Chapter 17: Building a Library

I slept in the next morning, there wasn’t any hurry for me today so I took the moment to rest and enjoy a little more fun with my new friend; Abby seemed to be of the same opinion and was very accommodating. Breakfast was room service and the large shower was a joy after a couple of days of showering in the camper. It was almost 10AM before I checked out and headed back to the campsite; I bade a fond farewell to sweet Abby and got on the road.

On the way back I hit the Tack and Feed for feed, hay and other odds and ends, and the local DIY store and purchased additional supplies: rope, twine, lengths of chain, sandbags and sand and other odd bits. All the things that you always forget when shopping on-line.

It was well past noon when I rolled back into camp. Sonya and Matilda were gone with the rental truck and they appeared to have taken Mila with them. While they were gone I changed back into everyday clothes and unloaded the truck. The hay and alfalfa went into the hay loft, the feed and tack into the tack room and the rest into storage. Then I went to spend some time with Abigail.

I was trotting Abigail around the pasture when the ladies pulled back to the site, Sonya parked next to the rig and they started unloading. I put Abigail up, stowed my tack and went to help, Mila ran and greeted me with enthusiasm. The women seemed to have had a field day out shopping; aside from some late arriving deliveries they picked up, they had hit clothing stores, craft stores, a big box grocery and even found a good butcher shop. Once again the pile of trash from modern day packaging defied comprehension. We filled the bed of the pickup with garbage and I called for a portable dumpster; they were able to deliver the dumpster that day. It was convenient to have basically unlimited fun.

I enjoyed loading the meat into the freezer, the two of them had done very well and the selection was all top quality. We had everything from steaks to sausage; we had beef, pork, lamb and poultry. The dry goods consisted of a lot of things I hadn’t thought of including gallons of vinegar, blocks of yeast and even several flats of Bell Jars. The Craft Store had yielded up yarn, thread, bolts of cloth and even rolls of thick burlap and cotton duck canvas; Matilda’s hand showed here and I was starting to slowly learn a little about her.

The late delivery packages turned out to be the fishing kit my brother had ordered for me. I wasn’t much of a fisherman but I wanted to learn and at least move beyond the beginner stage. There were four poles, a couple of fully stocked tackle boxes and a few other items. He had promised to teach me when I got there so I simply stowed the gear and moved on.

The rig was starting to get properly outfitted and I was getting a better idea of what I would want to carry on future hunting or camping excursions. The garbage dumpster was delivered and we filled it with the trash from the back of the truck.