O'Pioneers
...a. Also, he often discussed things like how much weight each of the steers would probably put on by spring. Before she was 12 years old, she had begun to be a help to him and their neighbors. As she grew older her father relied on her even more. She was the one who read the papers and followed the markets. One important factor was Alexandra’s willingness to seek wise council. She spent a great deal of time with her father learning his ways. After he passed away, when other people started losing their hogs, she sought out Ivar who is an animal healer. She took Ivar’s advice and prevented losing any hogs. During a drought when times became tough and other farmers started selling their farms to move back into the cities, Alexandra decided she needed to decide to move or not. To help her in this decision, she spent five days visiting farmers down by the river that were successful. She talked to them and their wives to find out what made them successful. Another important factor was Alexandra’s ability to learn from other people’s mistakes and always looking toward the future. During the time when other people were losing their hogs, she investigated what could be done before she had problems with her hogs. When the drought occurred, other farmers sold their farms and moved away. Again, she investigated and learned what made the successful farmers prosper. She spent a great deal of time with a young farmer just out...