GUEST POST from Don – GUEST POST from Don – Christmas on Blurry Mountain (part 3 of 4)

CHRISTMAS ON BLURRY MOUNTAIN (3 of 4)

Ma invited Pa to the table after he removed his boots and set them where the snow could melt.

After breakfast he and John Michael loaded firewood into the wagon along with some shovels and some other materials, then hitched a horse to it and drove to where the trail was closed. Mr Hughes turned the wagon so it would be ready for the return trip. After setting a wind-break back a bit from the trail with stakes, ropes and empty feed bags, and setting a fire to the lee side of the wagon, they worked at shoveling a path through the mounds of packed drifted snow. The wind-break helped and the fire was a comfort. Yet by the time they cleared quite a distance the path behind them was closing again. They left the wagon there and rode the horse back before dark. They did not get much further the second or third days. Sarah and William took over caring for the animals in the barn and splitting firewood. Ma took over everything inside.

“I guess we’ll be glad for another hand at the farm,” said Mr. Hughes as they placed their tools in the wagon and drove it back at the end of the third day.

Mike worked hard for his keep, repairing stalls, splitting wood, moving 60 pound bags of feed or bails of hay down from the loft with the pulleys. He enjoyed the work and Mr Hughes found him a pleasant fellow. He also learned how to milk the cows (something to look forward to) and muck out the barn (something he did not).

Mrs Hughes set up an education plan for John Michael so he would pass his spring high school courses. She saved his tests and essays and other work in a special portfolio he could take with him when the trail cleared in Spring. His studies included science, geometry, English lit, history, and government. What else could be done? Mrs Hughes did not make his studies easy. That was fine with Mike. He did not mind educational work either. You couldn’t call him a natural, but he put in plenty of effort.

With all the physical work and schooling, Mike did not get much time to spend with Sarah except at the family table. However, he did find that she was just as busy. She was respectful and caring for the entire family, She was also hard working and efficient. Part of her training was taking cooking lessons. She knew how to make many common dishes, but she also was researching options, interesting seasonings, and unique cooking methods to enhance the flavors. He hadn’t chosen poorly. He liked her cooking. Some home cooks are clueless and the food comes out inedible … way too much garlic, way too much pepper, or weird combinations of flavors. Sarah wasn’t clueless. When making a proper working-farm meal the herbs are “hints” and “flavor enhancers,” not the main course. One should be able to taste the meat, potatoes, and onions first and last, while the herbs and seasonings create an interesting soft side note. Anyone who has endured a specialty dish laden with capers or a pasta plate imbued with copious crumbles of blue cheese knows (only the French call it bleu).

William was enjoying having an “older brother” for the winter. He had a million questions about everything, including cars and being a mechanic. For example, “How do you know its a problem with the carburetor?” Mike usually was patient, but his own studies did not always give him time. At those moments he would say, “We’ll have to discuss that later.” William also wanted to play games especially checkers and chess. Mike was not much into games, but he’d occasionally submit just to get some peace and quiet. He was not a poor player either, winning most of the time.

Mrs Hughes understood that John Michael needed a break, so she assigned a project to William, “Since Christmas is coming I want you to give an oral report on the history of the song ‘Good King Wenceslas.’ “ She knew the history; it was a good story. It was just the project that would interest the boy, too. William liked history.

When Christmas was three weeks away, Mike realized that he had no gifts to give. If he were in the valley he’d just go to the store and buy a few items. Here, he had no store. He’d have to make something for each. So he found some scrap lumber and a fireplace poker. Every day he would carefully burn shapes onto the wood with the hot poker. Then he found a rasp and some sandpaper to smooth the edges. For Mr. Hughes he created a picture of a man wearing boots and carrying a Christmas tree home through the snow. For Mrs Hughes he made a picture of a woman with a frying pan working at a wood stove. For William, a picture of an automobile with the hood up and a teen boy peeking at the engine. He could not think of a thing for Sarah. He wanted to give her flowers or something pretty, and burnt wood did not look like flowers. In the end he burned a likeness of the mountain view and a maid looking out over it. He managed all of this without burning his hands or his clothes even once.  Meanwhile he found a can of varnish to coat the projects.

With a week to go before Christmas John Michael and Mr Hughes went to cut down a small pine that the family could decorate.  Mr Hughes knew right where it would be.  Mr Hughes said, “Choose where to saw the trunk, but remember it is better to saw once.  The ceiling is only 7′ 8” tall and we need room for the base.  John Michael sized up the pine and sawed the trunk.  Of course, he sawed it too tall because things outside always look smaller than when they are taken inside, so he did have to take almost another foot off of it before it could come inside.  Mr Hughes chuckled, “I made the same mistake my first few times.”

The family spent the evening popping corn and stringing it on long white threads to decorate the tree.  While most were doing that, Mrs Hughes found the box of decorations.  Mostly they were small objects which the children had made when they were younger.  A manger made out of sticks and straw.  An angel made from corn husks with a small halo.  Those were placed in the branches.  Each item reminded the family of joyful years past on the mountain.  One was an ornament made by Mrs Hughes’ mother and she turned away for a moment when she saw it in the box.  It also went on the tree.  

“Time for songs,” she said.  So, Sarah and William retrieved their instruments and spent a few moments tuning.  Then the family sang several familiar Christmas Carols while William strummed the chords and Sarah plucked the harmonies.  John Michael was not much of a singer, but he knew the words and did quite well on the “Fa-la-las.”

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ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]

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