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Abandoned - Trilogy - part 3 - O'Leary's Farm - Story 41

Started by Abandoned, April 17, 2019, 06:20:36 AM

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Abandoned

Prologue:


  The year is now year 62 SVT, ten years after the deadly tornado touched down and destroyed O'Leary's Farm as described in the prologue of story 39.   There were only 6 adults plus Jillian who survived the devastation.  They were rescued by 4 adults plus Jack who arrived by houseboat shortly after.  Jack, who built the houseboat in Monkstown, was headed north to the mountains with his friends in search of treasure.  They stopped to help the survivors and convinced them to travel north with them.  Jack was so moved by the tears of the young girl who did not want to leave her grandma's cow and chickens behind, that he just wanted to hug and comfort her.  Instead he spend half the night rounding up the chickens and getting them and the cow onboard the houseboat while she and the others slept.

  The group traveled north and landed in a small valley on the east, or morning, side of the mountain.  The survivors wanted to settle there and farm.  Their settlement became the town of Morningside of story 39.  The rescuers crossed the bridge they built over the small stream and traveled  to the pass that lead up into the mountains.  They established the town of Sunrise Mountain Mines of story 40.  Jack and Jillian did not even know each other's name. They never met before the two groups parted in Morningside, but their eyes met across that small stream, and in that moment they shared a connection that neither one could forget.  In the years that followed, they often wondered what might have been.

  Jillian remained on the houseboat in Morningside hoping someday her rescuer would return from Sunrise Mountain and take her home to the farm.  But Jack had responsibilities to his friends that came north with him, life was hard up in the harsh climate of the mountains. And besides, Jack had little faith in lasting relationships.  But after years of seeing his 4 friends together and happy despite the daily struggles he reached the conclusion that what they had might just be worth the risk.  He prepared them for his departure and began building a small houseboat big enough for two. 
 
  As the houseboat neared Morningside, Jack could see someone trout fishing on shore, she hurried off to let the others know a boat was coming.  A small group including Jillian gathered.  Jillian had a look on her face that lead her sister, Brean, to believe that the lone man on the deck was Jack. Brean motioned for the others to go back and leave Jillian there alone to greet him.  Jack came ashore and at last they were face to face.  They gazed at each other for only a moment before he opened his arms and she went to him without hesitation to be caught up in an embrace that was long overdue.  Jillian was in his arms where she longed to be and Jack at last found the treasure he had been looking for.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyhyLvrZ0o8

Abandoned

#1
Intro to O'Leary's Farm - Story 41


   In year 62 SVT, Jack and Jillian are together at last. After they shared that long-awaited embrace he told her he had come to take her home, or they could stay in Morningside, or they could go up the mountain to Sunrise, or they could go anywhere she chose.  Where ever they went, as long as they were together, it would be home. They boarded the houseboat and headed back to O'Leary's Farm.  This is their story told by Jillian.


The Map is  #685533008                  Plains,  Small,  Fair,  Disasters On,  Adam and Eve


Mods enabled and load order:

Starting and Map Changing Mods:  Call of Nature Soundtrack, Banished UI Maps, Banished UI Town Names, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC light Rain, New Flora Edit, Plain (Jose Rios), NewFloraEdit, New Trees, Adam and Eve

Tweak Mods: Better Fields, Hunting, Increased CC, Longer Living Orchards, 1:1 Alternative, Rock Respawn, Woodcutter +3

Major or Must Have Mods:   An Empty Square, Fenceless Pasture, Nomad Sign Complete, Storage Crates v1,  Jinxie Bitty Rabbit Hutch, Jinxie Bitty Village Set (beta), Kid Colonial Housing, Kid Colonial Resources, Kid Ghost Flowers, Kid Ghost Town Housing, Kid GrownHuntFish v1.1 (testing update),  Kid Old Town, Kid Tiny, Kid Workplace v2, Black/White Cattle, Mini Warehouse, NMT3 Series Crops 

Supporting Mods:    Brussels Sprouts, Chicken Coop, Idle Small Fisherman, Kid Abandoned Places v1.1 (testing update), NMT3 Deco Crop, Kid Deco Plants, Kid House Boat, Kid New Pumps, Small Well



  Greetings, weary traveler, it is always nice to welcome someone from Morningside or Sunrise Mountain Mines.  As you know, I'm Jillian and my husband is Jack.  One of us is sure to know your parents or grandparents and of course you've heard stories about O'Leary's Farm and the tornado and how Jack and I first met.  Now you want to know what's happened since then.  Let me make us a cup of coffee from those beans you brought from Morningside and I'll tell you all about it.

Jinxiewinxie

Coffee is warm and I'M SO READY to hear what's happened (=

brads3

hi,QUEEN. can you refresh my memory on what the new flora edit mod does? i tried a few things to get a flax that will work with KID's workplace tailor. the only way i get flax that works is the WW garden.  thanks

kid1293

@brads3
I guess you have other flax loaded too. I see no way out of this flax confusion.

New Flora Edit is New Flora without buildings. Only spawns and toolbar 'gather' buttons.
I have added RK's fallen branches for firewood.

New Flora Edit has so far worked in all my mods. If you have other mods loaded I can not
predict what happens. RK's flax looks like tany's but is quite different.

kid1293

Just for safe-keeping, I post New Flora Edit here too.

Abandoned

Thanks@kid1293  New Flora Edit was first released in Aspenglow story 35.  @brads3 the flax work's in all of Kid's mods, I have had no problem with NewFloraEdit or its flax.  The branches for firewood are great.

brads3

must be nice. i have 2 or 3 types and tried NECORA's flax patch even. i will do more tests.

Abandoned

#8
Chapter 1


  Yes, weary traveler, some things are meant to be.  I did not hesitate for a moment to accept Jack's proposal.  We were married the next morning and after loading a few more supplies onto the small houseboat, we sailed away from Morningside with the morning tide.  The tide was still high enough to cross over from the small stream to O'Leary's main river.  We made landfall on the east side of the farm near what was once a fishing pier.   We stood for a moment on deck and Jack gave me a hug before asking if I was sure this was where I wanted to be.  I was sure.  The events that happened here 10 years ago were traumatic but I did not want to leave the farm then, and I did not want to leave it now.  Jack took my hand and we stepped off the boat and I knew we were home.

  We spent the day surveying the area.  Most of the damage and destruction I was seeing for the first time, and what I had seen before was now more weathered and deteriorated than it was back then.  Little was said as we made our way around.  We paused momentarily at Grandpa and Grandma's graves by the hedgerow.  Grandma died during the tornado touchdown and Grandpa Shedric died a few years before from a weak heart.  We moved on from the hedgerow to inspect their old barn, farmhouse, and animal shed.  These buildings held a lot of good memories for me but I knew they would need to be torn down and rebuilt.  The amount of work we had ahead of us was overwhelming. 

  Jack being an experienced builder inspected all the buildings, most were ruins and what was left of them could be added to the stockpile.  The 2 barns were in bad shape but there were usable crates, barrels, and  carts inside, some needed minor repairs.  We would need more tools. The schoolhouse was in good shape and would only need minor repairs and a good cleaning when needed.  What was left of the old O'Leary farmhouse was in bad shape but was stable and safe to use temporarily.  Jack and I spend many nights camping out in that ruined farmhouse when we were just too tired to go back to the houseboat. We really got to know each other well sitting there late at night talking.   

  During the day we were busy gathering firewood and wild foods.  The hedgerow was just as productive as I remembered it.  Grandma's apple tree was still producing apples, and there were chestnuts, some flax, and plenty of branches for firewood.  We always found time to laugh and enjoy each other's company.  We were very happy and by the end of that first year we had a new home where the old farmhouse had been.

Abandoned

#9
Chapter 2


  In early spring of year 2 Jack took the time to do a little fishing from the tree that was down and extending out into the river.  I was concerned because that tree had come down during the tornado but Jack said it was stable enough and he promised to be careful.  Jack also did some hunting because we needed leather to make hide coats.  I made the coats and continued to gather wild foods and branches.  I picked more chestnuts and apples from the hedgerow.  Whenever we chanced to meet during our busy day we would agree to meet later back at the barn.  It was taking us awhile but we were gradually getting the barn emptied so it could be demolished and rebuilt.

  Jack and I had our first serious disagreement in the late summer of year 3.  We were overjoyed when we realized I was expecting our first child but suddenly Jack decided he wanted to take me back to Morningside where there were other womenfolk.  I said I would not go, I did not want to leave here again.  Grandma O'Leary had 3 sons with no one else but grandpa here.  Jack knew I was as stubborn as he was.  No more was said on the subject. 

  The old barn was demolished and so was the old animal shed.  The old fences were added to the stockpile and Jack build a new fence by the house.  Work on the new barn was very slow, I was not much help.  Our son, Palmers, was born in late winter.  The barn was finished shortly after.

Abandoned

#10
Chapter 3


  In spring of year 4, Hatti, the seed merchant, arrived from Morningside with a couple and their 13 year old daughter.  They were one of the migrant families that stayed in Sunrise Mountain Mines.  Jack remembered them and welcomed them to O'Leary's Farm.  The daughter developed the same respiratory problem that Abrie and her daughter suffered from.  The girl had been too sick to attend school so was uneducated like her parents.  It was Abrie who suggested the family come here.  My sister, Brean in Morningside, agreed.  She sent along coffee beans and pastries.  I did miss my sister and Abrie too, who was like a 2nd sister to me.  Hatti gave the family some leftover squash seeds he had, and said a seed merchant from Newport would probably be up this way sooner or later.  No guarantee he would have grain seeds we needed.  Seeds were in high demand and hard to come by nowadays.

  The new family starting planting the seeds right away and Jack started building a farmhouse for them.  They helped empty out the abandoned barn near their new house so it could be rebuilt.  The house and the bitty barn were soon complete.  The squash plants had barely begun to sprout when rabbits came out of the wild and began nibbling off the new sprouts.  Ronniel would chase them away but they would return along with others.  Something would have to be done.

Abandoned

#11
Chapter 4


  Even after the squash was harvested more rabbits came out of the wild.  Ronniel's solution to the problem was to catch the rabbits and keep them in a bitty rabbit hutch.  We would have some leather for coats and rabbit meat.  We looked forward to rabbit stew with wild onions, roots, and mushrooms.  Ronniel also suggested we build a cleaning shed to remove the plant debris from the field to keep more rabbits from showing up in the field.  His daughter, Jeralda's, health had improved and she would tend the rabbits.  She would be close to home to watch over her new baby sister while her parents worked.

  It would have been nice to have potatoes to add to that stew, but after the notice board was set up near the main stockpile and storage barn, we could see there were no potatoes in any of our storage barns or crates.  We did gather quite a few wild oats which improved our overall health.  We would need a lot of trade goods to acquire grain seeds and potato seeds, and a trading post.   I went back to scavenging from the hedgerow for chestnuts and for more apples that we were out of.

  Whenever we needed them, Jack and I, made tools and hide coats.  It was always fun working together.  We would sometimes take care of Ronniel and Mine's infant daughter, and our Palmers enjoyed having a playmate.  Jack and I were very happy here after 4 years at O'Leary's Farm.   We enjoyed each other's company and when not working together we often left messages for each other on the notice board.  Life was good here.

Jinxiewinxie

Thank you for using my mods! Its really neat to them in action =) I love the backstory for the rabbit hutch and the way you've implemented the town hall notice board. Your O'Leary's Farm story is so very sweet and endearing =)

Abandoned

Thanks @Jinxiewinxie , I am glad you like the story.  Thank you for the fun mods, the deco rabbits really help the story along, and the message board too, useful and decorative.  :)

Jinxiewinxie

You could totally take some of your source material and turn it into a romance novel. There's ways to self publish an e-book on Amazon really easily and simply (just google it a bit and you'll find your way) for Kindle readers and I bet if you made it like 150 or so pages and priced it at $5, you'd sell quite a bunch of 'em!