Scorpion Valley - Life in the Wilds of West Texas

May 26, 1875 It’s been a busy week so far in the Valley. Over the weekend, some workers Brigs hired out of El Paso came and built a crypt near the cliffs closer to the house than the barn. There’s a marker now — it reads  Elle Pinkerton , the name she was denied in life but now bears in death. Brigs had it commissioned that way. Quietly, respectfully, with no fanfare. I took the boys down with me and they “helped” while I planted sunflowers. They were Elle’s favorite. The ground was dry and stubborn, but we got them in. The boys were solemn for once, helping me press the seeds in and cover them up with their little hands. Xavier asked if sunflowers go to Heaven when they die. I told him, I think maybe they just bloom again in a better place. Then — some brighter news. Evelyn, who first joined our wagon train back in Colorado but never truly settled, has finally decided to put down roots here in the Valley. Over this past year and a half, she’s become like family to us. I call her I...

*On the first page of a brand new diary* May 23, 1875 OK, I've finally done it. Elle used to always tell me that I needed to write down what life was like out here. Both because, she said, I have a way with words, but also so the children have a record of what life was like for us settling out here. I first thought to start by writing all our history in one go. From our leaving Colorado, to our first year and a half in the Valley. All the people that have come and gone, the loved ones we have lost and gained, but I realized that is an awful lot to write before I light candles for Shabbat. So, while the challah is rising a second time and the babies are napping I will say a little about what happened this past couple of weeks. Brigs' sister, Elle, is lost to us. It is not clear if she just disappeared back into the jungle she used to live in, or is more permanently gone, but it became clear to us that she is not coming back. I am keeping the letter we got about her disappearance...