Month: July 2010

Ladybusiness

Cholera

Shelly

Two things struck me when I read this entry.

First, submerging someone in water when they’re sick with cholera seems, in retrospect, like a spectacularly bad idea. It’s not going to do them any good, and it may well contaminate your only drinking water, as that’s one of the main ways the disease is spread. With treatments like that, it’s no wonder there was a cholera epidemic on the trail that year.

The other thing that stood out is the number of emigrants who passed by Fort Laramie. Eight thousand teams means an awful lot of westward travelers.

June 29 [1850]

We had the hardest thunder storm last night I have witnessed in some years. Started on this morning & soon came to a very bad road, low marshy land. A little before we stopt at noon there was a woman by the name of Beal died. She was buried on the banks of the Clearwater, a fine stream about 10 miles from where we came on the bottoms. They immersed 3 in this stream for the cholera. Travelled 14 miles & slept on a high spot on the marsh for the night. Met the Salt Lake mail, they said they met 8000 teams when they got to Fort Laramee. Since that they have not kept count. Wether very warm.

Parsons, Lucena Pfuffer, 1821-1905, Diary of Lucena Parsons, June, 1850, in Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails, vol. 2: 1850. Holmes, Kenneth L., ed. & comp. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1995, pp. 294.

Ladybusiness

Without Representation

Shelly

I’ve been reading a collection of the articles by Laura Ingalls Wilder for the Missouri Ruralist paper. She wrote on a wide variety of subjects, and while she had some decidedly un-feminist beliefs, some of her writings are thoroughly feminist in nature.

Writing about the creation of a local farmers’ club, she touched on the subject of women’s participation (emphasis mine).

As arrangements were being made for a meeting of the club, some one near the speaker said, “The women must come too,” but it was only after a broad and audible hint from a woman that this remark was made and it was so plainly because of the hint, instead of from a desire for the women’s presence and co-operation, that it made no impression.

At the first meeting of the club, the following week, there were only two women present. Quite likely it was the women’s own fault and if they had taken part as a matter of course, it would have been accepted as such, but it seems rather hard to do this unless we are shown the courtesy of being mentioned. We will get over this feeling in time no doubt and take the place we should, for a farmer may be either a man or a woman and farmers’ clubs are intended for both.

    —Laura Ingalls Wilder, “Without Representation,” Missouri Ruralist, July 5, 1917.

While she’s speaking specifically on the subject of farmers’ clubs, the broader point that it was and is difficult for women to make a place for themselves in male-dominated spaces is also true. And it doesn’t take an openly hostile atmosphere to make things uncomfortable for women. Just the fact that we’re in the minority and that we know we aren’t actively wanted there is intimidating.

Photography

The Day in Photos

Shelly

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Sunrise

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Who ya’ gonna call?

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How Efficient is Your Memory Palace?

The day started out nice enough, with a beautiful sunrise. Then, late this morning, the network went down. Not a huge deal though, as it came back up about 15 minutes later. In the meantime, the error message when my computer couldn’t connect with the server was kind of amusing. And finally, as I was leaving work this afternoon, I saw a whiteboard near the loading dock. It was with the “send to surplus” stuff, so I think it’s on the way out.

My Garden, Photography

Tomato Hornworms

Shelly

O gross!

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The little bastards–I found three of them–have eaten one bunch of tomato plants. OVERNIGHT!!! The plants were fine yesterday, with no sign of caterpillars. When I went out to water them this evening, I noticed that something had chomped on some of the baby romas, and that a bunch of foliage was gone. GONE! Like, entire branches!

I realize these will eventually (like, after a month of chomping) turn into moths, which would be fine, except for the month of chomping part. I don’t have enough tomato plants to feed them, so The Three Little Caterpillars went bye-bye.

Crankypantsing, My Garden, Photography

Pepper

Shelly

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The peppers are even farther behind than the tomatoes, but they’re finally starting to bloom.

While I was working on collages, I had the TV on for background noise. Bravo is running some sort of Real Housewives of New Jersey marathon today, and holy crap! Talk about a hot mess! They’re all mean and hateful, but that Caroline takes the freaking cake. She’s a nasty bully, and it’s repulsive. And now, dammit, I can’t look away!