Barefoot family - food and clothing

In this post, I explain how the family feeds and clothes itself in its historical environment.

UPDATE 10/13/2013: Downsized farm dimensions, changed name of inventor of home milling machine (it was Baltimore in my original book, but like so many other things I've changed it), re-named and relocated creek (which I did again on 10/25/2014, in honor of the distant family's engineer, Oliver Barefoot)

Agriculture and water supplies
The farm covers about 12 acres, in the middle of the total 35-acre property.  Crops are rotated throughout the year for variety.  Crops are hand-seeded when possible, but mules, as noted below, are used if the harvest is especially large or time-sensitive before the growing season ends.

Barnyard at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia

Spring crops include grapes, tomatoes, peanuts, rhubarb, and squash; summer crops include corn, wheat, barley, and oats; and in the fall, onions and potatoes are featured.  The land remains fallow in the winter.

A storeroom with canning equipment and bags is in place in the cellar of all residents to keep food fresh throughout the year.  However, most meals are based on what is available in season.

A huge barnyard is home to dozens of different animals.  Some, like pigs, sheep, cows, and some cattle, are being kept for use as food and clothing, while others, like mules, are maintained for farm work.  (As in much of the American South, mules are much more common than horses because mules are more durable, in general, and less expensive.)

During the peak agricultural season (April through October) everyone is given a farm task to do.  Even the kids are taught to milk cows and feed hay to the animals.  Planting and maintaining the crops goes to the young adult males, while the oldest ones maintain the barn.

Running just to the south of the Barefoot house is Oliver's Creek, which was created from an irrigation canal and has become the source of fresh water.  The brook's water is known for its incredible purity, and residents are often tempted to drink straight from it.  However, most of it is scooped up into barrels and buckets and brought home for use in cooking and bathing.

Hunting and gathering

Bob Blitchington catches a fish similar to
those found in the family pond.

Other food supplies are found through hunting and fishing trips.  The hunting ground is located just beyond a briar field on the far eastern end of the property.  All hunting is done by bow and arrow, as they don't leave a lead aftertaste in the food as guns do.  Fishing takes place on a 10-acre pond next to the hunting ground.  There, constant spawning results in supplies of bass and catfish, the South's iconic fish species, always available without the need to restock.  Finally, about every two weeks from April to October, fruit trees are available for picking; this is the source of apples, peaches, plums, and other fresh fruits that can be found here.   A more recent addition is the paw-paw tree, which has fruit that substitutes for bananas in recipes.

Meal time
The family eats deer and other game from hunting about once a week on average, and eats fish for dinner once or twice a week.  However, a more typical dinner will include barbeque, most often pork ribs but sometimes beef brisket.  Side dishes include baked potatoes, fresh-plucked corn, green salad, and barley bread.  For drinks, brook water is used as a base to make natural sweet teas and sodas.  Dessert options include fruit cobbler, peanut butter pie, and homemade ice cream.  (Brenda's ice cream is unparalleled in quality anywhere in Heaven.)  Breakfast items include bacon, pancakes, eggs, buttered toast from barley bread, and wild oat cereal, with milk and fresh fruit juices made from the brook water to drink.

Food is served in large portions that would result in obesity in modern times.  However, the large amount of labor intensity in the non-mechanized environment in the Barefoot household means that ideal weights can be maintained regardless.

Clothes making and fashions
Of course, the Barefoots make their own clothes.   Once a year, they get new clothes through a three-step process.  First, cotton is gathered in the annual harvest.  Then, it's processed through the homemade Plumpkin milling machine, a smaller version of what textile companies have used.  Once that is converted, the use of natural dyes and some sewing results in new shirts, hats, pants, and other items.

In the spirit of the family background and down-home location, the fashions are contemporary "hillbilly/redneck" on most occasions.  Women wear sleeveless shirts in the winter and long-sleeved shirts in the summer.  As for men, the usual fashion is to wear coveralls (also often called bib overalls); again whether or not shirts underneath them are worn depend on the weather and time of year.  In cases of severe cold weather, jackets can be improvised from blankets or quilts.  In many cases, the original clothes are mended if possible, so that new ones don't have to be made (which also frees agricultural land to be used to feed the 13 residents).

Of course, the best way to tell the family apart from everyone else is to look at what's on their feet - or rather what isn't.  At the suggestion of Buddy Wayne, everyone walks around barefoot, both inside and outside the house.  Only on formal occasions do they actually wear shoes, and even those are what are today called "minimalist," like sandals and flip-flops.  B.W. does wear real shoes at the annual Idealian conferences due to business convention.