*** Chapter 36 ***
Breakfast caught, cooked and eaten. Skinning knife all sharpened up. Backpack packed and pitchfork borrowed from Grandpa George. Redtail thought, This is shaping up to be a fun day! It will be a milestone day, too, as Redtail will be taking the bicycle she and George reconditioned out for its first ride besides just up and down the driveway.
Mr. Ziffel crawled out from under the step as Redtail rolled the bike out of the barn. He shook himself off and wagged his tail as he waddled over to meet Redtail. George stepped out, onto his porch, looked up and squinted, then to Redtail. "So, you're off for an exciting safari?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking I need a wall in my tent to hang all my trophy mounts."
"There's a mental image that's hard to think about with a straight face."
"I sure hope I get a bunch of moles. It sounds like I'll have some help, too. It's at Jerry's place and I think Kevin and Riff or Raff plan to be there. I don't know whether to assign Jerry or Mike Riff or Raff. They're fun kids. Jerry's sister, Beth, will likely hang around a little out of curiosity. She tried to act grossed out yesterday, but wanted to hear all the details."
"Kids are funny sometimes. Well you have a most-fruitful expedition, ya hear?"
Redtail gave a thumbs-up as she hopped onto the bike and started pedaling. "I'll try to be home before dusk!"
"You be careful on those roads, young lady! No shoulders, ya know."
Redtail called back, "Gotcha! I'll probably pull off quite a few times for foraging before I get there."
Redtail struggled to the end of the driveway and stopped her bike. This just won't do! She turned around and rode back to her camp. She rounded up some wire and fastened the pitchfork to the horizontal bar of the bike. Well well well. If anyone gets in my way now somebody's gonna get hurt. And it'll sure make riding easier than trying to carry the fork in my hand.
When Redtail resumed her trip, she felt like a medieval jouster with a multi-pointed lance. She got within sight of Thistle Dew when she stopped the first time to forage. Just at the edge of Perry's Bend, she gathered a few hands full of blackberries. She looked around a bit and spotted some greenbrier. Several had soft growth in the 4-6" range, and were about pencil-thick. Now there's a substantial snack! She put the berries in a small jar and munched on the smilax (greenbrier) while she rode.
As she pedaled past town, her pitchfork drew some curious looks. Redtail just smiled and waved. One guy at the Food and Fuel hesitatingly waved back. Out the west end of town, Redtail made a mental note of a curly dock patch.
There it was: the big place about a mile out of town. She rode up the smooth gently curved blacktop driveway and stopped the bike under a false balcony supported by two white pillars. She looked around and thought it must be the place. She reached to ring the doorbell, but heard what sounded like a bunch of approaching feet thumping on the floor inside.
Beth and Jerry yanked the door open together, laughing. They saw Redtail and quickly tried to compose themselves. "Oh don't stop laughing on my account!" grinned Redtail.
Beth said, "C'mon in!"
Jerry looked at Beth like she'd stolen his line, but gave in. He asked, "Redtail, can I take your bag and stuff out back to the hunting grounds?"
"You may do that. Thank you."
Beth gave Jerry a victorious sneer. Jerry waved his hand in a dismissing, almost uncharacteristic adult-like manner, "No problem. I got her all afternoon." He returned the victory sneer to his sister. He put his foot on the pedal and scootered the bike and equipment around back to the patio.
Beth took Redtail slowly through the house, narrating a tour on their way to the kitchen and patio in the back. Beth introduced Redtail to her dad, who was in the kitchen making a bologna sandwich. "This is my dad, or Arnold."
Dad followed the girls out to the patio. "Oh, feel free to call me Arnie if you like," he said after taking his first bite of the sandwich.
"Oh yeah," said Beth, "and this is Redtail."
Arnold said, "I gathered that. The kids have been looking forward to the hunting excursion."
Just before they stepped onto the patio, it erupted with activity as Kevin and Mike rode their bikes in and jumped off. They frantically looked around for Redtail. Jerry yelled from the mole grounds where he'd taken Redtail's equipment that she was still in the house with Beth. He poked his fingers at the pitchfork tines and Mike and Kevin joined him by Redtail's gear. They chattered about pokey things and hunting and cooking moles and more.
Arnold finished his sandwich. "You guys have fun and be safe. I gotta run off to work. Mom should be home pretty quick. "
Beth suggested to Redtail they just stay inside and watch the boys.
Dad said, "Now Elizabeth..."
"Nah," added Redtail, "I better get out to size up the hunting grounds." Beth walked with Redtail, out to the boys.
As they approached the boys' activity, Redtail asked, "So where's the mole trails?"
"Out here!" called Jerry with excitement. "I mowed the grass again so we can see the trails easier."
Beth sneered, "Yeah, Mom wanted to take his temperature when he actually wanted to mow."
While Mike was slowly walking on one of the mounds, he asked, "Do we stomp 'em flat now?"
Kevin joined in on the slow walking on the trails. Redtail said, "It looks like you guys already have this. I'm no expert on mole hunting, but I'm guessing that slow walking is exactly how to press the trails flat. I think stomping might scare 'em. Let's flatten down as many as we think we can watch."
Beth giggled, "You guys look like chickens scratching for food."
The boys sneered. Redtail poked her thumbs into her armpits, flapped her elbows and clucked. Mike laughed and joined Redtail. Soon the boys and Redtail were all acting like chickens. Beth rolled her eyes and went back inside.
After about 15 minutes of trail flattening and three mounds scraped and stepped flat, they readied themselves for the hunt. Redtail gave orders and the boys carried them out quickly. They gathered a bunch of thin twigs about a foot long. Mike and Redtail split one end of each of them about an inch down with their pocket knives while Kevin and Jerry slid bits of leaf or grass into the splits for little flags. Then they poked the flags into the flattened trails, spacing them out so they could detect movement all over their hunting grounds. Beth returned with two big glasses of ice water and two lawn chairs. She offered a glass and chair to Redtail.
Jerry whined, "Hey, bring us some, too!"
"You know where all the stuff is. Get it yourself," said Beth. "Redtail's our guest."
Redtail tried to calm down the potential sibling rivalry. "We're actually just about to the waiting part, so this would be a good time to get chairs and drinks. And thank you, Beth."
Jerry stomped off for chairs and drinks with Mike and Kevin close behind. Jerry glared at Beth. Kevin and Mike giggled and stuck their tongues out at her. Redtail just shook her head and took Beth up on her hospitality.
The girls opened up their chairs and soon loud clattering approached while the boys half dragged, half carried their chairs while trying not to spill drinks. Each wanted to be first to rejoin Redtail at the hunting ground. The five sat and chatted quietly. About 45 minutes passed and a flag moved.
Redtail, Mike and Kevin went silent and watched. Beth and Jerry looked at them and Jerry remembered why they were all there. "Where? Which one moved?" asked Jerry. Redtail and Mike pointed. Kevin just watched intently as Redtail slowly reached for her pitchfork.
The flag moved again and Redtail jumped up and floated quickly to the action. She called out quietly, "When you run up to the movement, try not to stomp."
The three boys ran lightly and Beth couldn't resist, so she joined them.
Almost hawk-like, Redtail stabbed the fork into the ground at the flag, then again and again. She pried up slowly on the turf. "Don't use a pitchfork for digging other stuff, because the tines are too thin for that. This ground is pretty soft and mole runs aren't real deep." She pried up again and revealed their first flag to be fruitful. The mole had two punctures but was still moving a little. "This is the part I dislike most." She took her cubit stick and gave the mole a quick smack on the head, making sure it was dead. Without pausing, she pulled her pocket knife, skinning and gutting the mole. "Remember, you want to clean game fast so the meat has less chance of spoilage." She held up the meat. "Three or so of these can make for a fair meal."
Beth squealed and pointed to another moving flag. Mike eagerly asked, "Can I try?"
Redtail said, "Sure," as she handed him the fork. "But be careful of the tines. They're sharp." Mike and Jerry took off after the second flag. Kevin and Beth watched Redtail finish up with the first mole. She wrapped the meat in a piece of plastic grocery sack.
Kevin said, "They're lots smaller than I thought they'd be."
Beth laughed. "I was gonna say they're bigger than I thought." She slowly reached out and touched the skin. "Oh wow! This is soft!"
Excited cheers erupted from Mike and Jerry. "We got him!"
Redtail patted the wounded lawn from her kill back into place. "Gotta fix this grass now. That's a big reason I'm here."
Mike called disappointedly, "I wrecked one of the front legs."
"That's OK," said Redtail, as she, Kevin and Beth started on their way to flag number two. Mike met them partway. Redtail said, "Oh wow, you already got him cleaned. You're quick!"
Mike said, proudly, "Good thing I sharpened my knife this morning."
Redtail and the others arrived at site two and they all pitched in to repair the lawn. Afterward they scanned the lawn for more movement and returned to the lawn chairs.
Jerry asked, "Can we cook 'em now?"
Beth countered, "That's her food!"
Redtail said, "But sharing it is fun and cooking will help it keep better. Jerry, you got a campfire or barbecue grill?"
Jerry said, "We can use Dad's grill and roast 'em like hotdogs."
"That'd be cool," said Kevin.
Mike said, "I think I saw another one move!"
The crew got the third one all processed and lawn repaired and they waited almost another hour with no new mole activity. Redtail said, "Three's not too bad, and the good part is we got one on each try. It doesn't take many moles to make a mess of a lawn."
Jerry said, again, "Let's cook 'em!"
Kevin wondered aloud, "Are they as good as roadkilled woodchuck?"
Beth shivered, "Eww! Just... ewwww!" Despite her appearance of disgust she stuck around to watch.
Reuben, Beth and Jerry's older brother, stepped outside and squinted like he'd been napping. "Dad's gonna kill you for using his grill."
Beth defended, "Will not! Besides, we'll clean it cleaner than when we started. Right Jerry?"
Jerry looked as if he'd just been volunteered for real work, but reluctantly agreed. Kevin said, "We'll help, too!"
Redtail said, "It's always a good practice to try to leave things and places cleaner than when you started."
Up on the patio, Jerry and Beth got the grill and forks ready. Redtail laughed, "This is so luxurious. Real commercial hotdog forks. I'm used to coat hangers and sharp sticks."
Jerry said, "I'm gonna light the grill. Step back!"
Click, click, whoosh! went the grill. Redtail said, "I don't know that I'd ever used a gas grill before."
They skewered the moles. Jerry, Mike and Kevin manned the forks. Redtail reached between the boys. "May I?" and turned down the flame a bit. "We don't want 'em to burn before the thicker parts get done."
The moles were around the size of Redtail's palm and fingers. One was slightly larger, one about the same size and the third slightly smaller. The middle-sized one is the one that suffered the leg damage while capturing. Mike still proudly cooked that one. Even though it wasn't perfect, it was his first mole.
"Make sure you turn them fairly frequently so one side doesn't burn while the other stays raw," mentioned Redtail.
Mike glanced up at Redtail and turned his over quick.
After a little bit, Redtail suggested they check one for done. She selected the larger of the three: the one on Jerry's fork. She picked the thickest part of a hind leg and poked her knife tip in and a tiny trickle of molten fat and blood showed on the blade. "Just a tad juicy, but not a whole lot longer," Redtail guessed out loud.
Jerry said, "We should eat 'em raw, like cavemen!"
Redtail smiled. Beth got more vocal, "Eww! Gross!"
Redtail said, "It might be a taste treat, and those cavemen lived to ripe old ages! I'd be a senior citizen among them. There's something to be said for eating-safety and hygiene."
Reuben said, of course, with his I'd-rather-be-somewhere-else tone, "Yeah, during the Black Plague, many people accused the Jews of causing it. They based the accusation on the fact that the Jews weren't getting it like the non-Jews. The Jews were just stricter on hygiene and their places didn't harbor rats like most other peoples'."
Redtail gave Reuben a sort of well-said look. "I like history, too!"
Reuben's sneer disappeared and a smile tried to break through his brooding-teen shell. Redtail noticed the faint change in Reuben's demeanor and said, "Yeah, I'm not sure why or how, but I know I've got a love for history. I know this area's got some rich stories." She caught her mind drifting. "These moles are probably done."
She and the boys examined the contents of the roasting sticks. Faintly scorched, but not burnt. Spots of the exterior were dry.
Mike grinned, "Mine must not be done. It's hissing at me!"
Reuben said, "That means it's not overdone –still moist, ya dope."
Mike laughed, "I know that. I'm not stupid."
Now Beth laughed. Reuben and Mike both looked at her, not knowing at which one the laugh was directed.
They slid the moles off the forks and into some plastic whipped topping tubs Redtail brought with her. They used sticks and knives to separate meat from the bone on the two smaller moles. The meat broke free easily. Redtail took the larger of the moles and started to cut. Kevin said, "Oh no, you have that one for later!"
"Why thank you," said Redtail. She glanced at Reuben. "This might be how our pioneers ate when times were rough."
Kevin and Jerry eagerly asked if it was time to eat.
Redtail said, "Dig in, but share. We can cut into number three if needed, too."
Everyone got a taste and marveled. Beth said, "It tastes like real meat!"
Reuben rolled his eyes and said, "It is, dear sister. It is." And he sighed.
Beth said, "Well, you know what I mean."
Reuben turned up the flame and started scraping on the grill.
Jerry said, "We were gonna do that."
"Don't say I've never done any favors for ya," Reuben smiled.
Mike said softly, "It wasn't really all that dirty."
Reuben actually laughed slightly, but caught himself. "Oh, shut up."
They all tasted, but didn't eat much. Redtail's mole escaped un-munched. Redtail said, I really gotta learn how to tan skins –even as small as a mole skin."
Beth agreed. "Yeah, they're so soft!"
Redtail continued, "We've got stores nearby where we can buy food, but it would be fun to know how our pioneers survived."
The kids cleaned up and Redtail packed. Reuben even took the chairs back to the garage.
Mike said, "Redtail, you're a great cook. I like woodchuck AND mole!"
Beth giggled, almost in embarrassment, "I kinda like mole, too."
They parted ways and Redtail made it home at just about dusk. "I think I'm gonna sleep good tonight!"
*** Chapter 37 ***
Redtail's eyes slowly opened and she smiled. Yesterday's mole hunt showed her they could be caught fairly easily, but probably more as a supplementary food. Fish are far more efficiently obtained. Redtail sat up and listened. She thought, Morning sounds are so peaceful. The still thick air smelled like another hot day was in store. It'll be nice spending the morning at church with such a wonderful bunch of new friends!
Redtail got up, ate yesterday's mole and stepped out of her tent. The gravel in the drive near the garage crunched under George's truck backing out of the garage.
Redtail thought, He seemed a little eager to get to church today. I'm usually meeting him at the house.
George stepped out of the truck and Redtail hollered up to the house, "I'll be up there in just a bit!"
George called back, "Oh, no rush. I just backed the truck out for better light for finding stuff." What George knew, that Redtail didn't, was the younger girls at church had been gathering clothes for Redtail and planned to give them to her today. He wanted to make sure he had a couple nice plastic tubs and space should Redtail need any.
Redtail finished her morning necessities, ate a sunfish filet and got into her church clothes. She thought they had a few unsightly wrinkles, but smiled at the thought that the humidity would have the wrinkles eaten in no time. She grabbed her Bible and headed up to the house.
George greeted her with, "I hope my activity this morning didn't disturb you."
"I heard it, but I was already up. And don't let my presence alter your stride."
"Coffee's on, and it's just as easy to bust four yolks as two. Want some eggs? I'll shoot for over easy, but who knows what'll happen."
"Sounds good. I hope the mole and sunfish didn't spoil my appetite. I think Kitty and Kimmy are bringing me some garden goodies today."
George almost asked, 'So, you already know about it?' but realized this was a totally different hand-off at church today. He did ask, "What kind of garden goodies are you expecting?"
"It sounded like they were up to a bunch of garden work. They talked about white grubs, you know, baby scarabs like June bugs and Japanese beetles. Then there's the wireworms, or click beetle larvae and army and cutworms, too. Kitty said they might even inspect the tomato and pepper plants for hornworms. Kathryn, Kitty's sister, mentioned she'd even keep an eye out for crickets and grasshoppers."
"Sounds like they're gonna have fun."
"Kimmy and Chloe will probably collect some additional specimens. I'm looking forward to the selection. Kitty said she'd make sure they're either killed by freezing, and still frozen, or alive on delivery."
George and Redtail finished breakfast, straightened up a bit and headed off to church.
At the end of the driveway, Redtail asked, "What do you suppose Pastor Tix is going to preach on today?" She leaned back and closed her eyes and smiled.
"Well, whatever it is, I sure hope he don't use me as the sermon illustration!"
"Oh you don't have anything to worry about."
George snorted, "I might have a flawless exterior," –he buffed his knuckle on his shirt- "but I shore 'nuff ain't perfect!"
"Oh yeah," Redtail challenged, "Tell me one flaw."
"No, no, no-no-no! They're too terrible to talk about. I don't even want to think about 'em!"
Redtail smiled, harrumphed and looked out the window.
George turned to the weather, "It's nasty humid out there!"
"I don't notice it so much, since I live in it."
"Nah, I guess it doesn't take a long time to acclimatize."
"Did you read your lesson, Grandpa?"
"I didn't, actually, but I did read the Scripture."
"I guess that's what I meant."
"Yeah," smiled George, "I wanted to come up with a good stumper of a question for Ted, but one never quite formulated in my head."
As they pulled into the church parking lot, Lucy, Kimmy and Lydia jumped, smiled and ran inside.
"George, you must've scared them."
"Nah, they're little girls. Probably plotting something."
Once inside the church, Redtail and George noticed Kimmy peek around the corner at them and quickly duck out of sight, whispering loudly and excitedly."
"Ya know, Grandpa, I think you're right about that plotting. Not just because they're girls, though."
George and Redtail went on to their Sunday school classroom instead of satisfying their curiosity of what the girls might be up to. George had a pretty good idea and had a bit of trouble keeping from laughing at their lack of secrecy.
Ted and Kevin greeted George and Redtail in the classroom. Kevin then headed off to his classroom.
After Sunday school, Kitty caught Redtail and let her know her garden goodies are stashed in the freezer in the basement.
Brother Herman preached on the many Names and Titles of God. Chloe sat by Redtail and Kevin sat behind. Before the service it appeared Lydia was being restrained from sitting up with Redtail and George. She, Lucy and Kimmy wasted no time scurrying up to Redtail at the end of the worship service.
If Redtail had had four arms, there'd likely have been a girl on the end of each, eagerly and excitedly dragging her out of the sanctuary and to one of the Sunday school classrooms. Redtail looked around and caught George's eye. He only smiled and followed the group.
In the room, Lucy turned to face Redtail. She took their prepared speech in hand and read, "Redtail, please have a seat. We have something for you."
Kimmy looked over Lucy's shoulder and Chloe and Lydia giggled in a whisper.
Lucy looked at Kimmy and shifted so she had a little more room. She continued to read. "We know you like to make stuff and that you don't have a lot of clothes."
Kimmy crowded in again and Lucy laughed. "Kimmy! OK, here, you do it." She handed Kimmy the paper. Now George gave a restrained snort.
Redtail smiled and gave George a shushing gesture. "It's OK, they got this."
Now Kimmy started to read as Chloe and Lydia climbed onto Redtail's lap. "We were not certain of your size, but guessed you were about the same size of Kimmy's and Chloe's, (or my) mom and Aunt Kathryn." Kimmy looked up from the sheet. "Anyway, we, like started getting clothes donations..."
Lydia interrupted, "That's not what we wrote!"
Kimmy smugly said, "I'm ad-libbing!"
Redtail looked at Lydia, "It's OK, I think I'm getting the idea."
Kimmy and Lucy explained their project and how all four girls went to other churches and even a little door-to-door, asking for clothing donations. Lucy and Kimmy bent down and lifted a full military duffel bag with a red patch sewn onto it and a black lawn and leaf bag full of clothes up to the table. Chloe and Lydia jumped down from Redtail's lap and set a small suitcase on the table. It was full of shoes.
Lucy said, "Anyway, here's what we thought you might like to wear or be able to use for crafts out of what we collected. So you should have lots of clothes and material for sewing crafts."
Kimmy said, "Yeah, and you can even look through the rest before we turn it over to the Community Clothes Closet in Higginsburg."
Redtail stood up and said, "This is all so thoughtful! May I look in the bags?"
The four girls erupted excitedly like it was Christmas in July. They all chattered away as Redtail checked out her new wardrobe. She'd hold a shirt up at her shoulders and turn as the girls ooh'ed and aah'ed. She held up slacks and did a spin. They were soon joined by Kitty, Amy and Jane.
George and Pastor Tix went down to the kitchen where Ted and Kevin were waiting with coffee and cookies.
Ted said, "Those girls planned all this out –even the snacks to keep us boys out of the way." He laughed, "They should be down to join us when they finish the fashion show."
Soon, the girls' voices reached the basement. Ted said, "OK, we gotta behave. They're coming!"
The voices got louder and louder and footsteps on the stairs started.
"You may look upon the princess," said Redtail as she stepped off the stairs.
"Oh, 'the princess', huh?, George snorted.
Kimmy growled out, "Well of course she's a princess! We're all royalty –children of the King!"
Redtail shook a wrist full of plastic bracelets at George and looked back at the girls who'd by then all entered the basement. The girls curtseyed.
Kevin sneered with a smile, "What was that!?"
Ted said, "I didn't know people still knew how to do that!"
"Wow, and you're old enough to recognize it," added Pastor Tix.
Lydia and Chloe found the snacks.
Kevin looked at Redtail and said, "No moles or bugs today, huh?"
"Not so fast," whispered Redtail. "There's some bugs in the freezer."
Kevin and Redtail exchanged smiles. The overall chatter calmed down as everyone settled into snacks.
Redtail broke the chatter. "This is so sweet of you all. I don't have to think about finding clothes, for, well, a long time." She leaned over to George. "It feels strangely comfortable for me to interact with kids like this. I really wonder if it was part of my past."
Then Lucy jumped and leaned over to her mom and whispered. Amy stood up and looked at Redtail. "Some of the people offered money donations in lieu of clothes and we'd love to take you shopping this afternoon or any other time at your convenience."
Redtail said, "That sounds like lots of fun, and my schedule's flexible enough short notice stuff is just fine!"
Lydia and Chloe started jumping and giggling. "We get to go shopping with Redtail!"
Kimmy rolled her eyes at Lucy, but they didn't hide their eagerness to go very well.
*** Chap 38 ***
The next weeks flowed along like the previous weeks, except for the copperhead in Redtail's tent. She got it steered back out into the woods. Talk of Walk on the Wilder Side began when Sarah dropped by George's place one Monday evening.
George mentioned, "Looks like we're going to be opening the saloon the next couple weekends, sorta to practice for Walk on the Wilder Side at the end of August. Redtail, if you're game to join us, we'd eagerly welcome you!"
"I thought that was just sorta assumed," Redtail replied.
Sarah said, "We didn't want to assume or presume, so we wanted to be sure there was an invite. This is going to be fun!"
George said, "Yeah, when it quits being fun, that's when it's time to quit."
"It's not ALL fun and games," Sarah said. "It's not fun when nasty weather keeps folks home, or some of the work becomes tedious."
"Well, I'm, not gonna let a little rain or work make me a quitter," said Redtail. "So how do we prep for this?"
George and Sarah explained. It takes lots of foraging, and even some shopping to replenish supplies like cups, napkins and utensils. They like to use cardboard and plastic disposables, but we sometimes employ reusables. George mentioned it was lots like an on-going wild edibles and creative cooking program. They'd have to prepare from Monday through Friday afternoon, then be ready for people Friday evening through Sunday evening. Then the whole last full week of August the town square is closed to all but foot and period traffic. "We wrap it up the last weekend before Labor Day weekend."
Redtail thought out loud, "Well shoot! It's a little late to be thinking about Japanese beetles. Their season ended weeks ago. Maybe we can do grasshoppers and crickets."
George said, "The bugs will be more a novelty than any sort of main dish. I oughtta buy me a couple Japanese beetle traps for next year."
Redtail smiled. "Yeah, a funnel trap was enough to keep me with a few beetles to eat. This seems a slow time of year for foraging. Fish might be got easy, but they don't travel well for sharing. Hmm, maybe dried?"
Sarah laughed. "I bet Mr.Ziffel gets nervous when y'all start wondering about food scarcity."
They all laughed, but Redtail cut in with a grin, "But live food does keep lots better than dead and even cooked."
"During the Walk on the Wilder Side week, we gotta pay extra-close attention to food and other supplies, said George, "because we don't have the weekdays to tie up loose ends."
Redtail said, "Blackberry season's past. What plants? Plants... plants... There's still dandelion, thistle, curly dock seeds, chicory and lamb's quarter. We might still be able to find some pennycress. It all sounds so exciting! I wonder if I've got appropriate clothes?"
Sarah offered, "If ya don't, we'll make sure you're all set up."
George said, "It's not all wilder edibles. Sarah's gonna take care of the more civilized side of saloonery." He looked at Sarah, "Of course, we'll help if she'll let us and if you want to. Not many folks get into the wilder side of what they eat, but some do. We get a few each day who want to try something foraged. Ya know, we oughtta go over to the saloon and align our attack plan with actual needs."
"Oh, but speculation keeps things so excitingly vague," said Redtail.
George and Sarah looked at Redtail for a few silent moments. Sarah shook her head at Redtail, but liked George's idea. She and Redtail agreed to the trip to town, and off they went. George in his truck and Redtail rode with Sarah.
About half an hour later, they arrived at the saloon.
"Hey Redtail," said Sarah, "Why don't you just explore and learn your way around the place. You might come up with questions that could remind us of stuff, or give ideas."
"I'm imagining not nearly the density of a program, but longer hours of serving," said Redtail as she began to explore.
George said, "That's about it, and we still only serve taste samples. I'd hate to make up a big pot of cicada gumbo or a big lamb's quarter and grasshopper quiche only to have three quarters of it go to waste. Oh, and then there's Saturday evening wild game dinners! Those are mostly outdoors and church sponsored, but we get to provide stuff, too. Hunters, fishers and even some other foragers get to show off their work –often art, really."
Sarah said, "George, you always get so excited about this season! You remember the wild stuff usually goes so slow, OK, except for Saturday nights. Most folks really only want a taste of most of the wild stuff. Y'know, I got a feeling Redtail's presence might draw a few more curiosity seekers, not to mention the local kids."
George rolled his eyes. "I guess I gotta make more candied stuff for the kids then. Actually it's weird what's popular one day and not the next."
"Oh! I need to taste the sumac berries," said Redtail, to see if they're tart enough for tea! If they are, I'll get a bunch and keep 'em sheltered from the rain."
Sarah shot her a questioning glance.
George said, "Yeah, rain tends to rinse the flavor off sumac berries. They're weird in that the tart acids form on the outsides of the berries."
"Well now," mumbled Sarah, "that does sound odd!"
"And Redtail," said George, "we really don't need to keep a lot of fresh stock on hand. We'll probably be baking lots of it into breads or making crackers. We'll have to inventory my program stuff, too."
The boardwalk outside made a thump, and all three turned to look at the door. Gus, from the bait and tackle store poked his head into the saloon. "I hope we didn't overstep our bounds, but the Chamber figured we'd used a few things during our meetings, so we re-stocked your consumables. Prob'ly won't be the last time, either."
Sarah and George were busy enough talking about what they might need, they hadn't yet looked in any of the cabinets. Sarah took a quick peek at the plates. She smiled and turned to Gus. "Oh thank you so much! Looks like our supply run will be pretty small this year. Pretty much all we have left then, are the seasonings."
Gus volunteered, "Well, I gotta head off home, and I can swing by and pick the stuff up in town. Bring it back tomorrow."
"That's sweet of you, Gus," said Sarah, "but I think it'd take a while to generate a list." She looked under the sink, "Soap still looks to be in good supply."
"No need to take a special trip to town if you don't need stuff quick," said Gus. "I'd hang around a bit, but I better head on out. I just saw your light on when I left. Have a wonderful fun evening!"
George looked at the freezers. "The one on top of the fridge looks good, and the big chest freezer can wait 'til September, but this small chest could use a good defrosting now. And hey! There's still some roasted grasshoppers. Redtail, wanna see if they're still good with me?"
"If they stay in the freezer, sealed, or dry, they should keep for years," said Redtail. "Sure, I'll try some with ya."
George asked, "Have you ever had bad bugs?"
"Eww," growled Sarah. "I still have a hard time envisioning a 'good' bug."
Redtail said, "I'm not sure about bad bugs, but I've never gotten sick on 'em."
"Spoiled gives off a nasty rotten meat aroma," said George. "I've also thrown some out from time to time, simply because they didn't taste fresh enough."
Redtail, Sarah and George inventoried and sorted while making lists. During the rest of the week, they foraged, shopped and generally got ready for Friday, the start of their first weekend of 1800s theme.
Finally, Friday came. Redtail had doubled up on her foraging: for her to eat, and to share with others. Today's hardware shift and then straight to the saloon made Redtail a bit anxious over what to expect. If nothing else, she was busy. For lack of anything closer in clothing, she wore jeans and a plaid flannel shirt to work for an attempt at a nineteenth century frontier look. She'd have passed for a cowhand or miner, but not really a saloon waitress. Big Al arrived back to the hardware from his errands and told Redtail to get over to the saloon. She didn't argue and quit her shift a half an hour early. She expected her pay would reflect that, but Al wanted to keep his books easy, so he paid her what he usually pays her, without docking the missing half hour.
Redtail opened the screendoor to Sarah's Place, which was the name of the saloon, and smiled when she saw the swinging double doors just inside. Sarah waved to Redtail on her way to deliver drinks to the table where sat two customers.
Sarah called to Redtail, "Check out the clothes we found for ya in the back room."
Redtail gave Sarah a thumbs-up as she scurried into the kitchen.
George peeled potatoes for what looked like a big pot of stew. "Welcome, girlie," he said. "Clothes are in back and relax. No need to be in any rush. This is supposed to be fun, OK?"
After a few minutes, Redtail emerged from the back room in a long gray cotton dress, guarded from most dirtying by an almost as long white apron. She spun around for George. "Oh! I gotta be careful! This flares out a fair bit more than I expected when I do that."
Sarah came in from the main saloon. "Hey, the dress looks good! Kitty made it"
The saloon doors squeaked and slow heavy footsteps crossed the floor to the bar. They stopped and a heavy hand slapped the top of the bar. George peeked out of the kitchen and quickly slipped back in. "Redtail, you better handle this one."
She gave a faint worried look, but figured something was up. Redtail put on a saloon swagger and headed out to the bar-slapping stranger. Tall, dark, wiry, but he still looked rock-hard and confident under his wide-brimmed cowboy hat and shoulder cloak. He looked well dusted by long hours on the trail. His appearance was just like he'd stepped off the set of an early Western movie.
Redtail walked to the bar, opposite the dark stranger. She looked him in the eye. "What can I get ya, handsome?"
The man narrowed his eyes, looked side to side, and with a low snarl, asked, "You talkin' to me lady?"
Redtail slapped the bar top and looked him in the eye again. "Yep, it's only them two others in here and they've been served!"
George and Sarah watched from a gap in the curtain in the wide low window that separated the kitchen from the bar. Sarah turned to George and whispered, "Oh, she's good. She's got this!"
The man at the bar snarled back to Redtail, "Gimme a beer... ROOT beer. And make that DIET!"
Redtail leaned closer, pretended to pick a stuck piece of food off the bar and snarled her answer. "Ain't sayin' I will and ain't sayin' I won't. I'll see if I got any to spare." She turned and strutted back to the kitchen. She grinned at George and Sarah when she got there.
George and Sarah laughed quietly. George said, "That was great, and, yes, we got diet rootbeer."
Sarah said, "That's Sam. He's our gunfighter. He lives in Big River, but loves to role-play lots of the time we're in operation with our theme stuff."
Redtail stuck her head back out to the bar, "How you want that beer? Warm and natural or with ice?"
Sam growled back his answer. "Only the hard stuff for me! Gimme rocks!"
Redtail brought his drink out. Sam snarled, "You got anything ta eat here?"
"Lemme guess, big boy," growled Redtail at Sam, "Ham and cheese sandwich... Lots of ham and extra cheesy. Am I right?"
Sam leaned over the bar, "Yeah, and you seem like a girl who knows how to pile it, too!"
The man at the table snorted and spilled his drink. His wife laughed softly. He was overheard whispering, "It's so corny it's funny."
Redtail broke first with a little snicker, but caught herself and gave Sam a look that seemed to say, 'Don't you dare laugh.'
Sam slowly turned his back to the bar and propped his feet up on a nearby chair. He stuck a toothpick in his mouth, put his elbows back on the bar and hissed through clenched teeth, "I think I'm gonna like this place."
The man at the table laughed again and snapped his fingers at Redtail. "Ah, ma'am, I think I'm going to need a rag here."
"I'll get that right away sir," said Redtail.
Sam snarled and coughed lightly to clear his throat. "Yer new around here, ain't cha? Git Sarah fer me iffn she's still around." He muttered quietly and snuck a smile at Redtail, "Not sure how much longer I can keep up this voice!"
George called to Sarah who was in the back room. She came out as George was getting the ham on the griddle for Sam's sandwich order. "I think Sam asked for ya."
Redtail came into the kitchen. "Can we ma... Oh, you're grilling some ham now. Is that for Sam?"
Sarah said, "Yep, and George is gonna make it extra cheesy. I hear Sam also asked for me, too?"
"Sound must carry back here pretty good," said Redtail.
George said, "It does, but I was actively listening, too, and the noise from the crowd wasn't all that much tonight."
Redtail asked, "Oh, I know we don't bill the customers, but if they want to donate by plastic, do we have a card reader someplace?"
Sarah said, "Yes right here on the shelf by the kitchen door. George, can you make sure it still works? I got a gunfighter to tend to."
George said, "I checked it out yesterday. Good to go. Redtail, you ever worked one of these before?"
"I do card transactions at the hardware, but it's not on a hand-held," said Redtail.
The first couple left and the remaining four played with their "Wilder" West characters.
Sarah looked at George and he knew the look. He said, "Yeah, let's shut 'er down for the night."
"It's not always this slow, is it?" asked Redtail.
Sam volunteered, "This first evening is usually pretty slow. You folks are quite fortunate at my presence."
George groaned and Sarah said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tomorrow should pick up and next weekend will be heavier. Yeah, this first evening is usually slow."
George said, "We're gonna have to eat these leftovers now. Redtail, you game for leftovers?"
Redtail said, "Sure, what've we got?" She strolled over to George and peeked over his shoulder at what he had.
"Oh," said George, "we got some sandwich fixin's like tomato, lettuce, onion, and some buns in the oven. I think we've got a couple burgers and at least a ham-sandwich-worth of hot ham."
Redtail asked, "Couldn't we use this stuff tomorrow?"
Sarah said, "If I was at home, I'd stick it in the fridge, but we like to start saloonin' fresh each day."
*** Chapter 39 ***
Redtail stretched and took a deep morning breath. Today's festivities start around lunch time. She jumped, thinking she'd better get moving because there was surely lots of pre-lunch preparations. Redtail got dressed, grabbed three pieces of dried fish and stepped out of the tent. She gathered a couple hands full of dandelion and wild lettuce greens. They were pretty strongly flavored with their maturity, but she ate it anyway. If I have time when I get up to the house, I can concentrate on the more mouth friendly stuff, she thought.
A little closer to the house, she breathed a sigh of relief. George's truck was in the garage and there was no sign of activity. Mr.Ziffel even crawled out from under the porch to greet his first morning human as Redtail approached. She put her small bag in the cab of the truck, then walked over to the edge of the woods and snooped for any edible plants she might want to take with them today. Of course, an immediate snack wasn't out of the question, either.
Redtail dug and dug dandelion and chicory root. She saved all the dandelion flowers and buds and filled a bucket with roots, and a smaller jar with her flowers and buds. Redtail filled both containers with water to over the tops of her spoils –to help soak the dirt off the roots, and the tiny critters out of the flower heads. She thrashed the roots from time to time and shook the flower jar. George came outside and inquired as to what Redtail was up to.
Redtail said, "We gotta have coffee at the saloon, so I figured it ought to be chicory and dandelion coffee. We can either make tea with the dandelion flowers after we dry them or just eat them raw or even steamed or boiled."
"The tea will be a little bitter without all those greens removed from the flowers, won't it?"
"Oh, I don't bother with that," said Redtail. "Besides, I like my tea on the bitter side. I think it's boring otherwise. I like medium roast coffee better than dark roast for the same reason. Of course, the dark roasted beans are better for chewing –lots more brittle, ya know."
Redtail gathered violet leaves and found a clump of catnip. She went over to a sumac patch and cut off five fat 'berry' clusters. While she squatted to the ground to get some thistle, she groaned. Her dress was well decorated with tickseed trefoil burrs. She smiled anyway, thinking, Wow, my dress was foraging for me while my eyes and hands were foraging elsewhere. Redtail popped a couple seeds in her mouth and toothed the husks off. She spit out the husks and nibbled the almost-hard seed inside. They are only a little bigger than sesame seeds, but have a nice pea-like flavor. She finished her thistle-cutting and started back to the house. She had about a quart jar's worth of greens along with the sumac heads.
George joined her when she returned and suggested they try to catch a few fish. Redtail explained she had to finish gathering what her dress foraged.
"OK," said George. "I'll get some poles and put on the spoons. You can join me when you're ready."
Redtail said, "Sounds like a plan. She sat down on the back step and began raking the seeds off her dress. They scraped off fairly easily, but she wasn't quite finished by the time George got back with the fishing gear. When she was finally done cleaning her dress, she had a nice ball of seeds stuck together. She thought, with a smile, I'll bet Arnold would be happy having this golf ball of seeds scattered on his course, or at the edges of his lawn at home. She joined George up at the pond. The two of them caught 6 bass and three sunfish over the next half hour. Back at the house, they cleaned the fish and packed them on ice in a cooler.
George said, "If we can't talk customers into eating these today, we'll have some decent snacking."
Redtail gasped and spread out her arms and looked at her dress she planned to wear at the saloon. She gave a sigh of relief. "That's surprising! I actually foraged, caught fished, CLEANED fish, and didn't get any on my dress! OK, there were the seeds, but they nearly rubbed off with no trace at all."
George looked a little embarrassed. "I didn't even think about that. I saw you ready for saloonin' and even saw the burrs all over the bottom of your skirt. I didn't even consider the potential mess of fishing."
"Oh well," she chirped, "It's done now." She sniffed her hands. "The smell on my hands almost totally washed off, too!"
George put the cooler of fish in the truck and told Mr. Ziffel, he and Redtail were headed to town and to keep a watchful eye on the place.
Mr. Ziffel wagged his tail and crawled back under the porch.
"I wonder," said Redtail, "what that phrase, 'it's a dog's life' really means. Is it one of ease, or disappointment, or pure fun, or what?"
George said, "Well, Mr.Z. gets fed every day, takes lots of naps, barks a little, sniffs at stuff, pees on trees and tires. He sometimes goes to town with us, but not always. Yeah, I sometimes wonder what he thinks about."
On their way in to Wilder, George took a turn Redtail wasn't expecting. Redtail naturally asked why the detour?
George laughed. "Aha! You've not yet been out to Sarah's place, have you? That's where we're headed.
"We're giving her a ride in?"
"Yeah, her car gave her fits on her way home last night."
"That'll be a cozy ride. Three in this pick-up cab."
"I'm looking forward to it," smiled George. "We're gonna put Sarah in the middle. Yep, sometimes cozy's nice."
Redtail smiled. "How come y'all don't get married, or hitched, rather, seein' we're goin' pioneer or western themed today?"
"Maybe neither of us wants to be too forward and ask the other? I really ain't sure. I think if it's right we will."
They arrived at Sarah's place on the east side of town about a mile southwest of ZZ on a gravel road. Sarah stepped out and locked her door about the same time George turned off his truck.
Redtail hopped out and told Sarah she got the middle.
"Oh I suppose you called shotgun before you got here, eh?" questioned Sarah.
"Nope," replied Redtail, "George called it for me."
"He did, did he?" Sarah gave George a wink
George smiled. "Didja get hold of anyone to look at the car?"
Sarah climbed into the truck and scooted over to George. "Yeah, Little Al's gonna take a look Monday if I can get it in to town."
George offered, "I'll follow you in, in case it only makes it part way."
Sarah patted George's hand and laid her head on his shoulder. Redtail got back in the truck and closed the door. Sarah straightened up quick.
"Oh you needn't stop the snuggle on my account," said Redtail.
Sarah said, "Well, it IS August and it's already over 80 degrees, so..."
"Sure, sure." Redtail laughed.
George said, "Yeah, Sarah, ya didn't have to quit."
Redtail leaned over and gave George sort of an 'attaboy' look.
Both George and Sarah turned a bit red.
George grinned. "What say we talk about the bunny."
They made it back to ZZ and Redtail scanned the ditches for edibles while George and Sarah discussed food for the day's salooning. They took the alley behind Thistle Dew's busineses and parked behind the saloon. They liked to keep their modern conveyance off the town square, even though it wasn't yet the week where they closed off the roads.
Redtail gasped as she got out of the truck.
George and Sarah looked concerned and George asked, "What is it?"
Redtail laughed and said, "Oh, nothing of worry. I was just surprised to see all this purslane out here."
George looked around. "Wow! Now why hadn't I spotted this before?"
Thick patches of purslane lined the bay of the gravel back lot formed by Sarah's Saloon and Museum buildings.
Both George and Redtail expounded on the wonders of purslane. It's a later summer plant. It's great raw, steamed, and boiled. The seeds add a poppy seed like texture to foods. The plant itself has a mouth-friendly texture even to those not familiar with eating wild, providing it's not too old and fibrous.
"I'm coming back out to harvest, if I can!" said Redtail.
George said, "Get to it. Me and Sarah can get the truck unloaded."
Sarah added, "I'll even get ya a couple ice cream buckets."
Redtail said, "This is going to be gooood," as she pulled her knife from her belt pouch.
George brought the cooler into the saloon and unloaded Redtail's forage, a few things he brought from home, and then he packed the fish to the refrigerator.
Sarah said, "We should maybe get a couple more gallons of ice cream. The last bucket's opened." She then headed out to Redtail with two empty clean buckets for purslane.
Less than ten minutes later, Redtail came in with both buckets filled to heaping. "I'll get this washed and chopped up and throw all this seed back in the lot."
Sarah seemed amazed at how much Redtail collected in such a short time.
George said, "If we serve it cold, we got lots, but it'll cook down quite a bit if we heat it."
Sarah said, "We'll have to keep that well pruned next summer!"
George stopped Redtail before she headed back outside. "Let's take that seed home and get some going in the garden plot."
Redtail said, "That sounds good to me. It'd be some mighty fine forage."
Redtail finished with the purslane and George took a peek at it. "So, how you wanna fix this?"
Redtail asked, "Do we normally serve salads here? I think it'd be great added to that, or we could add it to a stew, or even serve it as a side to a dinner. Or we could even sweet pickle it and serve it as a relish!"
"I think we have enough stuff for side salads," said Sarah.
"Yeah, we will! We can use Redtail's other greens for burger toppings and the purslane for relish. Good thinking, Redtail," suggested George.
"Well," said Sarah, "Let's get salad-making!"
The saloon door opened a few minutes before noon and in walked the mayor. He was all attired in his theme clothes. Shiny black shoes started the look, then black slacks. His white shirt was neatly striped by the black of his suspenders and his collar was secured with a neat bow tie. A black derby hat topped off Mayor Lawrence Douglas. "What's a guy got to do around here to get a drink?" he asked in a firm but dignified voice.
"Hold yer horses," bellowed Redtail, and she feigned shock and horror. "I mean, most-esteemed mayor, how may I be of service to you?"
George and Sarah shook their heads in the kitchen. Redtail gave the mayor a polite, dainty curtsey.
"Well, young lady, I could do with a cold cream soda."
"I shall comply with great expedience." Redtail curtseyed again, took two steps backward, then gracefully turned and headed to the kitchen.
"Nicely done, and well said!" approved Sarah.
George said, "You're havin' almost too much fun with this."
Redtail smiled.
Redtail called out to the mayor, "You want the hard stuff, your grace?"
"Of what do you speak, miss?" asked Larry.
"Ice."
Larry laughed, "Why yes, if it's not too much trouble at this point."
"Hard cream it is, then!" Redtail came out of the kitchen and the mayor had already made himself comfortable at the bar.
Redtail carefully placed the drink by his hand. "The thought of sliding the drink down the bar fleeted through my mind, but, alas, my better judgment told me I should have more experience before attempting such with a real customer."
Larry said, "I could see it might be a potential source of embarrassment."
"Yes," said Redtail. "Things which look good in the imagination oft come to fruition differently than anticipated."
"I believe we'll need a breather to remove this air of feigned dignity," said Larry.
"Whatever do you mean?" inquired Redtail. Then she laughed.
"Larry, if you call that dignified," said George, "You better get lots more practice."
"Wordy, maybe," said Sarah.
The group all took a break. Redtail rounded up more drinks for herself, George and Sarah.
Redtail said, "I think this is gonna be fun! I should probably get some Mark Twain and some westerns from the library and brush up on how I'm supposed to talk."
The saloon brought in around 30 people by closing time. Only three or four were disappointed it wasn't a 'real' saloon. One was almost angry, but some of the other salooners acted almost like they were itchin' fer a bar fight. He cooled down and had a root beer with the hard stuff. Two groups requested wild stuff so Redtail got to show off her purslane relish with hotdogs. The baked bass went over nicely, too. They'd not tried baked fish before being only familiar with breaded and fried, except for the one lady who got all her male table-mates to act all disgusted at her sushi experience Redtail got them ALL to groan when she mentioned eating the bait on poor fishing days.
Larry, Redtail, Sarah and George split what little was left of the ice cream. As George put the last bits of reusable leftovers away, he exclaimed, "Oh! I almost forgot! My cousin from Branson called and asked about our event. Sounds like she'll be coming up for a few days, probably the whole event week. She works down at Silver Dollar City and wanted a change of scenery for a bit. She wanted to be a saloon girl –probably flirt a bunch, too, with our actors and other themed folks."
"I think I heard you mention her a few years back," said Sarah. "Mae-Mae said she was a fun one."
Redtail just looked back and forth between the two. She enjoyed her ice cream while itching to learn more about George and his family.
"I think she'll have a good time in Wilder," said George. "She seems to have a good head on her shoulders. She's been playing at Silver Dollar City for... Wow! Probably around 15 years now."
Sarah said, "Yeah, she might be a bit past her prime for a saloon girl, but I ain't gonna tell her."
"She has a ball with that," said George. "Maybe her age helps keep her flirting from, well, coming to fruition. Helps it stay a game, rather than anything serious. I think you'll like her, Redtail."
"I don't think you'd introduce me to anyone I didn't like," said Redtail. Everyone I'd met so far is great! OK, I guess there was A.J.. He'd take a little work, but I think he's got some personal problems to get over. Still, he could even be a project friend, should our paths cross again."
"Who's AJ," asked Sarah. "I don't think I'd heard about him."
Redtail speculated, "I'm thinking he's sort of a drifter –a low profile type. He's probably a career homeless opportunist. He sure got nervous when Lena mentioned her Posse connection."
"Where'd you meet him," asked Sarah.
"Oh ya, we met out at the Bumpy Log, the night Lena took me."
George said, "I kinda figured that's where it was."
Redtail continued, "He probably moved on to other pastures, or at least off Posse radar. He seemed to know some about it –at least more than I do."