Three rows would make a thick wall that could support the weight of the house. The sod was laid with the grass side down, in side-by-side rows, like bricks. It had a set of adjustable rods to cut the sod into rows about three to six inches thick and at least a foot wide. When a family arrived at their new homestead on the prairie, the first thing they often did was to build a sod house, so today I thought I’d give you the steps involved in that.Īt first settlers used a spade to cut sod, but in the 1880s, a tool called a cutting plow was invented. The Homestead Act opened up the lands of the western frontier to white settlers, and the second 400 million acres took only 30 years to settle, from 1870 to 1900. It took over 250 years from the first settlement at Jamestown until 1870 to turn 400 million acres of forests and prairies into flourishing farms.
But even though I like writing about those days, I’m not so sure I’d like living back then. I guess it stands to reason that when I started writing, that the majority of my books would be westerns. It was during those day that I fell in love with cowboys and the Old West. I have always had a love of the bygone days of the 1800s, probably because as a kid growing up in the 1960s, I watched cowboy show after cowboy show with my dad: The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Rawhide, Maverick, Bonanza, and my favorite, The Big Valley. HERE’S SOME FUN INFO FROM VICKIE THAT I’M SURE YOU’RE GOING TO ENJOY: The following are links where you can purchase Song of the Prairie: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, or your local bookstore!
Is a marriage of convenience the answer to her problems? Is Kansas far enough away from Boston that they are safe from the baby’s vengeful father? She moves to Kansas to live with her brother, but life takes another dire change when he is suddenly killed. Janie Dunn’s dream of being an opera singer suddenly fades when, at her dying cousin’s request, she flees Boston with her cousin’s newborn son to protect him from his abusive father. Whispers on the Prairie was a Romantic Times Recommended Inspirational Book for July 2013. Her books include the fun and feisty Texas Boardinghouse Brides series, and End of the Trail, which was the OWFI 2013 Best Fiction Novel winner. Vickie is the award-winning author of thirty-four published books and novellas. She now lives out her dreams in her fictional stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West during the 1800s. We share a love of history and her books reflect her passion for the Old West!īestselling author Vickie McDonough grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead she married a computer geek who is scared of horses. Meet Vickie McDonough, one of the sweetest gals I know. We hope there will be no such issues, but just in case, please make a note of the URL for the Participating Authors & Stops page so you can check back and be able to complete the hunt. Robin Lee Hatcher has prepared a “cheat sheet” with direct links to each author’s post in case a site goes down or a link gets broken. Two runners-up will receive a new release from each of the participating authors. The hunt is open to international entries. (The answer will make sense, even if you aren’t familiar with the quote.) At the end of the hunt, you will enter the clues into a Rafflecopter form. You will collect a CLUE IN RED at each stop. Enjoy reading the exclusive content the authors have prepared for you. That means you have all of the weekend to finish it, so take your time. The hunt ends on Sunday, Octoat one minute before midnight (Mountain Time). Once the official start has begun, you should go to Stop #1 and then work your way through the sites, gathering clues and entering bonus giveaways, until you reach the final stop which will also be on the site of Robin Lee Hatcher. You may have arrived here before the start which could mean all of the sites aren’t ready quite yet. The hunt begins at noon (Mountain Time Zone) on October 17, 2014. You have arrived at Stop #12.įollow the clues for a Chance to win a Kindle Fire HDX or 30+ novels! Welcome to the Autumn 2014 Scavenger Hunt. Megan Williamson, Laura Hix and Marianne Barkman WINNERS IN THE SCAVENGER HUNT ARE AS FOLLOWS: