Abandoned - Middleton in The Shire of Middle Earth- Story 59

[taniu]

@Abandoned ;DThanks for the Hobbit village story. Great rearranged buildings and landscapes, it feels like he is personally living there - even if @master Kid releases this mod it will be like a cherry on a cake. Regards

[Abandoned]

  thanks @taniu for kind words and hobbit picture    I will not like for this story to end, I love this hobbit mod and all the food 

@kid1293 I suspected hobbit building would look good in summer and fall setting but now I see they look very nice in the snow also.    Nice to have the covers 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 14


  Before the end of the year we had a few chestnuts roasting by our fireplaces to snack on as we sat cozy and warm in our hobbit holes reminiscing about treats like these that we had as children.  Very soon it was spring and the strawberries were being planted.

  What would fresh strawberries be without cream?  A few milk cows were moved to the meadow near the strawberry field and a few rows of corn were planted.  The cows soon multiplied and we would have cream by the time the strawberries were harvest.  We would also have sunflower seeds to snack on.  Zollis, the seed merchant, arrived with a sack of sunflower seeds in time for a field to be prepared and planted next to the wheat field and strawberries.   

  Two related hobbit families arrived shortly after planting time. There was a widower with 3 adults children and a couple with an adult daughter and a young son.  Their mother had a very difficult time giving birth to them and now she was unexpectedly expecting again.  They needed to settle and would do so in Middleton.  They traveled to fairs and festivals selling herbal elixirs made from medicinal mushrooms.  And in fact they saw some of these mushrooms across the river, the mist really helps mushrooms grow.  These special mushroom grow very large and have a hard shell.  When hallowed out, the mushroom makes a nice home and the inner mushroom has special medicinal qualities.  No, weary traveler, don't say anything, please.   Anyways, there was also a large tree stump that would serve as a herbalist hut.  The widower and his children were already settled over by the plum orchard.

  The summer strawberries were being eaten as soon as they were being harvested, even before the cream was made.  A couple of umbrella tables and chairs were set up nearby.  In late summer and early autumn the sunflowers were breathtakingly beautiful.  Most of the children had sunflower seeds in their pockets to snack on.  We expected more sunflowers to be popping up all around town next year.

  In late autumn Middleton had its first snow of the season and its first death.  Neither Eilee or the newborn survived its birth.  Her 8 year old daughter took the loss very hard.  Although we did not get to know her well in the short time since the families arrived, we celebrated Eilee's life at the Green Dragon with a good meal and the bagpipes playing.  We hoped her children would be left with many happy hobbit memories.

[banishedsanni]

The mushroom houses really fit into the hobbit theme

[Abandoned]

  yes, I agree, and I think they would even look good built closer to the hobbit houses, I have the Forest Deep buildings all across the river all except the hunter's hideout that has the sod roof. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 15


   That winter we were all concerned for Eilee's daughter, Ranni.  Understandably, she was unhappy and withdrawn.  We took turns taking meals and treats to the family.  We'd had the first small pecan harvest and I took some of them along with some sun-dried berries over to their mushroom house.  In spring of year 15, the girl's aunt Artka, who lives near the plum orchard,  planted cherry trees but the girl showed no interest.  Nothing seemed to cheer her. 

  We thought it was time to build houses for some of the other young people.  A hobbit hole was built over by the nut orchards and a young single male moved in.  Another hobbit hole was built by the new cow farmyard and a young couple promptly moved in.  Several young people said they wouldn't mind living in a mushroom house across the river so, Ranni's father hollowed out one of the big mushrooms.  It was my 13 year old son, Harvel, who moved in and became a gatherer working out of the mushroom nearby.  And finally, Ranni showed some interest.  She  showed him how to gatherer rose hips without getting scratched by thorns and how to tell when the onions and roots were ready to pull.  Tavar said he saw the two of them walking over to the new Market Fall Food stand to get roasted chestnuts, he said our boy could do worse.  Love and time does heal, and apparently so do medicinal mushrooms.  Middleton's overall health was finally at 100%.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 16


  Winter seemed a little colder and stormier, and when spring came we were eager to get outside more.  Another big old tree came down along the river.  We had another fishing tree.  Another sitting area was set up along the river with a very pleasant view and a nice breeze.

  There were more young people that wanted more freedom and houses of their own.  Middleton's population was now 110, with had 68 adults, 11 students, and 31 young children.  There were  41 families but only 27 homes.  We build 5 new hobbit holes around town that year and planned for a few more.

  When the 3rd house was built over by the new sitting area we discovered that not only was the variety of food there not as good but the family by the tunnel was going to the other side to collect wild foods for themselves. I talked to Libert at the time and she only had some potatoes in her pantry. I helped her and the other laborers gather wild foods for her.  Perhaps it was time to start some development in that area.  In the meantime a Market BBQ was built and what better menu choice could be made than fish n chips.  A plateful of fish and an umbrella table by the river made for a nice summer midday break.

  Did I tell you, weary traveler, how nice it was to have you here as a visitor.  Let's go look in the pantry and decide what we want for dinner.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 17


  Middleton was still in need of more housing for young people.  Our Harvel in the mushroom house took a bride but it wasn't Renni, she was still at homing taken care of her father and little brother.  Harvel said he did not think anything could make that family happy.  Crist & Rellary's son moved to a place of his own and Crist took over as brewer at the Green Dragon.  Everyone thought the ale was so much better; lesson learned, don't send a boy to do a man's job.  Crist's brother by the south tunnel set up a brewer workplace in front of his house by the bakery to make more ale.  The area through the tunnel had a lot of space available yet for hobbit holes and more farmyards and crop fields, but it was the area to the northwest that we wanted to expand into.

  We built a road on the other side of the northwest tunnel and a stockpile; there were trees, stones, and iron that must be cleared.  We planned a small storage barn and a few hobbit holes.  Some of the workers reported seeing some very large game birds, both male and female in the area.  Renni's father said they had seen these birds and tasted the meat at several harvest festivals here in The Shire, they were called turkeys.  He added that they were easy to tame and raise if fed a bit of grain and given a roost.

  Well, we did just that.  We built a roost and planted an apple tree and some pumpkins, thinking that like chickens, the turkeys would like to peck at the fallen apples and overripe pumpkins.   We were not mistaken, that plus a little scattered grain and some of the turkeys took up residence in the farmyard and roost.  Zollis, the seed merchant, gave us a sample of Brussels sprout seed so we planted those there too.

  When checking the area to see if there were more turkeys, over to the west, the men found a low-lying area with berry bushes growing.  The area probably flooding during spring thaw or heavy summer rain and was ideal for cranberries to grow.  The berries were tart but tasty and ready for the picking.

  Our winter solstice celebration meal that year consisted of turkey, diced pumpkin with pecans and wild honey, buttered Brussels sprouts, roasted corn and potatoes, and cranberries.

[Abandoned]

Mod note: Kid Farmyard and Kid Deco Farm Animals have now been released.  Find links to downloads here:

http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=3636.0

http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=3816.0

[Abandoned]

Chapter 18

 
  The Brussels sprouts were wonderful and kept well.  A whole stem could be stored in the root cellar in fall and the Brussels broke off as needed during the winter.  They tasted fresh picked.

  In early spring of year 18, Zollis, the seed merchant, brought cabbage and mushroom seeds.  Rennie's father, Rome, may not be too happy but he was participating more in town affairs.  He told us that mushrooms planted on his side of the river may share some of the qualities of the medicinal mushrooms, so when we had the chance we traded for those seeds. 

  Through the south tunnel, a small field the size of the sunflower field had already been prepared next to it, so the cabbage was planted promptly.  Land had to be cleared and a field prepared for the mushrooms behind Rome's house.  He got a late start planting them but they came up almost as soon as the seeds were planted.  Rennie took over as herbalist and her little brother was now in school.   Tavar and I were now grandparents, our Harvel and his wife, Alejandrea had their first child, a boy they named Benjamaal.  Of course, they couldn't be happier.

  Autumn that year was beautiful, crisp clear sunny days with fallen leaves rustling underfoot.  Cook fires were being re-lit and chestnuts were roasting.  The harvest were well underway and was good except for the late planted mushrooms.  The mushrooms that were harvest before the first frost and snow were definitely a higher quality than those that grew wild.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 19


  Early in year 19, a hobbit hole was built over by the wheat and sunflower fields in the southeast, and another by the turkey roost in the northwest.  Folks there would have liked some grain planted but they thought that corn or wheat would be flattened by the stronger winds on that side of the hill.   They thought the wind and blowing snow were the reason some of the turkeys left the roost during the winter but returned in early spring.  We thought a growing house would be a good solution to protect a crop, and along with a cleaning shed and compost bin could act as a windbreak for the turkeys.  Hay stacked around the farmyard would also help.

  We had a few windstorms that summer, nothing too severe but enough to bring down a lot of branches.  We suggested another tunnel going north near the Green Dragon to shorten the walk to gather wood but the folks there did not want a tunnel dug through the mountain.  The wind from the north howled through that canyon and through the nut orchards the way it was.

  The grow house was completed before the first snow but instead of growing corn or wheat, the folks choose to grow potatoes.  Well, that's a hobbit for you.  The supplies in the small barn and pantries were plentiful but perhaps the variety could have been better.  A supply store was built on this side of the tunnel and a worker assigned to bring more variety to this side of town.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 20


  In early spring there was a firewood shortage.  There was a lot of stew and hot soup made that winter and the BBQ grilled fish n chips continually.   Branch gathering had been good enough but now we reassigned a woodcutter and built a supply cart to fetch logs.  Folk through the south tunnel claimed those market foods and the sausage shop were all too far a walk away from them in the winter months.  They would like a hot meal with meat produced closer to them.  We had just the right thing in mind for them.

  The last time Tavar and I went back home to visit our folks, we detoured to the festival grounds on our way back.  We ate the most delicious meat pies imaginable.  They should not be too hard to make.  A pie oven was built next to the strawberry field, there were already a few tables for folks that gathered for strawberries and cream earlier in the year.  More tables and chairs were set up by the new pie oven so folks could sit and enjoy a delicious meat pie made with beef, mutton, chicken, or venison, whichever was the most plentiful.  There were always lots of potatoes, carrots, onions, and mushrooms.  To insure that the mill through the tunnel would provide enough flour, a new wheat field was prepared next to the pie oven.  It would be very pleasant to sit in the autumn sun enjoying a freshly baked meat pie while listening to the wind in the falling leaves and the smell of sun ripened grain.

  Autumn was very short that year.  Our 2nd son, Aleasica, took a bride and moved into the new hobbit hole by the sunflower field.  He had been teaching at the apprentice school but after the move he became a farmer just as an early autumn frost hit the crop fields.  The harvests had only just begun.  The frost was followed by 2 early snowfalls resulting in major crop losses.  Our barns, root cellars, and pantries were all full to overflowing but the crop loss shook our sense of security all the same.

  The autumn snowfall did not stop folks from enjoying the hardy meat pies however and Tavar was right there to build covers over the tables and pick up a couple of pies to warm by our fireplace at home.

[angainor88]

All these hobbits are living, and eating, well, as they should! I am little envious

[Abandoned]

   yes, these Hobbits really know how to eat well, meat pies are delicious. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 21 


  Zollis, the seed merchant, arrived with sweet potato seeds before the end of the year.  There was a lot of heavy wet snow in late winter and early spring that brought down a lot of branches.  We thought it best to plant the sweet potatoes in the protected southeast valley and move the hardier cabbage plants to the northwest.  Despite the snow a new crop field was prepared next to the turkey roost.  We decided to plant a field of wheat there too and began building another hobbit hole.  Before the house was finished, 11 hobbits with 3 children arrived from the northwest, one family moved into that hobbit house.

  The new families came from the foothills northwest of us and for the 3rd year in a row the spring snow melted too fast and the small streams flooded their farm fields.  By the time the fields were dry enough to plant there was not enough of the growing season left for a full harvest.  Last year's early frost and snow convinced them it was time to go.  They packed up what they could and gathered their goats and headed in this direction.  We invited them to stay with us. 

  They spotted several groups of wild turkeys on their way here and were impressed we could tame and raise them.  One of the single young men said he would give it a try if we built a roost by his house.  A family of 4 would be nearby with a farmyard for their goat herd.  There would be milk and they would grow wheat, cabbage, potatoes, and cut their own firewood.  A built-in hobbit hole was constructed nearby for another family, but the 2nd single young man wanted his house facing closer to the BBQ, he was impressed with our selection of foods.  The autumn leaves had changed color and had fallen before the final house was built for the last family of 3.