[Brygun] Tuukka

[Brygun]

At Louhi’s stead the woodsman Joukahaien, who had sold the hunting knife agrees to come working. They do several days hard work. Using the punt and river the main harvest of trees is done along the river than moved to the building area. The actual construction is only just started when it comes time for him to leave. For payment Tuukka makes him a wooden tub and a wooden shield, which will double as a lid for the tub. The boards came from their own work.
Tuukka works on his own deciding after a day or two more to check the traps again. Right across the river there is a small elk trapped in one of the pit traps! Now here’s a challenge, the smoking house is a few days away from working.
Puttering on chores to organize Tuukka doesn’t feel right leaving the elk there. In the days needed it might get away and worse it is suffering. Tukka downs the beast. Checking on the leather-ing at Badger Landing it has a little bit of time left, after 2 mornings. If that works he can use this hide for fur.
That midnight he goes to the marked ant hill to once again offer silver. A rain begins to pelt down. Then, as if waiting for the rain to cloak him, bearded man appears. The spirit has come! His approach is as a gentle stranger peering at Tuukka through the rain.
“May your tracking be successful, your traps bountiful and your arrows accurate!”

<Tuukka meets gray man>>>

[Brygun]

Day 5 of the 9th week before winter season

The smoke house has been completed. Its quite narrow on the inside with the stone of the fireplace filling the east third of the interior. The stockpiles from Badger Landing have been moved here. The elk leathering had come off providing usable if rather battered leather and the other elk’s fur had been tanned. In the fireplace Tuukka lit a ceremonial fire with various local plants amid a large stock of woods.
Tuukka has kept having dreams about the meeting of the gray man and the sage who first told him of it. That would mean a rather rushed journey back to the islands he started on. There might just be enough time for that while the crops grow in.
While on the long trip, coming out of the great central inlet, Tuukka found the Reemilais village of Snoutcliff. The left over shelters from the trip in have aided in navigation and been the places where he could do a little work each time. A fine linen tunic decorated around the base and sleeve edges with red threads interests him. He trades the wooden shield he brought with him, boards he had made among the journey and his wooden shovel. At least he has decent looking clothing. Tuuka trades a cluster of just over a dozen arrows and carpentry works for a broad knife to aide in his hideworking. He spends an the rest of the day carving shovels but there isn’t much interest them.
Having broken the pattern Tuukka finds it hard to locate the shelters he made before at reasonable times. Well that leads to extra shelters dotting the southern coast.

Day 3 of the 7th week before winter season

After nearly two weeks of travel Tuukka arrives back at the Islander village of Aijo’s bottom. Finally after months away Tuukka and sage Torkel sit down on the grass to talk about the forest of the spirit. He also gets to visit his friend Kyotsi the woodsman, who had given Tuukka the fishing rod. Across the night they trade stories while Tuukka whittles a few things for them. After sleeping Tuukka begins what will be the one and half to two week trip home. Home at Hanging Rapids.


<Tuukka Torkel’s spell>>>

[Brygun]

The trip home is well handled. There is now a near doubling of pre-made shelters from is there-back-and-there-again journey. Tuukka indulges in some variation of course to see new sites. One is a cliff jutting out of the sea as if a remote being were raising its head from the sea. He made a shelter there to visit that spirit over night.
Groves and pastures discovered isolated or as the distant old fields of villages are searched. A harvest of nettle, flax and gatherings being to fill the punt. These once threshed should hopefully yield seeds for new fields. Both plants can be worked to make fabrics. The Kuamolais village of Perch Stream is one such place. Tuukka tells them of his adventures, the Nerjpez warcamp and his Island beginnings. One of those listening is Salme a housewife who visited Tuukka by his punt. Tuukka prepares for them two new tables for the village in exchange for seeds, turnips and roasted meats for the final leg of his journey.

Day 2 of the 5th week before winter season

Tuukka arrives at Hanging Rapids, to an elk running around his camp! The efforts to drive it into traps or pin against the river are unsuccessful. Still it was quite the homecoming! As if a consolation gift a grouse gets caught in one of the original camp traps.
Checking Badger Landing the an artic fox has gotten itself stuck in one of the traps. Up at the Hand Cliff fields no animals are trapped making the greatest achievement of how many turnips have come up. The broad beans need perhaps another month which they should hopefully get but only by a small margin. It is also a blessing that the natural blueberry shrubs are in season. Badger Landing’s cellar will be the collection location so that Tuukka doesn’t waste time going up and down the river more than needed. The lynx is still around reindeer are seen to the east.
Tracking the reindeer finds a calf with an adult, likely the mother. Tuukka won’t hunt those two so he looks if other reindeer are around. A few moments later a reindeer stag pushes out between the spruce. After a few minutes Tuukka declines further efforts to close to a shooting position.
A few days later returning with a shipment of turnips to Hanging Rapids a crash and chortling grunt signify that the elk has gone into one of the pit traps on its own. Now Tuukka will be able to smoke this meat! At short range three broad head arrows are shot in to bleed the elk to its journey through the black gate.
 
Day 7 of the 5th week before winter season

The elk is set to smoke aside from an immediate use stock of roasted meats. Tuukka is pleased he thought to put shutters on one wall to let light in when all the doors are closed. It also lets him manage the smoke and air better than with a door. As he finishes he looks out to see snow. The snow is coming.
Tuukka worries for the harvest but this is hopefully just the first dusting. The ground isn’t frozen just yet, but soon it will.
Another matter that concerns him is gathering clay and burning charcoal. These being related to other production tasks.
Paddling ends up being a daily routine due to the need to keep the smoking fires ongoing while gathering from the fields as crops ripen. A clay pit was dug by Badger Landing with an initial load of it brought in. It can be warmed up in the smoking house when it comes time to work it.

<Tuukka smoking elk 1>>>

[Brygun]

Day 4 of the 4th week before winter season

Across the river a small reindeer stag has been caught in a pit. This area is proving very productive. Its meat is soon smoking next to the elk taking the rest of the day to process the meat and tan the hide. The next day is a haul of turnips from the Hand Cliff fields. The turnip harvest is almost complete with the last plants verging on withering. As for broadbeans they need a couple of weeks yet seem hardy enough to keep growing for now. They remain a concern for Tuukka.
This is followed by a gentle wander gathering in the vast spruce forest and heathlands nearby. The heather flowers, those precious saviors are nearly all wilted away. Plenty of berries and other edible plants worth gathering. In the evening he takes his first taste of the shaman’s mushroom, naodi, for the amazing dreams he will have.
Its quite the dance of light. Dazzling light reflected through the shutter off waves as he tries to spark a fire to keep the smoking going. Chips of flint laughing with glee in their bursts of freedom. Tuukka staggers back onto the sleeping bunk he made. The furs on top of a spruce mat soften his landing. Giggles seep out as sleep takes him into the Real World.
Awakening he chugs river water to wash out the vomit taste in his mouth. Roast cuts bring in nutrition as he continues his routine of harvesting and readying for charcoal burn. A three-quarter ring of spruce with a majestic birch in the center is the new burn location. Winter winds shift a lot making control of the charcoaling difficult. This ring of spruce will serve as a block to dampen those winds.

Day 1 of the 3rd week before winter season

Tuuka starts his first charcoal burn. They should come near ready by the end of the week. The weather today is above freezing without rain so it seems a decent start. He’ll spend a day or two starting charcoal mounds as the broad beans need to ripen still. Once the third medium sized charcoal mound is going Tuukka decides to erect a clay kiln before the deep freezes come. This is put on the west edge of charcoal ring, to slightly dampen the entrance and benefit from the windshield.
Firings in the kiln are done. Tuukka smiles and laughs having to build a wooden tub to bring water here so he can make other containers. A amphora is first as a general container. Then a drinking set of two mugs and boiling kettle. Boiling draws out the medicinal nutrients of plants and is much lighter to carry a kettle. This is followed with a host of clay items.
With a wooden stake inner with branches as supports clay is kiln fired into a fish decoration. This Tuukka proudly hangs on the outside of the smoker-cabin, after all it was built by and home of a fisherman-boat-builder. A ceremonial clay figure is made to be given a home in the birch that over looks the clay and charcoal work area. A figure where the spirit could come into as a place to live. Tuukka also makes a cave playset on a whim which he models on the Piercetip cave. It will serve to remind him what to look for in later months or years.
Once the first charcoal mound is opened to reveal a completed pile Tuukka heads back to the Hand Cliff fields. The last few turnips have withered in that near weak away. He figures on around six hundred turnips in his stores which is far more than he would want to eat in one winter! This year had been rushed so he only planted the fast growing turnips. Next year there won’t be any where near this many turnips.
The broad beans appear to still be developing though Tuukka is nervous about them as always. The blueberries have also withered though perhaps in the forests the lingon berries are coming into season. With the smoked meat of an elk and reindeer plus the huge amount of turnips Tuukka knows that he has enough food. In addition Hanging Rapids was chosen for those rapids making it easy to fish through the winter as well.
Puttering around with casual exploration Tuukka learns the northern bilberries are also wilting. Walking back to Badger Landing a snake has been caught in a trap. Tuukka finds that to be rather odd. As he was pushing off he turned around to look back. A bull elk is right there on the shore! Of course it sees Tuukka in the punt and soon runs off. Tuukka watches where it goes pondering if he should make a suitable trap here. On return to Hanging Rapids the second charcoal mound is opened with the third being done soon.

<Tuukka made clay and charcoal>>>

[Brygun]

Tuukka’s Hanging Rapids layout:

D = Door
W = Wall
O = Wall with shutter window
S = Sleeping bunk
F = Fire place
+ = open space

WDODW
DS+FD
WDWDW

Mostly he goes in and out the doors on the west side lining up with that natural jetty of land. He does most of his tanning there with a long and rock put out for that purpose. He can see the preparing hides through the window.
The one space is used for fuel and cooking. Its hard to see things there so he steps onto often to check for anything he might have forgotten. 16 branches have been running the fireplace each time.
The sleeping space has a spruce mat fur (BAC mod item) as a layer on top of the wood boards. He stocks his furs and leather there for more snuggly warmth and knowing where they are.
There is one cellar outside holding numerous food items and things under the tool category like bones.
The 3/4 circle of spruce for his work zone is visible in the picture. The pinkish material is the clay and the kiln. Black is the stack of charcoal finishing preparing.
His punt is beached just west of the smoke house. This is the most frequent spot. It has been convenient for drag offloading heavy things and not having to fiddle with doors.
Hiding in the grey non-visibile areas south east of the smoke house is his sorting of woods by type like boards vs stakes and quality levels. Its far enough away that items aren’t unexpectedly pulled into recipes.
Farther east is the short trap fence with two pit traps and only a handful of fences. Mostly the trap fence works with the river and the trees.



<Tuukka’s Hanging Rapids layout>>>

[Brygun]

<Tuukka’s Hanging Rapids layout>>>

Day 2 of the 2nd week before winter season

Preparations for winter continuing. The broad beans are still growing. A pit trap has been placed at Badger Landing, what with the bull elk coming up near Tuukka a few times. A second is started there as well. That makes three places where pit traps are to be checked: Hanging rapids south side with the smokehouse; Hanging Rapids north side of the rapids and Badger Landing. A fourth if you head up to Hand Cliff fields but Tuukka is thinking of disarming those traps in the winter or maybe just leaving them out. Today also sees the first of the smoked elk being ready. Tuukka is now having a large collection of preserved meats to eat along that mound of turnips.
Tuukka will add small amounts of smoked elk to the turnips and herbs at the different regular camps. Those are emergency stores for him or any random lost traveler or questor, like he was, that might come across them.
When he wakes up at Badger Landing there in one of the two pit traps is the bull elk. It went into the first pit trap that was laid on top of its previous tracks. There is a great wisdom in watching the animals to learn their habits before placing traps.
 
<Tuukka caught bull elk 002>>>

[Brygun]

Seeking to preserve the hide Tuukka fires broad head arrows into the elk from close range. When it is down he stabs the neck for arteries with the hunting knife. The huge over six hundred pound beast is slowly, every so slowly, worked toward the shore. The hide is skinned and cleaned. The butchery is done. There wasn’t any real benefit to pushing it so far as Tuukka just had to butcher it anyway. The mighty load is floated in the punt back to Hanging Rapids where this load of meat starts to smoke. The hide of this beast came off well, with puncture wounds from the broad arrows and knife, making it well suited for crafting new clothes.
For now Tuukka celebrates by shaping the antlers into a hunting horn. Binding the two halves is fish glue left over from the bow making months ago. The sound it makes is quite fancy. A declaration to his time in the Unreal World. Later he makes a visit to the ant hill where he met the old man of the forest. A turnip is offered as a sacrifice giving the gift of agriculture to the wilds.
Before the ground freezes Tuuka has several possible chores. He decides to dig up birch roots, a few from each, in order to have simple cordage. There are numerous birches soon found near the Hanging Rapids smoke-cabin. A meal of smoked meat, turnip and berries fills his belly. As more meat is smoking he needs to keep coming back to the cabin to tend the fire. Spruce roots are also dug up then with a stone holding tension braided into a crude rope.
Using a bit of charcoal Tuukka puts down a possible list of chores on the cabin wall. These will be washed off as completed. The list includes:
= Make a forge
= Collect lake ore before it freezes over
= Smelt metal
= Make a metal shovel
= Bring in broad beans
= float in trees for firewood
= float in trees for building over the winter
= make skis
= dont let the punt get stuck in the ice
= harvest more clay before ground frozen
= harvest cordage before ground frozen
 
Tuukka looks at the list that stretches well up the wall. Well if really needed trees could be felled nearby. Tuukka decides to make a dip net as part of how to gather lake ore. He knows that one will bother him if he doesn’t do at least some iron scooping. He’ll also need a sesta, this is really a staff like object long enough to push on the bottom. In scooping it used to poke around and perhaps wedge things onto the net. While at the lake Tuukka can also dig up more clay from the pit east of Badger Landing.
While on the lake the first snow falls begin. The weather is just above freezing. Time is truly growing short. The scooping goes well. Quite likely no one has scooped this remote northern lake in years. It nearly doubles his stock of ores. The extra clay will see various uses. When he checked on the broad beans the first ones planted are almost ready for harvest. Two of the amphora have been placed at the fields for gathering.

<Tuukka pre-freeze chores>>>

[Brygun]

Day 6 of the last week before winter season.

The first of the broad bean harvest begins! The very first fistful is put out of the spirits. A pair of trees are towed by the punt back to the Hanging Rapids where amazingly another elk is caught in a pit! These rapids do seem to be one of those hereditary crossing points.

Day 3 of the 13th week before midwinter.

Its finally happened. A thin sheet of ice has formed blocking effective use of the punt. Just the night before Tuukka landed a shipment of tree trunks and other lumber from the Badger Landing lake. Now going to from there and fields will have to be by foot.
 The rapids are still flowing though so trees from the north side can be fetched over. Then there is felling trees on this side. Tuukka is wary of felling near the house and established traps. There is a wisdom in keeping where you live as natural as possible so that it blends in. Also if new paths are opened how the animals move may change and the point of the trap being placed on their tracks it leave them moving onto them.
At the fields Tuukka gathers more of the broad beans. As a test he fills up the seed bag he brought. The bag is almost full making him wondering how full the bag was when he came here.
Tuukka thinks on the tales of the winter-frenzy. He certainly feels it every time he wakes. There is only going to be so much time before ice thickens and snows deepen. There will be the skiing times of deep winter, which he has materials to make those skiis. Right now is the urgency for the last crops, berries, gathers and easily moved lumber. A sled might help in the winter, where you can slide it across the snows and ice easier than over muddy ground.

<Tuukka first winter frenzy>>>

[Brygun]

Among the building wishlist is to improve the cabin cycling out some of the board sections for proper walls. This is a bit problematic with the smoking going on. Hopefully the meat isn’t ruined. It would turn out a portion is but most is fine. Still there is hundreds of meat cuts in stock. He could probably already live on meat and turnips through the winter even without his excellent fishing skills.
A few days go by and Tuukka is gathering at the Hand Cliff fields. A second amphora is filled with broad beans. He is now pretty sure he has doubled his supply of broad beans. If the original bag was half fill than it is four to one. Tuukka really can’t remember which of the bags he bought months ago. He did eat a bit form that original bag and it was already 11 or 21 pounds. There is still stalks growing needing a bit more time so the ration is even better still. As he isn’t likely to come by again but once or twice more Tuukka deactivates the traps. It wouldn’t be kind to the animals to leave them to die slowly in a trap.

Day 5 of the 12th week before midwinter

Pretty colors dancing, leaping, singing with the spirits joyfully around the cabin. Out into the woods where the rain taps the world with pats of love. The third sample of naodi mushroom having lasted all way through his sleeping. Such a colorful world.

Day 1 of the 11th week before midsummer

Tuukka transfered to the north bank to reset the pit traps only to discover a rotting small reindeer. It must have been in there for a week. The work at expanding the cabin and fields had kept him away to long. He puts out a sacrifice in offering an apology. With the ice currently melted Tuukka punts the carcass down river to the south bank symbolizing it finally getting across in its journey. He now recalls a few nights ago hearing a grunt but didn’t see anything in the south bank traps. He promises in the future to check the north bank as well. The ceremonial fire is lit with rocks marking directions and a recently felled tree providing the fire.
Tuukka considers that with his plans to expand the cabin having a broad axe would be really helpful. Its shape is ideal for much of the work in making a cabin. He laughs realizing he almost spend the winter building the cabing then the broad axe! It really needs to be the other way around. He starts to work on building the bloomery and furnace for metalworking.
“Build a smoker to survive,” Tukka called out, “but build the axe before the cabin!”

Day 5 of the 11 week before midwinter

Tuukka checks the Hanging Rapids cellar to find over 500 smoked meat cuts and over 500 turnips. Though the fur would always be useful he decides for the time being to disarm the pit traps at Hanging Rapids. The sight of the small juvenile reindeer with its sad eyes rotting in a trap going to waste reminds me that hunting is also a responsibility. The ice starting to come across the river movement patterns will change anyway. He will make a trip to Badger Landing to disarm those traps. The field guards at Hand Cliff were already disarmed as the harvest was completing. He will leave around Badger Landing traps for predators, birds and scavengers that might otherwise threaten his cellar stores. As if on cue another grouse is caught next to the cellar. This is also to give Tuukka freedom to move about and work without having to daily restock a smoker fire.

Thinking of the work to be done in a forge Tuukka decides a partial shed would be good. One next to the water for easy quenching and refilling. An important reason is also that fire is also dangerous. An accident at a forge fire that is separate doesn’t endanger the main cabin. This is a bit of work.

Day 7 of the 10th week before winter

With the need for travel to the fields and traps relieved work seems to go at a fast pace. Smoke meat, turnips and berries make a decent diet with plenty of all in stock. Today Tukka delivered from a mountain amid the “Death Top” region to the west an anvil stone. Its been smoothed with a whetstone for a flat surface. Later he will make an iron anvil.
The stone anvil is placed under the roof of the new workshop. This open building has an eastern wall supporting a short over hang to keep him and work dry. Flowing rapids for easy water access flow past. The kiln has been brought over joining a bloomery and forge just outside the overhang so that their smoke can freely ascend. A roast of the various ores is started. Tuukka now recalls how greatly reduced the mass of the actual iron will be. Each ore lump is only partially of iron. It is bonded as rust to other mucks that will come off as useless slag.
While waiting for the roast to complete Tuukka is concerned by the coming and going of shore ice. It is time then to settle on making a sledwagon. He will be able to load material on it to drag along the ground. Now the whole forest is reasonable to harvest building trees from. The harness is made of leather from various birds and a portion of elk leather. Leather is so important to crafting Tuukka is glad he managed to dehair two elk hides into this resource.

<Tuukka ore roast and sledwagon>>>

[Brygun]

A cluster of trees was sledded in from south of the cabin. After the ore was roasted the bloomery was run for the first time. That in turn took making the bellows. The bellows Tuukka knew he would need leather for and begin his de-hairing of animals, some of which went rather wrong.
This is going to take a series of iron working to really make a good broad axe. A stone hammer for the stone anvil so they can be struck together. Ores roasted to remove easier impurities then run in a bloomery for an actual bloom separating the iron. Banging it to be wrought and then having iron the first of which should go into making an iron hammer that will work better than the stone hammer. Only then to consider whether to start on an iron anvil to replace the stone one or to start on the axe. The large axe will need a length of iron converted into steel for the cutting edge to be welded to iron for the weight and loops of the axe head. Then a shaft to drawn up.
Good thing he has such huge stocks of food! The rapids provide all the water he will need to drink or quench.
Before the 9th week before midwinter is over Tuukka has a flat iron hammer. He’s unsure on the iron anvil as he would need a lot of ore. This ore was gathered while travelling or in a rushed check of the lake. The amount of metal, around nine pounds, needed for the anvil would be so many other things. Perhaps later he will make the metal anvil. For now he wants the broad axe to better make the bigger cabin before deep winter comes.
While progressing through the smelting a bloom comes out looking particularly well. Tuukka’s eyes lock onto to it for several minutes. A shape is trying to speak to him. Fine tools make other works come out better. This wishes to be a hammer. With a better looking axe haft selected Tuukaa forms this into a ball hammer. Now its round shape will give him options is moving and bending metal that the flat iron hammer alone couldn’t do. This was finished in the evening of Day 1 of the 8th week before midwinter, in Dead month. It was then the fine ball hammer came to life. It was like it’s voice had told him what shape to become. Beside them the rapids spoke its babbling and crinkling tones of cracking winter ice.
For the next piece Tuukka choose to work toward a simple knife. It will be practice piece. One that later he might give back to the iron spirits to show his skill in caring for their gift.
Day 1 of the 7th week before midwinter has seen these two weeks of smelting and forging to in the early evening finish fitting his self-made broad axe. Its weight is well balanced, the edge gleams in the early evening moonlight and its voice calls to be put upon wood. Quickly one then a second trunk is hewn to cabin ready shape. The blade dives in and leaps out like a frog from leaping from lily pad to lily pad.

<Tuukka made broad axe>>>

[Brygun]

Day 2 of the 5th week before midwinter

Logging, sled hauling and building has seen the last times go by quickly. The new broad axe has done much of the work in shaping after the woodsman’s axe felled them. The expanded cabin will have a larger room several times the size of the narrow smoke house. While tree gathering it is finally today that Tuukka feels cold. His roughly made clothes of last winter with his fledgling skills starting to let in drafts. Soon he will use the more recent hides to make better clothes. For now its time to sled in three more trunks for the cabin.
A stack of boards was set to dry. They lay in the cabin extension area under its partial roof. They’ll need a month which is when the cabin should be done and furniture can be made.

Day 3 of the 3rd week before midwinter

What is that feeling? Its in his foot. Frostbite!

With only a few days left its finally so cold to give him frostbite through his busted up old clothes. This he can treat. It should be okay. It sure makes Tuukka’s heart leap. The deep winter is coming. His cabin is almost complete. Once again it is a race for life. The first year or two as a settler are so demanding.
“Death is like a wind twirling in the branches that could dance onto you unless you shelter properly.”
Well somebody may have said something like Tuukka thinks. Already the forest has provided. There is winter elk fur in his stores. He can make better boots with the thicker fur. With his new collection of tools a bear of boots then fresh fur wraps to go over top now guard his feet. Over the next days its quickly decided to make an overcoat of the winter elk to keep him warm. A hood and facemask for his head as well. As well as new mittens of the better material. Its all quite heavy yet he is walking mound of multiple layers of fur and leather. This used up almost all of that hide. He is basically wearing winter elk over rough elk over leather or linen. Tuukka laughs at how he must look quite the sight topped off with his wolf headdress staring back at anyone.
As the week closes on Day 7 of the 3rd week before midwinter the cabin expansion is done. The walls seal it in nicely with a door on the east and south. The south door opens to the cellar and the east toward the workshop. The north door goes into the connected smoker-cabin. There is still a need to fit a fireplace or sauna stove, a table, shelves and other furniture. Tuukka is personally pleased that this is done before the snows got to his knees. He’ll make skiis soon to search the hills and woods for stonework in the cabin.

<Tuukka cabin expansion>>>

[Brygun]

Day 1 of the 2nd week before midwinter

Tuukka has completed his skis and ski pole. Hare furs on smooth perfect boards formed the skis with lashings while bird leather was used for the strap and pusher on the ski stick. He lashes them on enjoying the feel and sound of gliding over the calf deep snow. Last winter he had suffered frost bite over and over in crude furs. Its amazing what a year of working has done for his skills.
Tuukka skiied south west to the Hallowin’ Cliffs where a mountain has loomed up in view these past months. Rather than wrestle his way up the gliding and pushing of skiing lets him move on the slopes in a whole new way. He makes two sorties gathering stones for the cabin construction. The weight of furs and furs he finds a burden on how many he can bring back. Still he is rather warm even though the temperature is below freezing.
Then sets to gathering from the forest a bit distant from the cabin. The necessary logging had opened up channels with the cabin on one end. Still the idea is to keep disturbance near your home to as little as possible. The natural spirit will be more at ease and tracking a little more difficult, if one didn’t just follow one of those logging paths. During one trip Tukka thought he saw motion to the south but was moving to fast to make out exactly what.
The next day Tuukka assembles the stones and rocks to make a more robust burning place as a sauna stove. This will let the smoking, when needed, be done in the back room that was the first cabin. The forward cabin has much more room and is pleasant to fill up with the steam. He then takes a wade into the icy rapids to suddenly cool his skin. As the cold gets intense he comes back into the humid cabin.
After that is setting more wood to dry on the outside of the cabin. In a month those new boards will be ready to try in furniture. Ones already started with the expansion was just a porch have a week to go. Like a farmer a furniture maker needs to plan projects in advance when to “harvest” ready materials.
Following that Tuukka enjoys time leisurely fishing on the jetty. Several fish are soon brought up. Chores no longer urgent can be seen too. The rest of the roasted ore is wrought with hammering at the workshop. Sinew from back straps converted to strings. Whittlings of this and that including a new figurine to sit on the table so that the spirits can join in for dinner.

Day 3 of the last week before winter

Tuukka was pleased waking in the moved sleeping bunk. Its now in the main large room. As his eyes creep open the table with cups, bowls and spirit figurine look back. There are supplies here and there. Spare tools are slid under the bed for easy finding. The sauva stove of the main room hasn’t been started in a few days yet thanks to his many layers Tuukka is comfortably warm.
A short journey is taken to covert a cluster of trees into a C shape. Maybe for future sorting or an animal pen or a place to chase animal. It soon gets gaps filled with fences and fence gate set in place. When the snow melts they’ll need adjustment but for now he could keep an animal here.
A short ski across the ice of the river. Its a nice visit to the north side traps, also deactivated, to gather stones as way of keeping the two sides spiritually in touch with each other.
Tuukka ponders what chores to do. He did collect a lot of nettles and planets that need threshing. A lot of the nettles should go into making clothing. He could also try deep winter ski hunting. Though exciting that is of course the most dangerous. A trip to the Piercetip cave is considered to take smoked meats and turnips as emergency foods but that is just setting up to be in an emergency in the midwinter.

Day 4 of the last week before winter

Now Tuuka is recalling the lessons of how to make clothing. With the rapids going water is plentiful. He sets half the nettles to soak. That is his guess on having enough to thresh or sort out any problems later. The flax likewise will be soaked. He had gathered more flax so two hundred pounds of it is about two-thirds of what he brought. This will take two weeks to soak. The flowing water makes Tuukka wonder if that is better or worse for it.
He’ll have to make other tools to process them, which the carpenter in him looks forward to. By the end of the day there is a distaff for wrapping threads and a spindle to spin then tighter together. A loom is made using lengths of braided birch-bark strips and a large host of rocks as weights. They quietly sit on the wall near the table as if conversing with the table’s spirit figurine.
The next day Tuukka takes a deep breath needing to be out of the cabin for a while. He skis to the Hallowin’ Cliff mountain sitting on its top enjoying the few for an hour. Then he skis a load of mountain stones to the cabin.
Enjoying time skiing he skis across to the east side of the weather. Pressing through the forest brings the vast mires into view. With how sparse the trees are he can see over a great deal of terrain for possible movement. There is another river running north south a half kilometer from his on. Off that river is much larger lake. This is actually going to be an interesting place to explore for ores come summer.
Another hour of skiing reveals that there is actually a huge lake with small islands nearby. On one of those islands he sets up a shelter for future exploration. He spends the night in it once he has laid a matting of spruce on the bottom to complement the spruce lean to.

<Tuukka made loom>>>

[Brygun]

Cabin puttering described Tuukka’s next few days. The winter solstice, darkest day, has past. Its now Day 5 of the 13th week before summer season. The first batch of drying boards was collected, sanded, pegged into sections then assembled as shelves. He leans the shelves up in the inside cabin making a useful sorting place. Soon it has a share of the various herbs, leaves and flowers for medicine or diet. A clump of turnips is stored just in case a blizzard or disaster overwhelms the cellar. Tukka finds himself puttering on assembling more cordage and braiding rope that can always be useful.
Since he has time to do simple chores Tuukka decides to reset the pit traps. He is now hoping to make a trade run to villages, including exploring to find new ones, while it is the easy to ski “travel” season. The frozen rivers and lakes no longer a barrier but an aid to rapid land travel. There should be trade goods as well as smoked meat for the trip. Tuukka fired up the forge to make iron broad arrow heads to be mounted in his own arrows. These are assembled with sinew fibers from elk backstraps securing his self-forged iron broad head on one end and goldeneye feathers on the other. Twirling each in his hand they have come out as fine as the ones he purchased. He thinks its time to use the regular arrows in archery practices. They dash along the travel lane cleared in the logging days. Arrows catch on branches on this side or that while others thud into the cabin walls. The cabin is acting as a backdrop to limit the search area for stray arrows. One arrow does break, its tip lodged deep in joint between cabin logs. The others are volleyed a few times before the short winter day comes to a close.
The rough nature of the bow certianly is affecting his name, at least that is what Tuukaa is telling himself. A pair of quarter logs are set up to dry properly. Maybe they will become a different type bows that will be more accurate.
Pondering which winter crafts will be next might soon see a bow. An axe is always good for trade and the Owl tribe’s surely could use it. In the dimming light of a forging day Tuukka held up a steel billet realizing how perfect it came out. Such a piece might be better used in a sword or armor.
He has a rethink of what to make coming to the conclusion he should make himself an iron shovel for the spring. Using one of the ideal perfect boards cut by the woodsmen Tuukka attaches a well made decent iron shovel head. The result looks like it would be a fine shovel for more pit traps and other digging works once the ground is no longer frozen. It did though take up even more of the dwindling stocks of on hand iron billets. The coal pile is down from four and half hundred pounds of dried charcoal to less than a third of it. The three mid-size burnings are proving enough for what he has yet it shows just how reasonable it would be for a full time black smith to need a charcoaler to keep them supplied. Tuukka works up a set of pliers but the lower quality of the rivet piece makes is a little floppy. Still having pliers as tongs is so much safer than burning one’s hands all the time. A rough small knife is made for the cabin’s dining table leaving just a single half-pound billet of wrought iron to decide on.
Something else is stopping the trade trip. The timing of the retting is coming up within two days, which is longer than the trip might take. Scheduling all the chores is a great challenge for those living on their own. In the time available Tuukka decides to make use of a failed clay pit west of the cabin to be another trap pit. He doesn’t have to dig that hole as its already there. He’ll just have to cover it and lay various fencing to guide an animal in. This fencing will also give more a sense of perimeter to the cabin. There is a trick to leave openings for animals to enter yet be forced to where the traps are yet also to have ways for him to move out. As well Tuukka puts fencing out at the nearby ford. Its not so useful now but later if he chases an elk eastward from the cabin it will come here and, when flowing, the river and fence will pin them for capture.

Day 7 of the 12th week before summer season

The retting, soaking the plants to release fibers, is complete. Taking off his overcoat and skiis Tuuka expects now to be cabin bound a little longer.  A light snow dances in the down in the gray winter morning that still awaits the kiss of the low angle dawn. With that pretty view outside Tuukka stacks hundreds of pounds of plants in the south east corner of the cabin in dry. That will take around a week so he does have the time for a village trip after this laborious chore. Its exhausting work with the table used to help keep things leaning to dry.

<Tuukka drying retted plants>>>

[Brygun]

There was a mistake that almost became dangerous. Tuukaa had gone out to work on the fencing a bit more working into the night. His fur overcoat was sitting on the bed. By the time he realized it he was numbingly cold as a north bluster brought chilling winds sapping his heat. Going inside the cabin the winter elk garment was quickly heaved on with a roaring fire started. Outside a hare had gone into a trap providing fresh meat for a change. These traps and fishing have let Tuukka vary his diet as the turnips are running low and the berries too.
Tuukka has decided on a trade good to make: wooden round shields. This will use his skill as a carpenter without needing his near exhausted supply of iron. If there is danger from Nerjpez warcamps the shields will better defend them.

Day 3 of the 11th week before midsummer

With a trio of shields as the main trade goods there is a few days between chores to travel. His sleep cycle is badly off so its an afternoon start. On the lake to the east there is the island with the shelter and that is where Tuukka sleeps on the first night.
On the next morning while using lakes and rivers Tuuka sees on the shores an elk. It looks like a lone female. The snows are thigh deep with Tuukka skiing on this pine mire that is so sparse that tree ambush hunting just won’t be possible. The best he can hope for is use the slopes to allow him to get a little closer.
Using the slopes Tuukka slips forward as quiet as he can. He can’t work the ski pole and use the bow at the same time. Seeing him the elk darts off a way but not very far. Tuukka skis down the slope then slinks up to rise. On the low side the elk’s cough makes him smile with a fast beating heart. Take a breath he loops the ski pole back to properly ready an arrow. Ski stepping he waddles up the ridge to see the elk just under ten man lengths away. With one of his own goldeneye broad heads he lets fly.
It cuts deep in the left hip. It seems to stick in the bone. Though no great flow of blood comes the elk’s left hind leg isn’t working right. Yet in manages a fast brief run. The two feet of snow makes tracking trivial.
Pursuit is now onto a broad slopeless flat. Struggling with the wound Tuukka gets up to a small spruce in a rudimentary hiding position. Two arrows miss and a brief chase resumes. Breathless the elk is easier to approach shooting it to fall over unconscious. A hunting knife stab to the neck artery finishes it. A search for the two misses comes up a loss. So easy for them to have skidded into the deep snow anywhere on the sparse mire.
The butchery is brutally long. There is so much meat and a wonderful new skin. Tuukka decides to turn back taking the supplies to the cabin. It is now a matter of new smoking, that often needs to be tended, allowing the trade of the already smoked meats. That though is after a long range return to haul in the rest of butchered meat. Thanks to the deep winter cold the meat will freeze rather than quickly rot in the summer. That was one reason this distant hunt can work, otherwise it would be just a hide.
On the way back he skis along into range of reindeer herd. It is his choice though to let the animal pass. There are at least seven good sized reindeer and two small calves. Tuukka lets them feed, graze and play. As he moves the herd is alert yet only moves a short way before settling back to calm. He continues on with the second load of meat to smoke. The fire has to be boosted and the hide treated more. So it will have to be that the third lead of fresh elk meat will be trade goods. The search for a new village is cut short and not found due to having to cycle back to the cabin. Instead Tuukka makes for the known village of Marry Trail.
He left two of the three shields and a wooden shovel behind. He arrives with eighty cuts of frozen elk meat and small whittling for trade. Its not enough for a winter reindeer fur though.
Surprisingly Ahkejuoksa the woodsman asks for all seven of his golden eye broad head arrows and two more beside. Tuukka blinks at the boldness. An exchange is agreed for knowledge, to bait a deadfall bear trap naked is best. Tuukaa wonders if this is a joke to freeze him in winter. Some how his wolf head dress is shaking to tell him that is not it. He already has such a trap disarmed at Badger’s Landing.
Other trading for the elk fetches a masterwork juniper bow. A water skin from a hunter will be handier than the stoppered wooden bowl Tuukka has been carrying. Sixteen arrows, a light trade item, is provided for the shield. Its a strange trade in a way but its how things go with bartering. Sometimes you get things to give to someone else later on. A night is spent with the nomadic Owls of Marry Trail trading stories as well.
In the morning the path now is south to the Hand Cliff fields and Badger Landing. This of course means this means the time set the deadfall bear trap and bait it naked. Ah Ahke, this better not be a joke! Still naked Tuuka gathers the stored smoked meats and other meat or fish baits so the bear should only go the deadfall trap. There was a bear here in the early days of landing. Being scared by it is why Tuukka had made the bear trap. Its then a river ski back to the Hanging Rapids.
Right away there is work to be done. That is the homesteader’s life. A trip means returning to over due work. The smoking fire is desperately past due. Then there is working the winter elf fur. This fur for now ends up on the bed as a blanket. Those where simple. Now comes processing the next stage in turning plants into garments. The table spirit looks forward in being freed of that burden. Then there is the whisper of the dried boards being ready for sanding. Yes, that little trip getting an elk and losing two arrows was his past-mid-winter adventure. Tuukka will be stuck near the cabin for some time again.
In a later evening Tuukka pulls a partial sheet of nettle fabric off the loom. This is cut and sewn for basic wraps for his feet and hands. One more thin layer adding one more bit of warmth. More importantly he can make some more to change over these if they get wet with sweat or snow. A few days along a portion of the huge haul of flax has been made into yarn, woven and fitted as linen privates wrap that are far more comfortable than that rough leather loin cloth!


<Tuukka made linen undies>>>

[Brygun]

A few simple days at the cabin followed. They felt restful. The stack of flax to continue work was still there. For these days Tuukka let himself be a simple trapper. A few birds around the cabin were caught with nothing in the bear trap he had danced naked in when baiting. Maybe that was just a joke after all or the bears just weren’t there. The smoked elk was turning out well. Another day should see it done. A bit more work on the flax then he could consider another trip away.

Day 5 of the 8th week before summer season

Tuukka departs on a trade trip south. He decides to use skiing season to explore new forests and cross new rivers to seek out new settlements among the Kaumo. Only a few hours later one is found to the south west hidden by the pockets of hills. It is “Point Summit”.
Point Summit is a small Kaumo village which keeps a herd of pigs. Interesting that he could bring trade goods here for fresh meat of that variety. There is an adventurer Korjus and a hunter Vaino. These might be a good person to hire later on.
There is also a maiden named Ilpotar. Tuukka asks her to come help with the flax but she declines. Tuukka hoping to see her in the future gifts her a row of smoked meats. They laugh that he really could do better. Taking out one of his own fine combs he puts it in her hand with a smile.
By the time he leaves the shields and the many smoke cuts are gone. He deliberately traded badly to in part be gifts. Both the woodsman and hunter have a wooden shield now. Tuukka has an winter arctic fox fur and a half bag of broad beans. Leaving south east a stead and the fields for a second stead are seen. Tuukka will visit these to chat.
At the stead of Hiisi’s Head there is work to be done. A hunter Isto needs a hand, which Tuukka agrees to a simple chore. Easily done for a winter hare fur. The other is Shetlerfront with several hunters in their family. Near them is a village. It can be amazing how in a short exploration you can find such different things. Also in Hiisi’e Head this village is prosperous enough to have bronze goods among their trade items. Tuuka will keep that in mind. Here is a sage Vainamo. They exchange a look that somehow knows they have each seen the Gray Man of the Forest. Pressing on Tuukka rests the night at the village he knew, Louhi’s Front. Louhi’s happens to have a mail coif and mail mittens for trade. Tuukka happily trades the Point Summit winter wolf fur for the mail mittens.

<Tuukka’s trade mission 001>>>