Jackie quipped. “We know how she made you happy, and that’s why Granny wants a wedding before your first child is born.”
“That’s the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it, little sister?” Tom said before kissing Kate again.
*
Chapter 8
Ashland Oregon – Bald Mountain Farms
Jackie and Kate were busy preparing for their weddings, so they didn’t even try to go on this scavenging trip with the men. Tom asked Rick to watch over the ranch in his absence. Tom wouldn’t say it, but he also didn’t want both of them to die in a firefight before the weddings. He even knew Rick was the one he’d want in charge if something happened to him. Tom took Jerry since they were going to scavenge the area where Jerry had lived. Also, Jerry knew how best to capture the rabbits, alive.
Tom covered the men's mission, since the women were planning weddings and had no interest in rabbits or goats. Only Lucy was in the barn tending the rabbits. He covered their route to and from Jerry’s home and planned to stop at a hardware store to pick up the telephone wire Jack needed.
Tom had been concerned because Bill had made a big deal about wanting to go along on the mission. Tom could tell Bill was mad after Tom had to take him to the side and ask him to calm down, and that only two people would go on this trip. He thanked Bill for the eagerness, but gave a firm no. Tom asked Rick to watch Bill while Tom was gone because Tom had a bad feeling about Bill’s anger.
Rick looked across the barn at the horses. “Tom, we’ll be riding horses all of the time when the gas runs out.”
Tom countered with his thoughts. “We need to get some old diesel engine powered vehicles. They’ll run on animal and vegetable oils. I think we can begin distilling our own alcohol and start mixing it with our gas to help extend our time before we run out. Maybe we’ll find a tanker full of Stabil and mix it into some of these gas station tanks.”
As usual, Tom drove away from the ranch after midnight and took a different route to the east side of Ashland. Jerry observed the road ahead with the night vision scope, but it really wasn’t needed because there was a cloudless sky and a full moon. They only saw a few lights on and no vehicles on the road, this time.
Bald Mountain Farms started in northeast Ashland on the eastern side of Highway 5 and ended due east of Talent. A huge company based in Delaware owned Bald Mountain Farms. One of the original owner’s sons, who’d grown up on one of the ranches purchased by the company managed the operation. The headquarters was on North Valley View Road at the extreme southern end of the property. Jerry had lived in one of the old ranch houses on the Talent-Ashland border.
Jerry gave directions to an old barn not far from his home. Tom noticed the three older trucks parked in the back. “Do any of these run?”
Jerry pointed at the Ford on the left side. “That old 1954 runs pretty good and should have over a half tank of fuel. I used it at least twice a week to run into town for supplies and hardware.”
They hid the pickup in the barn and placed clean plastic gloves on to reduce human smell on the previously cleaned cages. They took seven live catch rabbit and small game traps, set the traps along the brushy fence lines, and baited them with apple slices and canned peach and pear slices. They walked back to the truck, and Tom unfolded a large dog cage to get ready to receive the rabbits.
Jerry looked at the dog cage. “We only need two or three breeding pairs to raise more than we could possibly eat.”
Tom replied, “By having eight to ten breeding pairs, we can jump-start the process and eat more rabbits much sooner. Then we can pare back the number of breeders. I’m working on a worst-case scenario at all times. The same for goats if we can catch any of them.”
Tom unfolded a larger cage for the goats in the bed of the truck. The two pens took up half of the bed. Tom asked, “How small are these pygmy goats?”
Jerry replied, “They’re about the size of a medium-sized dog. Six will fit in the cage for the ride home. Two can fit in the cab if needed. These have been pets, but we have eaten some of them. We probably need to find regular-sized goats for a steady meat supply.”
“My goal is to have a self-sustained bunker. We have several rooms that you haven’t seen yet. I want to be able to raise some animals underground if things get worse,” Tom shared.
Jerry laughed, “Have you ever smelled goat crap?”
“No, but it will beat starving. Now, how do we catch the goats?”
Jerry said, “I’ll place these tin pie plates around the area. I trained my goats to come to me for grain. The problem is, they were trained to go to the house. The tins will attract them to the area, so they’ll find the grain. I hope. Goats are curious. We’ll place some grain in the large trap for the bucks. They’re the hardest to catch. The does, wethers, and kids will walk up to me to get grain.
They set the goat trap near the barn since Jerry saw goat dung on the ground nearby. Pleased with the position of the trap, they went to check the rabbit traps. Tom was surprised when all but one had a rabbit.
