by Risner, Fay
John jumped back from the window. “I just saw that bolt hit the mulberry tree in the back yard fence line!” He pointed to somewhere behind the woodshed, chicken house and outhouse.
The storm lasted at least an hour then slowly subsided. The quiet was very noticeable when the winds died. Then sparrows began to chirp. Abraham, the rooster, crowed, trying to calm his cackling flock as they emerged from the chicken house.
“Listen, I think the storm is over,” John said.
Jim agreed. “Believe so.”
“Birds sing after a storm. Why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them,” Tootie said softly.
“Where did you get that idea?” Nora asked.
“It was something Eleanor Roosevelt said,” Tootie stated.
When the Lapp family came out of the basement, they found the house intact. Outside, rain dripped from the maple tree. Under the tree were twisted and slivered branches the size of tree sprouts laying in puddles.
The sky looked threatening east of them. The storm that passed over them was still full of power as it turned the sky as black as night. John pointed out to Jim in the west, a new storm was brewing to take its place.
That same night, long after they had gone to bed, John woke up to the rumbles rolling across the sky. He went downstairs and walked out into the yard to stare through the darkness. In the not so distance west, he saw during the lightning flashes that the storm was moving toward his farm. He woke everyone up and insisted they go to the basement again. When the storm had safely passed by they went back to bed.
Chapter 8
The next morning after chores, John stuck his head in the front door. “The boys are hitching the buggy up. We should go check on the neighbors.”
“Gute idea. I've been worrying about our neighbors. We can all go. They may need our help,” Hal suggested.
When the women headed for the front door, Tootie trailed behind and stopped. “I think I'll stay here.”
“Don't you want to see the damage the storm did?” Jim asked.
“Well, you can tell me about it later. I'll stay here and fix a meal so you can eat when you get home,” she excused.
“Want to check the cow once in awhile, Aendi Tootie. She is going to have her calf soon,” Noah said.
“That's what all of you told me yesterday, but all right, if that will be a help, I'll do it,” Tootie said reluctantly.
An hour later, Tootie grew tired of pacing from the kitchen to the living room in the quiet house. She walked to the barn to see how the cow was doing. She was on the alert, but the turkey didn't show himself. The dog loped to meet her. Tootie scolded him as crossly as she could muster. That was all it took to get Biscuit to turn tail and hide under the courting buggy in the lean-to.
Tootie didn't know what she'd do if the cow had trouble. Birthing calves wasn't something she knew anything about, and John certainly didn't leave her any instructions. All she was supposed to do was check on the cow. Looking at a pregnant cow couldn't be that hard to do.
Before Tootie opened the barn door, the cow let out a cranky bellow. She peeked through the crack in the door into the dim barn, hoping that there would be a pen of some sort between her and the cow. She sure didn't want to be too close to an animal so much bigger than her and so mean sounding.
No cow in sight that Tootie could see. It must be safe to enter. She eased into the barn and followed the rustle of straw bedding to one of the wooden horse stalls near the back of the barn.
Tootie gripped the wooden slats at the top of the pen and peered between them. The large black and white milk cow pawed the bedding and turned in a circle. She lowered her head and sniffed the hollowed out spot she'd made in the straw and snorted. Her nostrils flared. She lifted her head high and bellowed in pain as she doubled up with a contraction.
“Poor cow,” Tootie sympathized. “You're miserable right now.”
The cow made another circle with her tail cocked high. Tiny white hooves were sticking out. The cow grunted as she strained again. That contraction caused the calf's head to pop out along with a rush of bloody fluid. The cow strained one more time. The black and white calf's wet body eased slowly out.
Tootie groused, her eyes glued to the calf, “That's an awful long way to fall. Mother Nature should have thought of a softer way to get a baby cow to the ground. Please don't get hurt, baby. I'm not getting in that pen to help you with a mother as surly as yours.”
Amid the bloody fluid, the calf flopped into the straw. It didn't move.
“Please breathe, baby” Tootie begged softly, her face pressed against the slats. “I don't know what to do if you don't. Please, please.”
The cow licked the calf's face vigorously, mumbling encouraging sounds deep in her throat. The baby sneezed. Its sides thumped as it took in air. The calf's head came up and wavered back and forth, slinging sticky fluid every which way. With an effort, the calf managed a squawky cry. The mother's response was to lick her baby faster and rougher.
Tootie clapped her hands in relief. “Mama, you could be more gentle. Your baby is going to be just fine. Holy buckets, am I glad that's over.”
The cow's head came up at the sound of an unfamiliar human voice. When she saw Tootie, she pawed the bedding, scattering an avalanche of straw behind her that pelted the wall. Then the cow bawled threateningly.
Tootie gave a haughty sniff. “Well, I'm sorry I disturbed you. I'll leave right now.”
The cow raised her head higher. At first Tootie thought she was offended. Maybe she was going to charge. No, that wasn't it. The cow was still in pain. She curled her lips up so her teeth showed and hunched her body.
“Now what are you doing?” Tootie asked wearily. “I'm ready to go back to the house. You can calm down anytime. You had the baby. If you're looking for sympathy, I'm not impressed.”
The cow turned her back to Tootie. She didn't feel like considering the human staring at her. She bent double again and bellowed in misery.
“Don't tell me your problems,” Tootie groused. “Start taking care of that baby so I can get out of here. This stinky barn isn't good for my allergies.” She pulled a handkerchief from her slacks pocket and held it over her nose.
The cow's cocked tail raised higher. Two pink hooves came into view. The cow had another contraction.
“Oh no, another baby. Did you have to do this to me when I'm the only one home? I was just supposed to check on you. That's all everyone else was doing. Don't expect me to help you with this fix,” Tootie complained, pacing back and forth. “One calf would have been enough. John would be happy with that. Why do you have to worry me like this? Stop straining right now! Suck that baby in, and wait until John gets home to do this sort of trick. You're his cow.”
Another contraction, and the tiny head was out. The cow strain once more. The small calf flopped on the bedding by the other calf, disturbing the first arrival. The cow turned around, nosed the last calf and licked it.
Tootie gripped the wooden slates at the top of the pen and peered between them. Mama turned to the unsteady first calf, now on its feet, and nudged it along her side. The calf poked the cow with its nose until it found her bag. Its tail cocked up and swished back and forth rapidly as it sucked noisily. That gave the cow time to finish her wash job on the new arrival.
The second calf's head came up. It bawled a greeting to its mother. Soon it was struggling to get on its feet. In fifteen minutes, the calf was nudging the cow's other side, working its way back to her bag.
The cow closed her eyes and stood still, trying to relax after such a taxing morning. Loud sounds of both babies sucking and their tails swishing back and forth were clear signs they were enjoying the warm milk filling their stomachs.
Tootie eyes sparkled as she leaned against the pen and watched the new family. “How wonderful was that to witness the miracle of two babies born.”
She'd done all she could to encourage the cow. Tootie patted her chest. She was having
a little trouble breathing. Farm work tuckered her out, and she'd had enough excitement for the morning. She needed to go in and lie down for awhile. Resting always made her feel better. Then she'd start cooking. Always work to do around this place. How Nora could ever call their stay at the Lapp farm a vacation was beyond her.
Several of neighbors lost trees, but Bishop Bontrager's place next to the Lapp farm only had a few tree limbs down. Beyond Elton and Jane's farm, strips a half mile wide or more were laid bare. The funnel had taken everything in its path.
John pointed to the bare strips in Luke Yoder's woods, where mighty trees had been uprooted. “See how they fell the same direction and piled up. The tornado's strong force flattened them.”
“Look right next to the downed trees, other trees and bushes were left untouched. Ain't that something?” Jim exclaimed.
A path was cut through the middle of Luke Yoder's corn field. Corn stalks looked shredded like cattle silage feed. The roof was off the Yoder barn. Twisted strips of tin lay scattered across the pasture.
Luke and his two boys, Levi and Mark, were out surveying the damage when John drove in. “Everyone all recht here?”
“Jah, we are fine. Just a mess to clean up,” Luke said. “Your place all recht?”
“Jah, the tornado missed us and Elton Bontrager's farm other than some wind damage. Have you heard how the rest of the neighbors are?” John asked.
“Nah, we have not been out to see yet,” Luke told him.
“We will check and let you know,” John said.
Down the road, they stopped at Hamish and Edna Manwiller's farm. The couple was out in their yard, tugging at downed limbs to drag them to a pile. John opened the buggy door.“How is everyone here?”
Hamish stroked his short beard nervously. “We are fine. The barn lost its lean-to and part of the tin roof, but reckon we are lucky it is not worse.”
“Jah, denki to God. We will keep checking,” John said. “Expect a meeting soon. We will be setting up a work schedule so you will know when a crew will be here to help you with repairs.”
The Jostle barn had ended up in a pile of rubble along with three small outbuildings, including the newly remodeled chicken house. The old Hosteller house had fortunately escaped the tornado except for the loss of half the roof shingles.
The family was walking around the rubble when John drove in.
“After all that hard work to remodel the outbuildings this family has done, and now all the buildings are laying in piles of rubble. How awful for them,” Hal said.
John called to Jake, “You and your family all recht?”
“Jah, we are. Lost most of our farm buildings. The animals seemed to be all recht. They are scattered all over the place. When the hen house left, it took the new laying hens with it much to my wife's sorrow.”
“Sorry for your loss. We are just checking to see if everyone is all recht. Our men will get together soon, make a list of everyone's damage and help rebuild,” John said.
“Much work needs done here. That is for sure,” Jake agreed, looking woeful.
Emma feared the worse for and hoped for the best by the time they stopped at the Keim farm. Bobby and Adam waved at them. Adam winked at Emma as if nothing was wrong.
John asked, “How are things here?”
“Not bad, considering,” Bobby said. “A few strips of tin missing from buildings and shingles from the house. Tree limbs down here and there. Will take some time to clean up.”
“That is what we are hearing from everyone. Once a work schedule is made, we will be coming to help repair at the farms in the storm's path.”
“Sounds gute, but we will not need as much help as others do,” Bobby said. “You can put us on one of the work lists. And let us know where to go.”
“Denki, Bobby. We can do that,” John said as he waved his reins to start Ben moving.
The Keim brothers watched them leave. Emma kept Adam in her sight as long as she could. He was so close and so unreachable. She wished this had been a different less stressful time so she could have talked to him.
The damage report was much the same at the other farms in the tornado's path. Plenty of work to be done to reconstruct buildings and clean up but no lives lost. Everyone had made it to their safe place in time.
John stopped by Bishop Bontrager's house on the way home to report what they found. Elton said, “How soon can we gather men that were not in the storm's path to help all the others rebuild and clean up?”
“Soon I pray,” John said. “Jim and I can help you put together work groups and list the damages at each farm.”
Tootie started dinner and watched out the living room window for the Lapp buggy to came in. She rushed outside to meet John. She informed him she'd taken good care of his cow. He should be really pleased, because he had two calves instead of one. She did her part. She saw to it that mother and babies were fine.
“Gute job, Aendi Tootie.” John headed for the barn with Jim to see the new arrivals and check on the cow.
That afternoon, John and Jim stopped at farms not in the storm's path. Farmers were willing to help, but when they heard the name Jostle in the list they refused to help that family. Why should they care about the Jostles? The Jostle family wasn't friendly. They probably wouldn't help anyone else if circumstances were different. Maybe Jake Jostle wouldn't even appreciate their help so why bother.
John tried to change the farmers minds, but he didn't have any luck. He reported back to Elton Bontrager with the work list. It was John's opinion that the Jostle farm was one of the hardest hit. His outbuildings were all destroyed, but the farmers on the work list refused to be assigned to help Jake Jostle rebuild.
John and Jim hadn't come back by chore time. Noah glanced over the barn yard fence. The milk cows were at the far end of the pasture. “Daniel, we should go after the cows so we can start milking. It has been a long day already, and we do not know when Daed will be back. It will be gute to have the chores done.”
Daniel walked through a puddle filled with tiny blue butterflies just to see them scatter. “Jah. Let's go.”
The boys climbed the fence and took off across the pasture. The sun was warm on their backs. It made them thankful for the gentle breeze blowing at them.
Suddenly, Daniel grabbed Noah's arm. “Look! A little bull snake.”
“So?” Noah wasn't impressed as he watched the snake, the size of a pencil, slither through the grass in front of their bare feet. He was just glad that Daniel spotted it before one of them stepped on it.
Daniel rushed at the snake and grabbed it. “Got him.” He held the writhing snake up for inspection.
Noah giggled. “Jah, now what are you going to do with him?”
The snake's head curled up toward Daniel's face. “We could use a bull snake in the barn to eat mice and rats.”
“That snake is too small to eat rodents. They would eat him,” Noah scoffed.
“I will take care of him. He will grow.” Daniel said to the snake, “Glad to meet you, Serpent. I am Daniel. He is a beauty, ain't so? Wait until the other boys see him. They will all want him.”
“That snake is something all recht. As I said before, what are you going to do with him? Turn him loose in the barn now, and the cows will step on him.”
“I need to find something for him to live in. I could take him to our room at night,” Daniel planned.
“Emma and Mama Hal are not going to like that idea especially since we have company,” Noah said dryly and marched off after the cows.
Later after chores, Daniel grabbed Noah's arm as they started into the mudroom. He pulled the snake out of his trouser pocket. “I want to put this snake in something. Quick, see what Emma has handy in the kitchen we can use to keep Serpent in.”
“Sure, but you should turn the snake loose and let him take his chances. He will be less work that way,” Noah hissed as he went inside. He came back with a large size, red plastic coffee can. “I poked holes in the lid with the ice pic
k for air,” he said as he handed it to Daniel.
Daniel dropped the snake into the can, snapped the lid on and walked around the house. He set the coffee can on the front porch against the wall in the shade.
After supper and devotions were over, everyone went to the porch to enjoy the cooler evening air. John and Jim brought out extra chairs. The boys wanted to sit on the edge of the porch and dangle their legs.
Hal handed everyone a paper fan to discourage the mosquitoes that buzzed around them. As the daylight turned to dusk, a few twinkling stars dotted the sky. In the maple tree, birds twittered their good nights as one after another flitted onto the branches to roost, becoming shadowy silhouettes against the dark sky.
Emma said, “I believe I will go in and get us another bowl of that chocolate pudding while we can still see to eat it.”
Handing Redbird to John, Nora said, “Sounds good. I'll help you.”
Emma rowed the bowls on the table, Nora spooned the silk chocolate pudding out of the Tupperware bowl. They had to make two trips to deliver all the bowls.
Emma finished eating her pudding, retrieved the empty bowls and went back inside to get an ice cream pail of dried green beans and a mixing bowl. She sat down, put the bowl on her lap and shelled the beans.
“What are you going to do with the dried beans?” Tootie asked.
“Save them for next year's planting in the garden.” When Emma finished, she said, “Now I can take the bowl back to the pantry and pour out the beans in a cake pan to dry more before I store them. The hogs will like the pods if one of you boys will empty this bowl for me so I can wash it.”
Daniel took the bowl from Emma and dumped it over the hog pen fence. He brought the bowl back, went in the back door and put it in the dishpan before he came back to the porch.
In a few minutes, Emma was back at the screen door. “Hallie, did you throw away that empty coffee can I save?”
“Nah, I didn't bother it.”