be said about this subject.

So now you might guess I had some ghosts in my own closet that I needed to deal with at some point in my life. Hitting the booze every night seem to be the cure, but the next morning I'd wake up hung over, and the problem was still there. That continued for a few years until I met my mentor Jim.

People say you gotta talk to work through your problems, sure I could have gone to see a shrink, but I couldn't trust one. But as Jim and I worked together on the weekends, he was my boss at my day job, I was his apprentice during the evenings and weekends. We started to become pretty close, and one day he confronted me with my attitude.

Whatever was said over the next coming months, something finally rid me of the guilt that I was carring around those years.

Karma, see once I got rid of those ghost, I was able to find many ways to do good. The first thing I did was to respect everyone I came in contact with. Second, whatever I did, I always did the best job I could the first time, that really helped me advance when I worked other people.

Part 1 of 2

 

[modern_pioneer]

Karma part 2

I believe that if you do good, that good will be returned to you in some form or another. Sometimes you may not see it, it might come back in small amounts at a time, some might see it as a Blessing from a higher power.

But you can bet that sometimes your just going to hit bumps and ruts in the road. I remember some years ago being so upset, I wanted to go outside, throw my arms out, look to the sky and yell. It is what it is, make the best of it if you can.

Doing good includes giving, we all can give at some level. Wether you lend an ear, do some labor to help a friend out, offer positive advice, offer up a few dollars to help a non-profit organization. I, like you have a limit that I can give, so I decided to be the first sponser of a wildlife re-hab center. http://www.skyes-spirit.com

Both Maryjane and Robert are friends of mine that run the center. My first contact with the center, they had closed their doors due to lack of funding. So I went to my friends at my local feedstore and struck a win/win agreement. John said he would offer me anything that day at 5% over cost.

Maryjane and Robert

Robert has since been laid off, the center is not doing so well, thou I have stepped up my donations. I alone can't keep the center going. Maryjane is doing the best she can.

My sales are slow, but I haven't had to lay anyone off yet, and as long it keeps going, my companies will be just fine. So when I passed it forward, it has been returned to me, I am greatful.

If you think about it, go pay her website a visit, and ask yourself if your karma is in check.


So I drove back to the wildlife center with a truck and trailor full of goods and equipment. Maryjane met me half way down the drive, she was running, and I was driving so slow because the axle on my trailor was about to bust. She looked at the trailor and tears rolled down her face, I told her to get in the truck so we could get the stuff unloaded. That evening Robert called and thanked me.

They are both Native Americans, and have dedicated themselves to their lifestyle. I have a great respect for them and who they are and what they do for our world. We visit the center a couple times a year, and Maryjane has such a passion to help those critters.

Here is a hawk set free to live his life after Maryjane raised and treated its wounds. I helped this hawk personally, thou the hawk never said thank you, he told me when Maryjane released him back to the wild.

 

[modern_pioneer]

Well, other than my crisis in the kitchen over bread making, yesterday and today have been good.

Sometimes all of us get a chance to teach a friend to be more SS. I had that chance today while getting some shop supplies at a local box store. Piled high in their cart were those indoor plastic peat green houses things. Having saved plastic pop bottles (friends, family, highway clean-up) the last two years, I have plenty to spare. I re-use them year after year and folks still collect them for me and drivers still litter.

I explained to them how I started my seeds, I explained the different benefits to them. Because they drink bottled water, they thought that was a great idea. So they put those back and said they were going to ask friends and family members to save their plastic bottles to re-use.

If your interested, I have posted a picture of my self made root cellar (sorta).

Because my garage is not functional as intended, I decided to make a cold room/grow room. My idea for this is based on a window the is under my back porch wich is covered and that area stays dry. Second I used some drop (scrap) material to fill in the window frame. Using a hole saw I cut a 1 1/2 hole on left side, one on the right. My thinking was for airflow. I finished this off with two small sliding doors to adjust airflow and critter proof wire mesh.

I did all that work and didn't know if my idea was going to work. This was one of those roll of your hip projects with some thought into function. Yes, it does work!!!

One of my indoor tomatoe plants

Did you know that tomatoes are perennials? I read that in my book last night....

 

[modern_pioneer]

Thanks Gina, If it wasn't for them in the photo, I wouldn't look so good, and the camera would have broke.

Tall, I was raised to be polite, I often hack away my english, and spelling, sure hope nobodys keeping tabs. But if I am a squirt, I will be 39 in June, I'll take that, now I will expect you to teach me where I need to be taught. Sure I have/am getting back to my life on the farm being SS, but in many areas I need to know how it is done.

Thanks Lori, if I can teach something or have some advice I will be more than happy to share it with you and Chad. Thanks...

Just, Sorry but the veggies have moved in, I do still have a place to plant the wild flowers, Shanor still has his bee hives over the ridge.

Thanks patches, keep up the good work.

Tommy, sorry about your chickens, that was very sad. I understand your anger, and I find it hard to advise you on this. I have many friends that are in touch with their Native American heritage, some that still live their lives in a traditional manner. As a Englishman, I have been invited to many Powwows, where traditional dress and dance is the pride of the people. I did brain tan a hide which turned out okay, taught to me by a Blackfoot Native American.


I hope you enjoy my post and pictures, I am here to learn and teach. I don't know much, ready to learn, but living my life to be more SS everyday.

 

[modern_pioneer]

I don't have many photos of my life as a child living on the farm, but my step dad Bobby gave me some a few years ago.

My Mom was big on taking photos (go figure huh?) and when I left the farm to go live with my real dad in the city, she made sure I had plenty. Long story short, through the fits and rages of my real father, most were ripped, thrown away or just came up missing. Well, as you might guess me and my real dad, even as adults can't get along. I am reminded to make sure I do for my kids though, I don't want to be selfish or be blamed which would keep the cycle of hate going. My step mom is great!!!

My mom was in every aspect a pioneer woman, she did wash, cleaned the barns, drove the tractor to harvest fields, cooked , cleaned, hunted, fished, worked full time, slaughtered animals, and everything else. I think she had super powers because she did it all, of course with the help of my step dad and four strong, hard working kids.

Mom cooked off a woodstove in the kitchen, everything was cooked and canned on the stove. It even had a small oven which she used to bake bread and make deserts. My fav.? Egg custard pie, we always had chickens and plenty of the for eggs and eating.

Here is a picture of my mom and step dad in the kitchen, see the black stove pipe in the background? That was our woodstove. You gotta notice the two milk jugs on the table, we always had fresh milk. Also you will notice everyone is wearing warm clothes, no fire, no heat. If it got to warm, we'd just open windows and doors.

Here is my sister showing one of our hogs off at the county fair while in FFA. Her name was coco and like I sad before, she took first place carcas.

I don't remember who harvested this turkey, the first turkey I ever harvested I couldn't hold it up for a photo. So I think my mom was holding it up for the photo. I was hunting with my mom, and she was teaching me how to call a turkey in and harvest it. Looks like she knew what she was talking about.

Our farm sat on 107 acres, most of which was flat enough to work the soil and use for farming. After my mom lost her job, laid off, my step dad lost his job four or five months later. We were able to keep the farm going, make a profit until the price for pork fell. We grew our own grains for feed for the animals, but because the price for pork fell so much in a short period of time. For seven years, my mom and dad did the best they could to keep the farm going. Later it would be a fight that the banker would win.

Here is a picture, one of just eight that I have of my mom. I was 14 y/o and this was taken the night before I would fly away from the only life I ever knew, country living at its finest. You can see we were dressed up as part of our last night together to go out to dinner. My mom grief stricken, was given a dozen of yellow roses to cheer her up by my step dad.

My mom didn't wear make-up or get dressed up often, but the last night I was on the farm she did. The coat she is wearing was made from deer we had harvested the year before, we sent them out to be tanned and a woman that my mom knew made her and my step dad coats.

I would only see my mom one more time before I left to go in the Army. If I would have known it would be the last time that I was going to see her before she died, I would have hugged her longer. My mom was my hero and best freind...

Dawn Simone Horsnby 24 Dec 1947 - 9 Aug 1989

R.I.P mom, love you!!

 

[TanksHill]

That was a wonderful heart felt tribute to your mother. I am sure she sees all of the great things you have accomplished. Your life growing up and everything she taught you made you a brilliant man. I can just tell.

I think I'm going to go call my Mom. lol gina

 

[modern_pioneer]

Thanks Gina, you should call your mom and say hello. Of course that would depend on your relationship with your mom, which I can't advise you on.

If someone put a teaspoon in my hand today, and they told me, that it was the only tool I could use to dig up my mom, and I could speak to her for five minutes, I'd be a teaspoon digging fool.

By no means am I brilliant, I am just me. I want people to understand that rags to riches doesn't solve anything, it makes many things better. But it doesn't solve everyday problems or give us meaning as to who we are. I think that is my struggle here.

 

[modern_pioneer]

In the longest days; A Tribute for those that walked before me

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I sat down with the "old timers" when I was just starting at my trade many years ago. Since that sit down, when I go to Pub now, those seats are left empty. The stories told that day inspired me beyond anything I had ever hoped to become, I thought I was going to retire working at my local 7-11.

There were five of us cramed in the smoke filled booth, Doc, Red, Boss, Cracker and me. I had been invited by Red to meet some of his friends for his little retirement party. They were all equally leathered, roughed facial hair, and worn thin to their own souls. When I looked at their hands all were missing fingers, and had huge scars from being burned on their arms. I could see they all wore their best dime store clothes for that day, and brought a few extra nickles to buy Red a drinky or two.

These were some of the best men I have ever had the pleasure to be in the presence of. That evening, I never spoke much, only answered simple questions. The stories of working in the mills and factories during World War II kept me busy listening. I was inspired by their dedication and the love they had for their jobs. The fact they all worked together working 15 hour days for years with little time off to support the war effort, knowing each hour of labor they did, it drove the enemy back to his own place. Doc said "Those was in the longest days"

Today, I would consider myself a part of that same group. I will never be rich, but I have my health and hands. I will never wear a suit, don't likem much anyway. I will never be famous, that depends on who you ask. I will never be lazy, there's always work to do. I will never want, because as long as I have my hands and a sound mind I will make it, Just like they did.