{"id":6891,"date":"2013-01-25T15:17:45","date_gmt":"2013-01-25T20:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6891"},"modified":"2026-07-22T11:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T15:25:08","slug":"posies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6891","title":{"rendered":"Posies (by pbeaking)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: This was written for the Chaps & Spurs Literary Challenge in May.<\/strong> Ben has just found the very spot he wants to call home. Can he look past his fear and build his dream into a reality?<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 K \u00a0650<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Posies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright was not a master of husbandry. He was raised in the city on the east coast where the hustle and bustle of city life represented home. Now, after traveling thousands of miles to the other side of the country, he was going to have to learn and learn fast how to survive in the wilderness and create a home for his sons.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s thoughts were interrupted by his oldest son, Adam, standing alongside him holding onto his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Adam\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you look happy, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked down upon him as he thought of what to say. \u201cWell…\u201d his words were interrupted by his son\u2019s persistence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t this what you wanted? Isn\u2019t this the place you\u2019ve been looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben released his son\u2019s hand and squatted down to his level.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Adam. This is exactly what I wanted. We\u2019ve found our home and I\u2019m very happy. Now, why don\u2019t you go check on your baby brother sleeping in the wagon?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben mustered a convincing smile that transferred to his son\u2019s bright face. He then watched as Adam turned and ran back full speed towards the wagon. Yes, he was happy. The spot he had chosen was filled with possibilities and yet, he was filled with trepidation. Ben Cartwright felt his gut wrench in fear. Would he be able to survive here?<\/p>\n

His mind flashed back to his father-in-law\u2019s advice the day they left on their journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve always had the wit, Ben. Use it. Don\u2019t let fear guide you. Rely on your good sense, be persistent, and most of all have patience. It\u2019s the patience, Ben that is most often forgotten. Yet, it\u2019s the key that unlocks the door to making your dream a reality. Remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben sucked in a deep breath as he felt the gentle touch of light rain showers starting to fall. He scanned the area around him as he reflected on his thoughts. Could he overcome the fear?<\/p>\n

The rain started to grow in intensity and Ben took shelter under a nearby pine. As he crouched near the trunk, he noticed a group of wild posies growing in the tall grass. They were reaching out towards the sky, absorbing the rain.<\/p>\n

Then a flash of light and a Thunderous clash! The sky turned instantly darker and hail began to fall. As it beat down upon the already saturated earth, Ben could hear his infant son, Hoss beginning to cry inside the wagon.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d Adam called out to him in trepidation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m coming Adam,\u201d Ben reassured before covering his head with his coat and making a run for it.<\/p>\n

The storm lasted but only a few moments. Ben peeked out from the flap to see the whole ground covered in white pellets, steam rising from them as the warmth of the sun beat down upon them.<\/p>\n

Ben jumped to the ground with Hoss cradled in his arms. Adam followed behind in awe at the hail strewn around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like winter, Pa,\u201d the boy stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I would agree…\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s words trailed off as his eyes fell upon the wild posies. Some were buried under the hail smashed into the ground. Others sagged as if to show him their sadness. Yet, there in the middle of the patch stood several flowers reaching upward, absorbing the sun\u2019s rays in gratitude.<\/p>\n

Ben softly uttered, \u201cPersistence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Pa?\u201d Adam questioned.<\/p>\n

Ben smiled down at his son, \u201cNothing Adam. We best go set up a warm fire and fix us some lunch. We have a lot to do if we plan on making this our home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHome, I like that word, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo do I son, so do I.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: Ben has just found the very spot he wants to call home. Can he look past his fear and build his dream into a reality?<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 K \u00a0650<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":14951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1016,39,23,30,8,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-pa","category-chaps-spurs","category-drama","category-prequels","category-short-stories","category-challenges","wpcat-1016-id","wpcat-39-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-30-id","wpcat-8-id","wpcat-40-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/posies.jpg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}