A Look at Leslie

 I mention Leslie frequently on the blog, but who is she?

She's my sister (and lets me tape plastic horses to her golf cart to ensure 18th century reality),

an aunt

and an accomplished horsewoman. This is her gelding, Thor. (She and I both love those varnish roan Appaloosas.)

Leslie is a horse lover from as far back as she can remember.

Leslie laughing in delight the day we found a horse in our backyard. (She is still blonde and I am still curly.)

As a child, she developed a joint issue in both knees and was grounded from riding and other activities for over a year as she healed.

Begging to be allowed to ride again, her doctor finally consented under the caveat that we find a very gentle, bombproof horse for her. Enter Pokey, a former trick pony, who remained with her the rest of his life.

She's been riding horses along the Wabash ever since. On the shoals in front of our home on North River Road

to the grounds of Fort Ouiatenon. (She's with Cee and Amy. The girl is unknown to me.)

Leslie honors her horsey side with the riding habits she wears for The Feast of the Hunters' Moon.

She has been a part of the Feast for forty years, the last seventeen as its director.

And she has a little fun de-stressing in the week leading up to it. (Which would be this week.)

Leslie is stepping down as director at the end of this year's Feast. It's one of those bittersweet times and she will be terribly missed.

But she will still be around and no doubt she will be mentoring her replacement at next year's Feast of the Hunters' Moon.

Happy Trails, Leslie. Ya done good and I love you and am prouder of you than you will ever know.

Update - Old Barn Repairs & More

Tim continues the work on the old barn. He is replacing the foundation (did I tell you he is doing all the work by himself?) and shoring up supports inside.

He got two huge jacks and lifted up the barn to redo the foundation.

You can see how the barn had begun leaning in this picture.

He is also reconfiguring the space inside

and took down the wooden wall between the two box stalls and put in a gate. Now we can open that space up if need be.

Now that the blue barn and its pasture have been sold, Tim is fencing the lane between the paddock behind the new barn and the southeast paddock.

He's removed some of the fencing on the southeast paddock

and is recycling it as fencing for the lane 

as well as replacing the fencing between the new barn paddock and the agribusiness.

And while he is at it, he's replacing a few posts

gotten our hay supply in for the winter,

and is clearing dead wood out of the northwest pasture. 

It sure is looking nice and I'm glad that, while repairs and changes are being done, it will still be the old barn with its old-age charm when he is finished.

Fall Doings & an Answer

Fall is my favorite season and despite my current busyness, I took time to put out my horse head wreath made from leaves, acorns, broom corn and jute.

We also had a fire pit on the first chilly evening of the season.

Lukie got cold and snuggled in between Craig and me  - I love how our faces reflect the glow of the fire!

Fall also means burr season, and Hokey has got a real snarl in his mane right now. Tim may end up having to cut that mass out.

Two Socks (who actually has three) is covered in beautiful dapples. She continues to be super bold and friendly.

I finished Mila's 18th century dress with just hours to spare - while there is always something I could be sewing, her dress is the last piece I am making for this weekend.

I was going to lace it with white twill tape, but the turquoise ribbon she wanted to trim her cap did not work, so I used it as lacing. I was also going to hand stitch round holes for the lacing, but time was so short, I made small buttonholes with my sewing machine.

While the organizers have spent the past two weeks prepping the grounds and setting up the booths, tents, and things they will need, today is the first day that participants (merchants, sutlers, voyageurs with their canoes, etc.) can set up. 

I am heading out to the grounds at noon and Craig and Curt are coming along and will help me put my tent up. Lisa is coming after school to start setting things up inside. I'm excited!

Several of you asked me about my comment in yesterday's blog post about 18th century women wanting to appear heavier than they were - the answer is a glimpse into cultural mores of the time.

Me having just lost 75 pounds and excited about that yet having to put on panniers to go back to looking heavier. (Oh, the irony!)

Women did not have much power during those times and were dependent on husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons for their very livelihoods. In addition, food insecurity and poverty was very real - wealthier people could spend money on food while others could not.

Women brought men money in the form of a dowry or, in the case of an older woman or widow, had money to bring to a second marriage. Making themselves look heavier signaled possible wealth to men who might need that dowry or inherited money to shore up their own finances. And that helped women to survive by having a male protector.

So, in other words, being heavier was a survival tactic for women. And if you weren't, you faked it.

Quite different from today's culture where thinness is seen as a sign of health and beauty.

Exercising My Teaching Chops

Since she is taking her students on a field trip to The Feast of the Hunters' Moon, Lisa invited me into her classroom to teach about 18th century history before they went. Yesterday was the day.

(Never put your pocket hoops on before driving your car. Trust me on that.)

Since Fort Ouiatenon was established by the French, I began by introducing myself in French and teaching them a few phrases.

I'd brought some things I'd made so that the kids could experience some of the clothing from the 18th century.

The kids loved seeing the pocket hoops ("panniers" in French) and thought it was hilarious when I shared that a lot of 21st century women who wear them hide Hershey Bars in them. (Guilty!)

They discovered why so many women's clothes had pleats in them when a girl tried on this bedgown over the pocket hoops. (Despite the name, bedgowns were never worn to bed but were considered day-wear.)

Pocket hoops cause many a "I can't put my arms down!" moment and so women often clasped their hands in front of them rather than go about looking like a penguin ...

... or like Randy in A Christmas Story.

The principal popped in to watch and was a very good sport when I asked him to try on the voyageur's shirt I'd brought with me.

Lisa got to demonstrate, too. This is the bum roll that women also wore under their petticoats. 

We had a good discussion as to why 18th century ladies wanted to appear bigger than they were through the use of pocket hoops and bum rolls.

When I retired, I gave Lisa all the artifacts I'd used in my classroom and she had them out on the table for the kids to see. 

It was fun to step back and watch her teach - she even played a song on the fife for them. The kids will hear Hell on the Wabash played by the various fife and drum corps that will be in attendance.

This song connects me deeply to not only The Feast, but to the river as well. And how on earth do those fifers play that piece while marching? Talk about nimble fingers!

My chatelaine with a needle case, pill box, mirror, locket, and perfume ball. I wear this on the waistband of my petticoat. (I love that it jingles when I walk.)

Lisa's students were so well behaved and so interested in everything that we spent the entire morning learning together. I went home happy to have spent time with kids who loved learning and (even better) my daughter and having an opportunity to teach with her.

I didn't get home until lunchtime but it was definitely time well spent.

"I've Never Seen a Horse"

 Think back to the first time you saw a horse in real life (if you can - I can't!)  Do you remember how you felt? The awe, the joy, the surprise at the size, and more?

I discovered that a missionary who goes to our church had never, ever seen a horse and invited him to come out and meet Abby.

This is him seeing a horse for the very first time in his life.

 

And this is me, enjoying showing him the horses.

When the missionaries came out to the barn they were in church clothes, but they didn't mind the chance at getting a little dirty in order to see the herd.

He was so excited and took a lot of selfies with Sultanna.

She figured out real fast who was holding the carrot bag, too. 

Tim was working in the old barn and came out to visit for a while. (He loves to have folks come out and see the horses.)

It was a lovely evening and I was thrilled to introduce someone to his first horse. They were gentle and friendly - the perfect group of horses to meet when you have never seen one before.

(Many thanks to Craig who took all those photos for me.)