homesteaders

Gun Control
by

Gun Control

Good Day Brave Heart

It’s seldom a bad day with so much to do.

Exit the warm contentment of the cozy, familiar structure to the bright snow-covered future that awaits you in the outdoors.  It’s a fantasy world of snow laden trees, martins leaping along the way and birds chattering to each other.  What do they say?  Only your own spirits will determine their message.  The sundog shines in a glorious ring around the sun, indicating a weather pattern on its way.  The brightness of this glory world is the psychedelic wonder of yesteryear.  It’s no wonder that they thought that LDS was safe.

Minds bend in the staggering difficulty of the task.    The unfathomable human experiment of the day.

Hunting and trapping, the need to survive, the human is a new predator in this place.  Now the competition for the food supply has increased and new hunters are on the land.  Hunters with families and small mouths to feed.  Tiny tots with growing pains, hunger pangs and shill cries.  Feed us! cloth us! save us! The howls stop when the hut vanishes in the snow and the hunt for animal tracks begin.

This new human brings a new kind of weapon to the wild world of big game hunting.  Gone is the bow and arrow, now it’s the rifle.  Guns.  Guns to protect us, guns to hunt with, guns to be dependent upon.  Guns for survival, guns for livelihood, guns for trade and barter.  Guns.   Only the need for ammunition is a drawback in the use of guns.  Stock the larder with as much provision for the winter as you can, and don’t forget the main one, your gun.

Unlicensed weapons have as many as you want to.  No one is watching.

The stealthy aboriginal makes his way to your shelter.  Maybe you don’t have to hunt today.  Maybe all that you have to do is to trade him a good gun and a round of ammunition for a side of moose, a rack of elk and a hind quarter of deer.  Maybe he will give his own much needed furs, from that rabbit, for a gun.  The indigenous people need the fur more than the fur trader do, but wildlife is plentiful, and trade brings wealth to this family.  Wealth to one, survival to another, a deal is struck.  It seems like a win, win situation.  The stealthy aboriginal so experienced in the ways of this land, looking to improve his own lot in life.  A gun for his hunt, a gun for his prosperity and a gun to protect him from the devil.

The homesteader is saved.  No more psychedelic sunshine.  No more mind-bending winter exposure.  No more lethargic, seemingly drug filled indecisive wanderings.   He is saved.  Saved by the aboriginal bell of necessity.  The gun is more powerful than the bow and arrow.

A shot rings out on the still land.  The skilled new hunter has already conquered.  More will come looking for this kind of trade.  More will seek the European for guns.

Guns for survival, guns to protect us.  Guns.  A new way of life.

The Wild Canadian Year: Canada’s toughest season, with only the hardiest prevailing – Winter – YouTube

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

 

 

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Those Divine Weeds

Hail Brave hearts

Still exploring, still living that awesome adventure, still looking forward to the next great day.  Still working those muscles, still struggling with pain.  Not so!  Your diet could save you.

On and on the canoe is paddled, on and on, those muscles work.  Through rapids, portages, endless days on the water, trap the fur, bring it home, make a fortune for that clever, illustrious businessman.  Be the vehicle to their desires.  Work your body, your mind, your spirit to the bone.  Leave your loved ones, travel with courage, bring home that cherished dime.

The difficult life of the courier de bois, the homesteaders that followed them and the settling of Canada.  The price that was paid in life and livelihood, as the courageous Canadians make their way into the great wild.  Survive you must.

The land takes it’s toil and exhausts us.  The strain and stress of this life is full of great challenges.  There are dreams of gold but hardship is plenty.  Tell us your secrets.  How did you survive?

In the great wild, there is plenty, if you know what to look for.  There was game to catch, fish in the streams, fruit, berries and edible plants along the way.  Some of this is medicinal and works to cure that obvious.  Vitamin C for scurvy, vitamin A for your eyes.  The long days of sunshine gleaming off the water, the eyesore from reflections from the water without sunglasses, the sunburn, the pain of it.

Somewhere in the wilds of Canada is medicine for all of this.  Salves, ointments, tinctures, treatments for cuts, bruises, scrapes and burns.  Somewhere there are treatments for pain, vision loss, inflamed joints, sore muscles, pulls and sprains.  Somewhere there is treatment for disease and mental impairment.  Our healing is abundant and our forefathers prove it.  Somewhere in the great wild nutrition is abundant and the natural world gives us relief from aches and pain, from disease and keeps us well.  Somewhere in the wild, there is food that will save us, if you know what to look for.

 

Lambs Quarters:

Why was Lamb’s quarters used as an herbal remedy?
The plant was used traditionally as an herbal remedy for eczema, rheumatic pains, gout, colic, insect stings and bites. Also a decoction made from the herb was used to treat tooth decay. The sap extracted from the plant stems was used to reduce freckles and treat sunburns.

Lamb’s Quarters Uses in Cooking and Benefits as a …

http://www.herbal-supplement-resource.com/lambs-quarters-he…
See all results for this question
Why is it important to eat lambsquarter leaves?
Lambsquarter is an important source of food that can be considered a key staple, while at the same time it is also an extremely valuable medicine. When the leaves are chewed into a green paste and applied to the body, it makes a great poultice for insect bites, minor scrapes, injuries, inflammation, and sunburn.
  • https://www.joyfulbelly.com/Ayurveda/ingredient/Lambs-Quarters/267

    Lamb’s quarters contains more protein, calcium, and vitamins B1 and B2 than cabbage or spinach, making it a wild edible fit for Pop-Eye, our favorite green vegetable hero. It is also rich in iron, phosphorus, and vitamins B1, B2, C, and A. Lamb’s Quarters warms your mouth, is slightly salty, sour, and mildly spicy.

  • Lambs Quarter – Wild & Edible www.thegypsythread.org

    https://www.thegypsythread.org/lambs-quarter-wild-edible

    2021-07-27 · Internal uses range from treating diarrhea, relieving stomach aches, and for scurvy (due to the high Vitamin C content.) Lamb’s quarter tea is also known for decreasing inflammation and increasing circulation. Lamb’s quarter poultices are said to relieve itching, swelling, and relieve burn pain.

    Yarrow

    In short, Yarrow has the following medicinal uses:

    • wound treatment
    • stops bleeding
    • digestive herb
    • diuretic
    • anti-inflammatory
    • anti-spasmodic
    • anti-catarrhal (removes excess mucous from the body)
    • diaphoretic (reduces fever)
    • lowers blood pressure
    • stimulates blood flow in the pelvic area (especially the uterus)
    • antimicrobial
    • used for hemorrhage
    • used for treatment in pneumonia
    • used for treatment in rheumatic pain

    Purple Aster

    • Principally used in the cure of rheumatism in the form of infusion or tincture; recommended, however, in hysteria, chorea, epilepsy, spasms, irregular menstruation, etc., internally; and used both externally and internally in many cutaneous diseases, the eruption occasioned by the poison rhus, and in the bites of venomous snakes.

      Wild Asters medicinal uses | V I Farms

      Are there any medicinal uses for wild asters?
      Wild Asters medicinal uses. The warm infusion may be used freely in colds, rheumatism, nervous debility, headache, pains in the stomach, dizziness, and menstrual irregularities. This, together with A. cordifolius, has been compared in value with valerian. Aster aestivus …is recommended as an antispasmodic and alterative.

    •  Aster aestivus…is recommended as an antispasmodic and alterative. Principally used in the cure of rheumatism in the form of infusion or tincture; recommended, however, in hysteria, chorea, epilepsy, spasms, irregular menstruation, etc., internally; and used both externally and internally in many cutaneous diseases, the eruption occasioned by the poison rhus, and in the bites of venomous snakes

    • Aster Plant Uses – Learn About The Edibility Of Aster Flowers

      https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/asters/edibility…

      2020-08-30 · The flowers and leaves can be eaten fresh or dried when eating aster plants. The Native American people harvested wild aster for a multitude of uses. The roots of the plant were used in soups and young leaves were cooked lightly and used as greens.

       

    • Daisies

    The Medicinal Herb Daisy The herb may be used for loss of appetite as it has stimulating effect on the digestion system and it has been used as a treatment for many ailments of the digestive tract, such as gastritis, diarrhea, liver and gallbladder complaints and mild constipation.

    Wild daisy is a plant. The parts that grow above the ground are used to make medicinal tea. People take wild daisy tea for coughs, bronchitis, disorders of the liver and kidneys, and swelling ( inflammation ). They also use it as a drying agent (astringent) and as a ” blood purifier.”

    The young flower heads or buds can be added to salads, soups or sandwiches; or the flower heads used to decorate salad dishes. The leaves can be eaten raw despite their bitter aftertaste, but are better mixed in salads or cooked and might be used as a potherb. The buds can be preserved in vinegar and used in cooking as a substitute for capers.

    Nutritional profile

    It is both an anti-inflammatory herb and a vulnerary (improves circulation) herb. Drink daisy tea for the plant’s health-giving and restorative properties. A modern study of wild edibles used during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–95) showed that daisies contain 34 mg of vitamin C per 100 g.

    Common Thistle

    The roots have been used as a poultice and a decoction of the plant used as a poultice on sore jaws. A hot infusion of the whole plant has been used as a herbal steam for treating rheumatic joints. A decoction of the whole plant has been used both internally and externally to treat bleeding piles.

    Save yourself, with the delicious, nutritious weeds of the wild!  Our great ancestors had nothing else to eat.  The knowledge  of the food value and medicinal value of these weeds offered to us by the aboriginal people of Canada, saved us then and could help us now.  Eat, drink and be well.

    written by Dr. Louise Hayes

    August 22, 2021

     

by

Your Backyard Holiday

Hail Brave Hearts

Survive we must! In this blistering heat of summer with the quiet lakes to ourselves. The calm, the serene, the peace, the solitude. An unusual turn of the times. In this fine scenario of beach, less is more. Fewer beach goers to take over the sand, fewer families to splash and play in the water, fewer pets to avoid. Instead, it’s all for us. The Canadian holiday tourist is the new normal.

During a season which is constantly full of international guests filling every room for rent in the community, the chance for a Canadian summer holiday has been hard to come by for some. Last minute cancellations are rare.

The highways are quiet, we own the road. Drive to those scenic locations, there’s no one in sight. Easily find a table at the restaurant, there’s room for us. It has it’s beauty. We have our own special places to explore, unhindered. It has it’s beast. Finance.  It has another beast.  The bustling, busy beach scene is anything but quiet.  Our thoughts that this is for us is true, but so many of us!  

The quiet, the solitude, the peaceful Canadian get away, so special, so serene, so back to nature, so much to ourselves.  The jam packed tourist industry is all us.  All us!  The rush to save our relaxing and serene holidaying selves drives us to vacation madness on Canadian beaches.  Every inch is claimed.  Save us almighty dollar.  Spend your money at home this year.  The economic crisis of a pandemic virus has curtailed all of our luxurious international travel.  The resort haven of an idylic tropical getaway, forsaken for the vast remoteness of our own Canadian dreamland.  

https://www.parklandcounty.com/en/index.aspx

The food is divine.  Culinary delights abound.  There are endless opportunities for the sports enthusiast.  We meet and exceed international standards in so many ways.  Run  the trails, climb those mountains, paddle the lakes.  This year has been a pasttime of recreation and leisure, for those who were able to go out.  The great Canadian get away has been a pleasure, right outside your own back door.

A drive along a remote country road to a surprising little shop in nowhere.  A clean, immaculate hamlet way off the beaten path with surprising prosperity.  The endless recreation of lakes, parks and adventure.  The thrill of discovery of the history of this land, of who we are, who settled this place, who comes here.  The discovery of diversity, a mixture of agriculture beside industry, of recreation beside a bustling city, of unique culture  and diverse peoples all occupying the same land. The mixture of wilderness and sport, of wildlands and human populations.  This is us.  We planned it this way.  We planned this fun and enjoyment, we planned for the relaxation, we planned this unusual adventure.  A drive along a dusty gravel road to a restaurant in an unheard of village.  The pleasure of the local cuisine and the local people.  There are so many places to go, so many roads to travel, rails to ride, people to visit.  To spend our hard earned dollars in this magnificent country that has so many delightful treats for us to find.  

The pandemic has given many of us time.  Time to explore.  Discover it for yourselves.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 26, 2020

 

 

Prayers for the People
by

Prayers for the People

Hail, oh brilliant ones

From the minds of the common man, the culmination of skills and knowledge to survive in the cold, white winter.  Plant your crops, harvest your gold, smell the sweet scent of success.  The smiles of surpassing years of struggle, the world is won, the population is rising, the connection has been met.  Sow the seeds of prosperity, in the soil, in your minds, in the community and in the cultural exchange.   Tips of survival that heal the body, heal the mind and mend the sorrow.  Live you awesome stalwarts.  Live and let live, to soar in this land of plenty.

By royal decree the brides arrive, about 800 in total.   By royal decree, they marry and they stay.  No more visiting and making the decision to stay, only to return to France because the colony is too rustic.  Now there are families and sighs of relief.  Mutual sharing, caring and helpfulness, homes and companionship, comfort and joy.  The blessings of a child, the good work of the hospital.  The population starts to rise.  In 1663 the population of New France is merely 3200 strong and hearty souls.  In ten years time, the population doubles, to 6700 in 1672.  From the humble beginnings of 26 in 1608, to rise to a population of 6700 , sixty eight years later, in 1672.

http://www.lookbackward.com/perrault/filleroi/  The Kings Daughters,  Filles de Roi

The success of the Kings Daughters was mainly due to the origins of the women.  Peasant girls for the countryside were more well suited to the rigors of life in the colony, than girls from the towns.  Make your own bread, pick your own berries, harvest your own crops, feed the animals, milk the cow.  The country girls had more life skills than their counterparts in the city and could manage the hard work better, with more knowledge and more skills to their credit. Mainly rural people, from the farm.  People who understand animals, crops, weather, soil.  Hardworking people, who know how to plant seeds and preserve food.

The small population of Quebecois in Canada is finally starting to rise.  These women were needed to prevent incest and to finally ensure a that the small group of people, living in that far off land, would actually survive and become a people of their own.

Cast off into the colonies, with wits and courage to save them, they will work hard for their living and persist in developing the land and the character of the people who dwell their. They will have their babies and change the world.  With the developing colony comes a people of ingenuity.  Inventions of their own.  Negotiations of their own.  An existence that becomes a life of unexpected chance.  Maple syrup and horse racing.  Unique and unknown in some circles, becomes a part of life.  A chance for joy.

With prayers for the people, the nation is developing well.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 15, 2016

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We Got What We Asked For

Hail Bravehearts

Necessity is the mother of invention, they say, so invent away, oh brilliant ones.  We need your intelligent, focused minds.  The land is lush and forested, the ways of the new world are forming.  Unique culture, unique people, united through a necessity to survive.  The harshness is surpassed, the colony if finally a reality, a town, a community, a people of strength and character.  A new world to be proud of, a new colony to call home.  Safety and security, faith heals all.

This new destiny brings hope for longevity, wealth in adversity, dreams to fulfill and lives to share.  More happiness, more health, more survival,  more life.  A community starting to thrive and a prosperity starting to emerge.  Now the world changes and with new life, new skills emerge.  Challenges are overcome and ideas form and are listened to. Hail, oh brave ones, enter the invention.

A small effort, to bread a horse.  Commonplace and casual.  No one thinks twice about it.  So there’s a mare and there’s a stallion and a farmer needs a foal.  But this is a different world, a world of constant work.  That necessary animal needs to be changed.  Tweek those muscles, change that stature, increase that stamina.  We need a workhorse, an iron maiden, a horse of steel to work all day, to  ride on, to show with, to jump with, to teach our children to ride on.  We need a smaller horse, one that doesn’t eat too much, but well muscled for the work at hand.  We need an well rounded animal, that we can use for anything.  Work in the fields, pull a cart, take a day off for a ride on.   Please give us such an animal.  The king has sent many horses, try an experiment, fulfill our wishes, see what you can do.

And so it comes to pass.  From the breading stock of the King of France, comes several different breeds to consider.  Perhaps the Andalusian, maybe the Barb, an Arabian, a Norman, a Breton  and a draft horse.  All animals of superior breeding, all animals of quality and perfected genetics.  Each of these breeds has character and worth of it’s own.  Now, for the outcome that we desire, pick the perfect matches.

http://www.chhaps.org/breedinfo.htm  the Canadian Horse

From fine bloodlines and carefully selected breeding, comes the horse of their dreams.  Sturdy and capable, strong and even tempered.  A horse for all occasions.  Breeding their own, gives them rights, superiority of aptitude, distinction of intellect.  A breed made to order, an invention of necessity.  A work horse, a riding horse, a unique horse.  Well done, oh awesome human, to conjure up the animal of your needs.  Well done, oh early homesteader, to support your survival in such a unique way.  A new horse, and a beauty!  Hail to you, and the Canadian.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

September 4, 2016

The Uncommon Common Man
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The Uncommon Common Man

Hail Bravehearts!

Look to the great planet and the adventure that it offers you, for this great new day.  Look to the wild and the remote places, the vast unknown land, the pristine  sparkling lakes, the forest and the glade.  Look to the tumbling rivers, the majestic water falls, the open prairie and the grand mountain.  This great land, is the land of plenty.  Test your skills and entice your courage, quell your fears and boldly stride onto that path.  The land provides an adventure for you and you, oh brave and daring one, can walk a route that made this country great.  A route of homesteaders, of pioneers, of fur traders, merchants, courier de bois, negotiators, ministry and leaders.  A group of brave hearts.  The uncommon, common man.  For in this time of colonization, the fabulous almighty man, decreed the settling of a land of ice and snow and the common man was chosen to attempt this feat of danger and peril.

The commoner, the common man, who takes his direction from his great lord and master.  The common man, a mere mortal, a human cast in clay and dust, who obeys the decree of the king.  Who is this common man, so roughly hewn that he is merely a servant to the demands of greater minds and greater powers?  So common, so plain, so uneducated, so lowly.  The common mind, from the birth of poor genetics, cast to fulfill great tasks of high achievement and immense dignity and power for the mighty.

Hail to you, for who you are, soldiers and skilled craftsmen, your duty is your worth and your lords will must be done.

https://umaine.edu/canam/publications/st-croix/champlain-and-the-settlement-of-acadia-1604-1607/

The land was offered and the spring sunshine helped to ease the anxiety of the unknown.  Trust the leadership and their knowledge, their superiority, their greater strength and education.  Trust that the Lord will shine his light upon you and will save your mortal souls.

So it was, in the spring of 1604, that a site was chosen for a colony in the brave new world.  Brave souls, worthy of such an immense attempt.  Skilled craftsmen and intellectuals, seeking peace and prosperity in a land of harsh winters and short growing season.

Basking in the sunshine of the clear, blue Atlantic was small St. Croix Island.  The fishing was good, the dwellings were erected, the security of the settlement was established and hope for the future of a successful colony stirred in their hearts and their minds.  Praises!  Praises to their lord and to the Lord most high.  Praises to the negotiation and to the success of this challenge.  Praises to their accomplishments, to the peace of their living.  Praises!  Praises!

Praises to the foresight of their leaders, to choosing this safe place, to knowledge and security, to peace among us.  Hail great minds and great leadership.  We are successful in the spring, the summer is warm and fills our lives with hope, we are successful in the autumn, while supplies still last, but then?  The long, harsh winter bears down upon us, longer this year and in the spring of 1605 the snow is still piled high and spirits fall as the doomed colonialists count the numbers of those who perished.  Thirty five strong, robust people, die of scurvy this past winter and leave the rest with too much work and too much sorrow.

Brave adventurers, this was not the best place, we move now, to a new plot of land, a new attempt at survival, a new beginning for us.  Fear not!  We are your leaders, you will survive.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

June 2, 2015