Frugal Living, Velma

September, 2009, last week-end, will be our memorial for Mother's death, one year later. She always camped on the North end of Standing Bear Park and this is where we will have our feast. All her friends are invited. Bring your own chairs and a covered dish.

I'm putting a series of short, small stories here on the frugal living page. Mother's whole life was one of careful, frugal living, which was partially from her Native American culture and from her Scotish-Irish, Mother-In-Law, Bellzona.

Story:

"You're cuttin' 'er too short, Velda!" Lee called to Velma as she drove the Farmal tractor, which was pulling the machine for baling the hay. Lee called to her from the baler he rode and the one she was pulling behind the tractor.

"Too late!" The short turn she made broke the connection between the tractor and the baler. Velma was holding the baby, Mike, as she drove the tractor. She was pregnant with her third child. Lee didn't want her to ride the low baler for fear she was more at risk and would be safer on the tractor seat. The small family was struggling to get the hay into the barn before the fine warm summer weather dwindled away,  or before rain ruined the hay that was cut and down on the ground.

"We'll have to shut ever thang down here. No way we can finish up tonight. I'll need to go to town for parts."

By the grace of powers above, the weather held, and they were able to get the sweet smelling, prairie hay into the barn. The livestock would have one more winter's supply of nutrition making their new born, calves strong and healthy in the spring. This was the yearly struggle they faced, one season at a time, and it was the way they worked.

"I planted and prayed my efforts would be blessed, so that my children could eat." Velma remembered and told, when she was an old woman of all the gentle folk, who fought a battle against wind, rain, predators to bring beef to feed their nation.