Chapter 15




  There was a brief thaw in early spring of year 7.  Some of the snow melted, enough so that a few boys ventured out on the ice to skate.  For the first time, the lone bear climbed over the fence and out onto the ice.  The boy skated as fast as they could to get away from the bear.  They were even more afraid when they heard the ice crack.  It may have been the weight of the bear or all the snow cover over the winter that insulted the ice and kept it from getting as thick as usual that caused it to crack.  Whatever the cause, the boys and the bear made it safely off the ice.



  The thaw only lasted a short time, long enough for the donkey and the sheep to be taken out of the barn and put in the animal pen.  It snowed all through spring and well into late spring.   The trapper was late heading to Newburg with the donkey and the cart of furs.  The trapper with the canoe of furs left early fearing another early winter.



  In late summer, just before you arrived in your houseboat, eager explorer, we had another visitor.  Lavenie, the food merchant, arrived in a standard riverboat.  He said he would take anything in trade except for the furs; he was going directly to Riverboat Depot not to Newburg.  He had nothing we need so there was no trade but he did take our order for apples, flour, and oats, and added that he could get here more often than the cargo ship.  He would also check if Newburg could be added to his route.



  So, eager explorer, we are very satisfied with the trade route and the river boatmen.  There's not much more I can add to what I've already told you; I know you want to be on your way before the first snow of the season starts to fall.  But please take one of the large furs to use as a rug for your houseboat, you'll be surprised how much warmer it will be.  Fare thee well, eager explorer, be well and stay safe. 


The End

Chapter 14


  It was early autumn of the following year before Kurtiss, the general goods merchant, returned.  He had some of everything we ordered with him.  We did not need much; with 2 mild winters in a row hunting and gathering had been good.  We traded for leather and oats and were especially happy to get the apples and flour.  We placed the same order for his next visit, who knew what the coming winter would bring.



  Our 2 storage barns and one supply cart were almost filled to capacity.  We built a 3rd storage barn near the trading post and a 4th one over by the greenhouse and animal pen. 





  That winter brought snow and more snow.  The donkey and even the sheep spent most of the winter in the animal barn.  There was no skating on the pond that winter.

Chapter 13


  When the trapper with the canoe returned from Newburg, he told us that the boat builder was working on making more riverboats.  Word was being spread that more boatmen were needed.  I did not think they would find a boatman here; life was good here in Forest Furs.  We had a population of 59, 36 adults with 23 children.  There were 7 couples with young children and our newlywed couple with none, yet.  There were 5 couples with young adult children living at home, 4 males and 1 female.  Only 1 male was old enough to marry.  Also not old enough to marry were the 3 males and 2 females living in their own houses or tent. There were 17 houses and 1 tent.  Each of our houses had a full pantry, a warm fireplace with plenty of firewood, and a fur rug on the floor.
 


Yes, life was good here in Forest Furs.  By late autumn of that 5th year, the stew pot was again bubbling, hot chocolate was simmering, and baked potatoes were roasting.  Snowmen were being built and the ice on the pond was thick enough to skate on.  We saw the lone bear again but he soon crossed over the stream to the north startling a small flock of geese; we knew we would be having another mild winter. 

Chapter 12


  That winter was very mild.  There was a bit more snow but the temperature was much warmer than it had been over the past few years.  We saw flocks of geese for the first time since we've been here and both hunters added goose meat to our food supply.  The donkey did not spend any time inside the animal barn, and the cart was loaded with furs to take to Newburg as soon as the snow melted in spring.
 


  That summer of year 5 was the first time the ice on the pond melted.  The pond was not deep but we would check very carefully that the ice in autumn was thick enough before anyone was allowed to skate on it. 





  The canoe had just return from its fur run to Newburg when the new cargo ship finally arrived in early autumn.  Kurtiss, the general good merchant, had quite a time getting to us.  As I'm sure you know, eager explorer, the number of new trade route customers increased far more than the number of river boatmen. Recent bad weather often caused delays.  Many items were in short supply and an extra trip or detour to get the items from the source rather than Riverboat Depot was often needed.  The riverboats cannot pick up or deliver many logs, stone, iron, or livestock; even small amounts required extra trips.  Kurtiss, with the new cargo ship, was asked to make a few deliveries before heading to us.  That did not go well.  As you know, there is no map of this new world.  Directions given to Kurtiss did not take into account that the big cargo ship could not navigate the small streams like the riverboats could.  He often had to backtrack or go the long way around to get to his destination. He got lost a few times in the process.  He finally got the special deliveries made and was on his way here when taking a wrong turn took him farther north than intended and he ended up stuck in an ice flow.  It took weeks before he was able to break free of the icebergs, turn around, and make his way here; it was a good thing the boat was not damaged and there was food on board.  When he got here, all he had left to trade were walnuts and some hide coats. 

  He took our order for apples, oats, flour, and leather.  We traded furs for the walnuts, gave him a good hot meal and a warm bed for the night.  We wanted him to stay longer to recover from the ordeal but he was determined to be on his way to deliver the furs and to let his family know he was alive and well.  Like the river boatmen who visited Newburg, he was quite dedicated to the job at hand, very commendable.

Chapter 11


  By spring of year 4, we had a lot more furs even after taking more to the trading post.  We still saw no sign of a river boatman.  The trader in Newburg was surprised to hear that; the boat builder finished the special cargo ship for the north a few years ago and it certainly should have gotten to us by now; they were glad our donkey cart and canoe were bringing them the furs.

 There were still more furs in storage and our storage barn and storage cart were nearly full of food and other supplies. We needed more storage space.  We built a 2nd barn by the hedgerows near the tree bridge to the fishing tree.  The new storage barn was half full shortly after being built.





  We also had plenty of plant debris and fertilizer so we built another greenhouse next to the animal barn and pen.  One can never have enough potatoes.  A snack stand was built by the skating pond and by the time the first snow fell in autumn, we had nice hot baked potatoes to snack on while playing out in the cold and snow.





  We did not see the lone bear again but we did see one lone elk who cross over the stream to the west and then the one to the north paying no attention at all to those of us skating on the pond.

Chapter 10


  Having come from Newburg, we remembered something the couple from the other side of the world told us about.  We were only children at the time but we thought it was cool.  They had shoes with runners on the bottom that they could glide around the ice on frozen ponds with.  We asked our smith if he could make something like that; he could. 

  Dustlof in the log house by the pond said the pond was froze solid year-round and would be safe to skate on.  He and the couple in the forest house by the pond both said they had only seen one lone bear in the area; it only showed up once in a while since it was a cub.  It never stayed around long. 



  It wasn't long before we had ice skates in all sizes and were out on the ice learning how to skate.   We saw the bear once and decided for safety's sake to build a fence around the back and sides of the pond.  A stand was built to keep the skates in and when the trader returned with the canoe from Newburg, he brought a treat.  Newburg had cocoa they got from Woodlands Wood and gave some to the trader to bring back to us with instructions on how to make hot chocolate.  We soon had a hot chocolate stand next to the skate stand.  Winter became a lot more enjoyable in Forest Furs.

Chapter 9


  Our food supply was good but made up mostly of elk, rabbit, and bear meat.  We had a variety of other foods but not a steady supply.  Our gatherer in the north help provide berries and other wild foods.  Another gatherer's workplace was set up by the edge of the west forest near the trapper's cabin.   Our greenhouse was supplying us with some of the same foods plus carrots, potatoes, and oats.  We had plenty of fertilizer so we added another worker to the greenhouse hoping to increase its yield. 







  By the time the first snow fell we had a stew pot set up by the greenhouse and storage barn.  We considered making rabbit stew but decided on vegetable stew instead with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms so folks would be sure to eat more vegetables.  That did the trick, our overall health rose to 100% despite the cold and snow.  Just to be on the safe side, we built an herbalist workplace next to the west gatherer, and a sauna behind our house by the hedgerow.  Next to it was built a swing so the children could be encouraged to get outside in the fresh air and sunshine on the warmer winter days. 

Chapter 8


  By the time the snow had melted in spring of year 3, we still had seen no river boatman but we had more furs and knew that Newburg was waiting for them.  Our 2 trappers mostly trapped rabbits from the nearby hedgerow, and since we had more than enough rabbit meat, both stopped working.  Both however made good use of their free time.
 


  One of the trappers hooked the donkey up to the cart, loaded it with furs, and headed south along the stream that we followed here from Newburg.  The trapper with the cart had to wait not once but twice for bears to move out of the way before he got very far downstream.  The other trapper seeing this had a better idea for getting furs to Newburg.  He headed south on foot also to where he was told we had passed through a large birch grove on the way here.  By the time we had another forester's workstation built in our north forest, the trapper was back with a birch bark canoe he made.  Since still no river boatman came to port, the trapper loaded the canoe with furs and headed downstream to Newburg. 





  Our log supply was still low but with 4 foresters now at work, we had hope that our supply would improve.  Our overall health had not improved.

Chapter 7


  It snowed more but was not that cold when the last 2 families moved into their new forest houses in late autumn.  One house was built next to the animal barn for a couple with a young child, and the 2nd house for an older couple was built behind it next to the hunters' parents.   Another forest house was built by the tree bridge for the daughter of one of our original families; she just became an adult and wanted to be a forester.





  We needed another forester; we were often short of logs and the laborers had to go to the forest area to cut trees.  Our hunters in the forests were not having much luck; the tailor often did not have enough leather to make warm coats with what wool there was.  The sheep were not sheered when the weather was too cold.  Even when it was warmer they spent some time inside the animal barn after being sheered.  We had no shortage of rabbit meat or furs. 

  We had over 90 furs in stock by the time the trading jetty and overseer's jetty were built.  We had seen no sign of a riverboat but we would have furs ready to go.  The trader kept an inventory of all of our goods in the overseer's office.  We could use leather and grain in exchange for the furs.  Our overall health was a bit low at that time.

 

Chapter 6



  With more builders and laborers, home building moved along quickly until the weather changed, we even began paving the road with stone.  A trapper's cabin with an outside stall for the donkey was built at the edge of the southwest forest not far from where the hunting blind was.  The donkey could spend the coldest winter months in the animal barn.  Two log cabins were built near the trapper's cabin close to the rabbit hedgerow.  The houses were occupied by 2 young single males; both said they would keep an eye on young Lellamae, the hunter, when the bears were nearby.  Lellamae's parents did not know which they were more concerned about, the bears or the 2 young men.
 


  Another slightly older young man moved into the log cabin that was built by the pond and the small stream to the west which was blocked by another beaver dam.  The young man soon added 6 furs to the few furs already in the storage barn.  As we suspected, the temperature in summer never got warm enough to melt the thick ice on the pond.

  It snowed in early autumn but was immediately followed by a brief thaw and that first snow soon melted.  Two families built forest houses by the northeast beaver dam just north of the other hunting blind.  One of the families also set up a gatherer's workplace seeing there was wild food in the area.  Both families were enjoying the warmer weather here.