It's Not All Blacksmithing Around Here
While I spend most days at the forge, there’s plenty of other things happening too. The older kids made good use of the woodworking tools this summer, especially Alan (9) who really got into making whimsical wooden ships with carved hulls, masts mortised in using brace & bit, and hot glue to attach spars. He even pegged keels on some of them, often fitting the masts all the way through the hull into the keel strip. Maybe not orthodox shipbuilding, and while I really wish I had time to do more involved projects with him right now, I am tickled pink to see him getting creative and learning how to use basic hand tools- and the hours and hours spent figuring those things out I consider invaluable parts of the kids’ education.
Elijah is here to help in the forge 1-3 days a week, and he’s great help there- but he is also called on frequently to put on his “Uncle ‘Lige” hat and read a book or two. The kids love to be read to, and we read a lot.
This spring, Elijah borrowed “Mordecai” my 20ga flintlock for some turkey hunting. Here, he was shooting it at a target to determine the best load to use. Didn’t bag a turkey this year though, better luck next year!
The older kids and I squeezed in one good canoe trip this summer, and it was -of course- a blast. This was the first time any of them had really been in a boat at all, and they had a whole lot of fun.
We went with a group of friends, and paddled a section of the Buffalo River here in Middle Tennessee.
The Buffalo can be pretty scenic, and there’s lots of limestone outcroppings.
Of course we had to do a little fishing here and there. Travis (6) was tickled with his little bluegill.
Alan managed to catch the biggest fish of the trip with this little black bass. Great memories for sure!
Summer just ain’t without cranking ice cream a few times at the end of long, hot days. Having tons of fresh milk and cream from our cow and often fresh fruit just makes it extra amazing.
Elijah has been working on putting together a “kit” of clothing and gear appropriate to the American frontier in Cumberland settlement area during the Revolutionary War, and here he is off to the woods at the end of the day to test his kit a little by sleeping under the stars.
Another fun outing this summer was taking the older boys to the 54th Annual TN-KY Threshermen’s Show and getting to see lots of antique tractors and other machinery, some in action.
The boys wolfed down every bite of their sandwiches Mom packed for them, and were ready for more Threshing Show!
Another thing summer in the country is incomplete without- a good bonfire. Always feels good to get rid of messy scrap wood that is laying around- seems the supply is endless sometimes.
Another thing that keeps me very busy is trying to build and improve things on our still-budding homestead. Sometimes, I really get in over my head with a Saturday project that drags into the middle of next week- like cleaning and organizing our “Tool Shed”, where all our gardening and construction supplies live. Wow, has it been nice to be able to find almost anything along those lines when we need it!
Late summer brings the beginning of squirrel season. A conservative take yields a few meals of delicious lean meat, and all the kids enjoy fried squirrel with gravy and biscuits.
One thing that has taken a lot of time this year is lap time with Frank (2). I don’t know how long this stage will last when he actually asks to come sit in my “wap”, but I’ll take every minute of it. It gets even better when he has a story to tell me.
