Topic: [Brygun] Tuukka  (Read 26959 times)


Brygun

« Reply #75 on: January 03, 2021, 08:39:11 AM »
Day 2 of the 2nd week before summer season

At the new Deathtop fields to be Tuukka is slugging away splitting firewood with Leaper the fine broad axe. The ground is to frozen to ash yet. This is the stockpiling.

There is a yelp of perhaps a fox to the north. Did he set a trap that way?

There to the south west a reindeer calf wanders into view. Then a reindeer doe. It doesn’t look like a herd just yet. A mother and a calf. These are not for hunting. There is no desperation for his food and the calf needs the mother.

A few more days of prepping firewood should be more than enough for the first new fields. Getting into Swidden month it seems a time to try planting hemp and broad beans at Hand Cliff. There are already beans starting to poke up. Stray beans or ones that didn’t quite make last year’s harvest.

Tuukka is happy of three things. The lynx never came back, so the bird eating was the gift of food it needed. Relka is healing with one of the two wounds no longer showing. Her movements are still poor. The last is that in his previous metal work a true metal headed shovel had been birthed.

“Its the hot days of a farmer,” as they say. Burning and churning ash into soil. There are a few mishaps of extra trees burning down. All the more ash to fertilize the soil.

Tuukka becomes frustrated as it seems some of the broad bean sprouts have done. Eaten by the reindeer doe and calf perhaps? Or destroyed by early weather?

Meanwhile with a little blessing from the spirits the leather sheet is done.*

Farming work continues. Relka is healing well enough to walk normally though not yet to her full strength.



(* = I am quite tired of large leather sheets turning rotted even though getting frequent care. Maybe 1-2 nights were missed but it rotted out. I put a fix in the BAC to allow replacing it.)

<Tuukka more at second field>>>

Brygun

« Reply #76 on: January 03, 2021, 12:56:02 PM »

Day 5 of the last week before summer season

In the gentle early afternoon Tuukka passes by the pen. Relka is calmly sleeping. Her wounds have fully recovered. Tuukka lets her rest. She earned a rest hauling in after the attack. Soon there will be other work to do.

At the side of the cabin there is five to six days left for the meat to finish drying. At the new Deathtop fields they are expanded a bit more. Having seen the Hand Cliff broad beans sprouting Tuukka considers it likely that the wandering reindeer are eating his seed. He commits to installing trap pits and other means of guarding the fields.

With much regret it is the mother doe that is caught. She had indeed kept coming around the seedlings, which was her undoing once the trap pits were in the place. The young calf flees to fast to catch. Tuukka says a prayer for it wondering if it has learned enough to survive.

A kindness comes. After skinning, butchering and delivering the mother Tuukka returns to find the calf has gone in a bit. This was not his wish. He had wanted them to both leave to grow in the forest. Their insistence made this a necessity. The crops were being destroyed just as soon as they were planted.

One all the meats are roasted Tuukka loads them onto Relka along with the reindeer furs. Tuukka can’t stop himself feeling bad seeing the mother and calf fur. For a while they stayed on his bed pile. It feels like they need to go on to someplace else. As we have had the spring equinox the ice has left the river so he could for a punt. Instead with Relka this will be an overland trade mission. He will go south this time. It is only a few hours to the cluster of villages.

By days end Tuukka and Relka are back home. Two quivers of arrows, a bag of peas and a bag of barley are part of the trade. Tuukka is also thinking ahead in having obtained a rough woolen dress, hoping to cloth a wife in it some day. The spooky mother and calf furs are now with a village with a shaman. He said he would ensure they journeyed onward.

Now he suspects he needs to lay in even more fields for more diverse crops. Broad bean and hemp are started but the season needs to progress before others can be laid down.



<Tuukka woolen dress>>>

Brygun

« Reply #77 on: January 04, 2021, 09:52:09 PM »
Given the time of year the sap is again running in the barks. Now is also the season for collecting such barks as can be used in tanning. It is also the time for brich-bark. Rather then collecting thin strips Tuukka pulls tree lengths sheets off to load on Relka. Then the tree itself is converted into blocks. The bark and blocks are carried to the cabin to process later.
Relka grunted at finally having a long walk in the woods. The sled-wagon was left at home for this trip. It was testing Relka’s recovery. Tuukka was letting the ground dry before trying the sled’s wheels.

Then it is back to the near fields. The proximity to the cabin is nice. The need to weave the plots around the trees is a mixed blessing. Many trees are felled to later sled retrieval. A few extra trees are lost to spreading fires. So far no major fire disasters. Clearly that is something that could happen.

Day 6 of the 10th week before midsummer

Weeks of heavy work in the nearby Deathtop fields has two or three times the Hand Cliff fields now sown. A wide variety was planted. A wide mix of seed types were sown. A mix of traps including new pit traps are on guard.
Even turnips are now in. Tuukka always found turnips to be a thing associated with a poor season. As Islander fishermen-carpenters his family could often eat a protein rich sea diet. The turnip is though a decent nutrition that stores very well. This had been a big part of last winter’s diet. That had a lot to do with turnip’s fast growth making it ideal for late summer rushed fields. Tuukka could always lay mid summer fields for more turnips.
As stocks stand whatever is left can be considered edible. Well a bit for a bad season restart seed. There is a few clay amphora full of grains. He could have eaten those over the winter but wasn’t sure how much he would need to plant. Now he knows.
The fields were also producing meat. This by the catching of the animals coming to feed. Espically true now is the birds that seem to be migrating back. Perhaps a dozen in the last week or two. Tuuka didn’t even fully process them all. Though a little upset about that it was about the need to the work in time for crops to have a long growing season. The Hand Cliff and Badger Landing traps have also not been checked as often as they could.
Now with the major ash turning done he can turn to other pursuits. A few days on that over due trap work would be could. Lake ores need to be scooped. Then there is the time needed to do a large charcoal burn. Tuukka looks forward to traveling. For one day though he will simply stay at the cabin. That elk leather is turned into protection and Relka enjoys an extended grooming.

After that rest day Tuukka led Relka behind him as he punted along the river. They had no load this time. This was a training trip to see how well Relka managed. A hare and two birds were found among the Badger Landing and Hand Cliff traps. Tuukka smiled at the thickening stands of hemp and rising broad beans at Hand Cliff. These had been sown early on the ashed fields made last year. That year they had been a mix of broad beans and late turnips. Now they yield would be more to his taste. Tuukka looked at the large amount of hemp envisioning anchor ropes, boat caulking and perhaps more fine clothes for a wife.
From the nearby hills and mountains stones are collected for eventual transit to the Death top fields. These would be the weights to give energy to more traps. Relka has held up well making it much easier to transport the stones to the punt. There they will be punted back to the cabin.

<Tuukka year 2 post ashing trip>>>

Brygun

« Reply #78 on: January 05, 2021, 06:29:10 AM »
Tuukka next finds his wandering calling him. In his youth sailing the fishing boat fulfilled this. Here it is taking a couple days walking. His goal is to search for high ground draining right to a mire as this has the conditions for ore to form. Its not likely giving how heathland and lichenous forest adjoin the hills. Still it is fun. He even stumbled into another Kaumolais village “Foxstep”.

During these hiking days a freedom passes through his spirit. He is well established with food in stock, more growing, warm walls and forms of companions waiting for his return. That being Relka the big reindeer doe and the spirits in the numerous figurines. On the hike he sees elk, bear and even a reindeer herd easily within bow shot. He doesn’t try for them. This is what he is searching nor the spirits guiding him for.


Day 7 of the 9th week before midsummer

Finally he has found an ore mire! He had gone west sleeping out there. Then north sleeping out there. Then east then south. Days of exploring. Now he has found one of those rare gems. A tall cliff jutting with rust colored marbling. This drains into a mire. In that mire the metal has been pooled by their means into seeds to be pulled up. Latter he would learn this is the “Poleclimb” lakes.

To be certain in patrols the mire. A clever grin with warm blood fills him seeing a pool with rainbow coloring. This oily area is a sign of the hidden iron seed. Poking his metal shovel into the area it takes time but a thunk is felt. He pulls up… a rock. Then another and a few more. Finally the probing leads to heaving up a rusty ugly mass: cliff bog ore!

A sacrifice of thanks is made as an introduction. The route is long but with Relka quite a lot can be brought in. He’ll need to return to reset traps, patrol the fields, butcher any captured animals and only then prepare for the main ore trip.

Checking the cliff finds a superb medicinal plant of rose root growing. He had heard of it from the sages. This is first he’s found. It is edible as is. When boiled it lowers pain while restoring bodily functions from long term problems. Truly a wondrous healer!

Tuuka puts in a shelter, trail markers then gathers more cliff bog ores. Recalling ancient tale he throws his self made small knife into the water. This is a respect. A cycle of life with the bog for the ores he has and the many more he will collect. It is also showing the spirits his skills will treat well the iron they allow him to have.

 Heading back his navigation comes for a nearly due south to get back to Badger Landing. He has to sleep in the woods but perhaps if he had left at down instead after the ore hunting he might make it in a day. Traps are patrolled with one bird found.

At Hanging Rapids cabin Tuukka sends into the rapids the fire cliff bog ore he was giving. This is an invitation of the spirits to visit each other. The knife was forged here and this new ore comes from there. The two places are now linked. Going to that forge he puts down the other ores. Then Tuukka sets to work making a new small knife to carry. This uses the last of the winter’s wrought iron. Perhaps that too is closing a cycle of life.

In preparation Tuukka takes up branches weaving a new pack frame. This one is shaped for Relka to better balance loads on her. A wooden bowl for helping feed and water is put on as well. An overland travel pack for her.

As he goes to sleep he dreams of again visiting the spreads of ore mire circling the Poleclimb cliff.

<Tuukka found cliff bog ore>>>

Brygun

« Reply #79 on: January 05, 2021, 06:45:10 AM »
OOC:

These bog ores are a real life thing. Though described as spirits and gifts by Tuukka these do happen.

Finland has/had a lot of iron laden material coming up on the surface. This is going to be in iron oxides. Iron oxides being basically rust. This is ancient material turned into rock. Where it is pushed up as cliffs and mountains it is now exposed to rain.

The rain slowly erodes he rocks dropping the iron oxide as sand or pebbles. It flows down into the mires.

Within the mires are organisms like bacteria. Their processes want the oxygen and give off the iron. They give a lot of other things too. The critters breed making clusters in the mire. Thus the iron, mixed in with other gunk, forms in clumps.

It can take hours to find a bog ore. With a probe you stab around looking to hit something hard. Perhaps it will sound or feel differently if it is iron. I could imagine a lot of unwanted stones being turned up.

The bog iron you do find is in a very crude state. That’s where the other production steps take over.

For more research start with wikipedia at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_iron


<Tuukka on real life ore>>>

Brygun

« Reply #80 on: January 06, 2021, 06:36:00 AM »
Day 3 of the 8th week before midsummer

Tuukka leads Relka north on their mining adventure. As a gift Tuukka has made a wooden comb just for Relka. This is added to her travel bundle*. His own bundle includes lots of dried elk, a few turnips and weight of broad beans. Giving the expected farming he can use them freely as a foodstuff. After a week of soggy boggy poking and shoveling they make their way back. Relka has a heavy load that she bears up well. It should be enough for quite a lot of metal working. Of course comes the need for a huge collection of charcoal.

* : ooc I’m using the “discard” on them. The pack should make it easier to carry but really weighs down. That makes discard for Relka as a lumber pack frame, wooden bowl, comb and a collection of turnips.

<Tuukka many cliff ore 001>>>

Brygun

« Reply #81 on: January 09, 2021, 07:40:01 AM »
As Tuukka starts to split wood for charcoal once again an ancient voice speaks to him, “Build the axe first.”

He has enough ores now to use the remaining last year charcoal to make a splitting axe. Its always amazing how the weight of bog ores quickly reduces to just a few pounds of metal. Of there will be enough for the new axe. It will take more bogging and laking to have a surplus. He could get to so many more projects too.

Unfortunately the charcoal supply isnt enough to finish the needed tasks to make the splitting axe head. Charcoaling will take several days. Tuukka realizes that it would be good to check the fields and their traps first. Relka is brought along for hauling any hides or materials.
At the nearby Deathtop fields a small bull elk is roaming the edge of field. Knowing were the pit traps are Tuukka ties Relka to a tree in the center. Then he slips off the side to circle round. His goal is both to get into an archery position and to “drive hunt” the elk into a pit trap. Alas the drive fails. Still the elk has found the fields and will surely come back. It may soon step into a pit. The north fields and badger landing are fine. All crops are growing well though of course the risk of animal feeding is there.

A little work at the cabin with a good’s rest. A return to the Deathtop fields find the pit traps have done the job. The small bull elk has gone in after a tasty turnip. It wasn’t even roasted! Tuukka laughs. He’d love to eat roasted turnips. Its the uncooked one that he finds somehow just demeaning. The advantage of field traps is that the smoker cabin is quite close. The meat is soon smoking and the hide tanning. This does mean sixteen days of stocking the smoker. Well staying here for charcoaling is looking like a matching task.

Day 3 of the 5th week before midsummer, Fallow month

After being exhausted making a second charcoal mound Tuukka takes an easy day. Time is taken to wander around his fields reseting traps. As these are guard traps he hasn’t been doing daily resets. Its still good to tidy them up. His heart is pleased seeing the crops coming up. These fields will be good for a few years. Hearth, milkweeds and crowberries grow naturally on the Deathtop heathland. All of them a nice addition of edibles.
Tuukka does carve out stakes for fencing. These to better aim large game into the scattered pit traps. The time he can put in will divert in a few places. Really though the perimeter to be complete is huge.

Day 5 of the 5th week before midsummer, Fallow month

The first charcoal mound has finished its burn. The controlled burn has driven out the wood the moisture and a share of the non-combustibles risen away in smoke. Though there is less of it the remaining, the charcoal, has a higher energy density. More fire per unit of volume. This combined with bellows blown air creates the intense heat for iron working.
Tuukka has also been diligent in burning a block of wood or more in the smoker. The meat smoking should come out nicely.
Another two nights pass before he finishes fitting the head on his self made splitting axe. This completes his set of three long handled axes. The woodsman’s axe with its cleaving blade, the fine broad axe for long length for straight cutting and the splitting axe with its widening head force wood fibers apart. Tuukka gleefully spends the rest of they day sundering a tree trunk down into firewood for another charcoal mound.


Day 1 of the 3rd week before midsummer, Late Fallow month

The days speed by. Without the desperation of risky survival these are pleasant days. Today 150 smoked elk cuts completed their preservation. Placed into the cellar they continue to ensure a great surplus of food. Three large mounds worth of charcoal was added to workshop stocks. A new plot of ash turned land was made Deathtop. When cooled it will allow a midseason planting of turnips.
Small game and birds continue to be found in the field guard traps. Tuukka regrets the few that are rotted before he notices them but this is a hazard with having other jobs. In one case a rotted fox is burned into the ash and turned into the soil for a field. Its life energy reunited to the forest that way.
For future work quarter logs from three trees are now drying. These will become longbows for trade and arming the communities.

<Tuukka added turnip plot>>>

 

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