Hail Brave hearts
This spit of land that you call home is now your sanctuary in the wild. A place of whatever contentment you can make of it. Be it a small shack or a home for a larger family, these dwellings in the bush were a paradise to those who had no other place to call home.
The ardent adventurer, tough, skilled, a mind set on survival. A hunter, a trapper, a woodsman. Trained in survival skills to surpass the perils of cold, drought, hunger, hardship and the persistent diseases. The people of the outdoors, of the woods and plains, but newcomers just the same. Some of whom lived alone in an isolated place, apart from society, willing to live their lives off the land, from hunting, trapping and fishing. An interesting and unusual difference from the life of bustling Europe, where this kind of existence was unheard of. The hunter and trapper were a new kind of man, far different from the civilized person who was left behind in the cities.
A call to adventure, the need to explore, the will to gamble all of your possible potential in a game of chance which was for some, too large to play. A new world. An unheard-of life. Was this properly explained? The fur trade was booming. Furs and the call for furs filled the air, the ears and the brain. The cry of fortune, the call of fame, the money, the land the freedom. Now, it’s survival.
A twist of fate and the money’s not there. A mistake in the route and the land vanishes. Great brave heart, find your way! The life of a hunter and trapper is filled with danger. A life of perilous uncertainty awaits those who are unprepared. The harsh land in the cold of winter. A necessary fur coat, fur pants and mitts. Fur! The sound of the word is money in your pocket or survival on your back. The much needed and so much desired, fur!
An exciting world of harsh possibilities. Friend or foe might find you out there. As remote and hidden as your selected place might be, strangers still might enter your life. Strangers with a map like yours, looking for refuge as well. A sanctuary in the storm of life. A cabin with a fire and a food cache close by. Comfortable and warm, with a hot coffee on the fire, bread in the oven and a pot of stew. The mouthwatering delicacies of life on the land.
A pregnancy is a delicate part of life. The struggling embryo fighting to survive. The will of this precarious life, demanding attention, demanding an existence, demanding to survive. Joy! Joy for the parents, joy for the offspring, a new generation brings hope for a family. Hope for creation, for community for that blessed gift of life and eternity.
Now, above all else, that decision to embark on this challenge, becomes the dream of procreation, of fulfillment of care. The dare that was accepted is now in fruition.
Dare! I dare you to go there!
Now the hands of the clock have turned. The hour is upon us. Live or die, oh child of mine.
A Homesteaders Food Cache
Written by Dr Louise Hayes
November 6, 20