#13
The two, full of energy young men were bored and eager for something to do to create some excitement. As the heavy wagons were unloaded, they were looming large and bulky in the driveways of the houses and farms.
"Donny, I think we are old enough to homestead a place. Wadda ya think about asking for the place between Mark and Tess. It's a smaller unit, smaller everything. pastures, barn, house all of it. Better suited to two handsome young gentlemen who don't want to do a lot of housework. I have all these ideas, let's get a team and the plows and get started on turning gardens while we talk this over." Andy stood up and hitched up his trousers. He meant business.
"OK, I'm all for doing something, and plowing is something we two 'youngins' can do." Donny was smirking as he parodied Andy's movement of hitching his britches. "If we go up and start at Tess's place, then Mark's, that will let them know we are earning our keep. I sure hope Ma has biscuits for supper, I'm so ever hungry for a plateful of biscuits and I think there's a little honey left."
The boys took a mare from Toby's hitch and the other mare, her sister, from Seamus's hitch. The two mares had grown up and trained together, and worked smooth as butter as a pulling team. Donny put together the harness the ladies preferred, and the two strong youth unpacked the single footburner plow from the equipment wagon.
Andy was scratching his head, "we need to figure out a way to transport the plow from one place to another. Running it along the road is going to dull the bit. We need some kind of wheels, let's walk this up to Tess's and keep our eyes and ears open for some way to make a trailer."
Andy drove and it took the two of them to keep the plow upright on the hard surface of what was left of the road.
They made it to Tess's lane, and Donny went trotting up to the house to see where Tess wanted her garden. Excited boys climbed all over him, as Tess walked out to the gate.
"One plowed row here on the right side of the road all the way down to the house. I want to plant trees. Please and thank you, and I will have some cookies when you are done. The main part of the garden is over there, to the right of the house. All the ground inside the enclosed space, and I may need more later; to mellow over the winter, but for now, that will be all I can handle."
"Yes Ma'am," Andy got the team lined up and tried to start the plow. "Donny, I'm gonna need help here, I can't drive and hold it at the same time." The older brother was quickly learning he needed more muscles, ones he didn't have by himself.
"Com'on boys," Tess gathered up her sons and started them walking to the house. Young boy voices shouted all sorts of noises at the plowmen, none of which they understood.
"I don't know how she tells them apart, much less deciphering what they are saying," Andy motioned for Donny to get ahold of the other handle. "Ok, here we go," and he chirruped to the team. The sisters leaned into their harness and the plow bit into the ground.
Clora was standing at the kitchen sink window, watching the young men strain and hold the plow upright. "Come look, our wonderful guys are stepping up and running the plow," she called out to Mark, making room at the sink for Mark to stand close.
Mark was straining to watch the boys, actually intending to go help them with advise on what they should be doing.
"Don't go," Clora said softly as she put her hand on his arm. "Mark, they need to do this themselves. If you need to do something, let's go out and plan where we want our gardens plowed. You can watch them closely when they're here and offer suggestions. After they finish with Tess, and if the job is done well, they may not need any corrections. You have taught them well."
Clora wiped her hands and went for the back door, her movement pulling Mark along reluctantly. Clora was looking everywhere, seeing the old, parched brown leaves of rhubarb that had died down; and the feathery fronds of asparagus stems that had gone to seed.
"Ahh," she breathed out in pleasure, "Asparagus, rhubarb and just look," Clora had to hug herself at the size of the intended garden space. "There must be almost an acre of garden to plow. I want to walk over the area to make sure that there isn't any food left in the ground."
There wasn't, and Clora happily gave Mark a shining smile. "Oh, this is going to be so good, look at the dark color and loam of this field. It will be perfect." Mark stood out in the garden and examined the fence and kept a eye on the plowmen next door.
Clora went to inspect the area around the foundation of the house. As she suspected, there was a small kitchen garden, and she looked at the limp and lying over tops of top-set onions and garlic heads full of bulblets. This was a good place.
"I've got to get a big supper started, the boys will be starving by the time they get done with our plowing. Maybe some biscuits also, it's been a long, long time since I have had a good stove to work with." Clora called out to Mark that she was going inside.
He waved, on his way to inspect the barn and other sheds.
It was almost dark by the time Mark and Clora's garden was plowed. The team was put in the barn for overnight, wiped down and fed hay. Mark had found a small amount of grain, but it smelled sour and he locked the pan in the saddle shed, away from the horses. The barn was the best one he had ever had the pleasure of owning; even better than the barn Homer had at Big Springs.
Mark sighed a deep sigh of pure pleasure, and all three men perked up when Clora rang the supper bell by the back door.
Clora had tripled the amount of stew she planned for supper, and made three dozen biscuits. There was no stew and two small biscuits left. The small cake was gone completely, and two pitchers of water and a pot of coffee.
All three men pushed back from the table, patted their bellies and smiled. "Dad, Donny and I want to talk to you about homesteading the place between you and Tess."
That started a lively conversation, until Clora broke in to say, "hey guys, grab your gear from the wagon unless you intend to sleep out there. There are beds, if you're interested."
"Yippiee, a bed, I'm ready," Donny yawned on cue, "show me the way!"