Homesteading on Jord

by Allan Joyal

  "Run a mill using water?" Verval asked. "How?"

  "Let me guess how it works now," I said. "Right now you probably set up the two stones, and then have the grinding stone connected to a large capstan that people or animals will walk around."

  "Of course," Verval said. "Most mills use oxen. All the villagers would bring their oxen when it was time to grind the harvest."

  "And I'm sure you do that because you believe that to mill the grain you need that circular momentum. But you can get that from a flow of water. You just need to use gears to change the direction of the motion. We need to find a good spot on the river where the flow of water is strong and deep. Preferably where the granite that lines the valley is exposed as that would be a better foundation," I informed Verval.

  Verval looked at me. "Are you sure you can do that?"

  "It will probably happen later in the summer once the crops are in, and we don't need everyone working to get the soil ready. Now, I think Natalie will admit you have farmed a lot more than she has," I began.

  "I never denied that," Natalie snapped. "In fact I keep asking him for more information on their methods. There is no way we'll be able to get great yields this year or next year. We need time to find which seeds grow best and to get the soil properly conditioned. We have some good topsoil here, but the ground tends to be hard. We also haven't had time to put in any irrigation system."

  "Why so much?" Verval asked. "It’s going to be hard enough just planting the area you are setting up, and it’s probably three times as much land as I'm used to farming."

  I looked at Natalie and she nodded. "We decided to push to get six acres of land planted. Verval tells me that with the plow we have it will be another six days just to get it all plowed, and when I asked for him to make a second pass on the first acre we started to fight."

  "Why did you ask for that?" I asked Natalie.

  She sighed. "The soil was turned over by the plow, but it didn't really get all of the grass. If we plant right now we'll have to spend hours weeding. I have already had Mary, Corwar, and Verval bring over additional soil and leaves. Another pass by the plow should mix the soil and reduce the amount of weeds that will compete with our crops. We really need an extra plow."

  I nodded and looked at Verval. "I can see both sides here. You are worried about the time, but Natalie probably has a better idea of how we can prepare the soil to give us the best crop. Is there any way to do both? Perhaps have Lawus or Gerit run the plow when you are tired. If we switch out the mules pulling the plow could we do more each day?"

  Verval frowned. "They have the strength, but I'm not sure they know how to run a plow. If you go too fast someone could get hurt."

  "Has anyone been helping you?" I asked.

  "Victoria was helping," Natalie said. "She stayed back to keep the others working on the soil. We really can't afford to be stopped for long if we want to get a crop planted."

  I looked at Heather. "Heather, find Lawus and bring him over to Verval. He's to support him for the next few hours. Verval try to demonstrate how you run the plow and see if Lawus can learn the tricks. We need another person able to do that. Natalie, allow Lawus to concentrate on breaking down the soil in the first pass, but if Lawus can run the plow, he can do that this evening. And then tomorrow you can start planting. We've only got a few days. What about irrigation?" I asked.

  Natalie frowned. "We can set up channels for the water, but right now our options are to carry the water ourselves or to try to dam the river and flood the fields. Neither would work well."

  "Carry the water is what we'll have to do. Has anyone found clay?" I asked.

  Mary looked up. "Why clay?" she asked.

  "Pipes," I said. "We need to make some pipes."

  "What about bamboo?" Mary said. "I seem to remember seeing drawings that showed people using hollow bamboo reeds as pipes."

  "You know of some?" I asked.

  Mary nodded. "At least I think I do. Haydee was talking about the plants growing along the south wall of the valley. When I thought about it later it sounded like she was describing a stand of bamboo."

  "We might have to split it," I said. "I can't remember ever hearing about long bamboo pipes. The ridges are usually indications that there are some solid sections, but if we can split it properly we'd get channeling to run water in. Can you run over there and check?"

  "I need people to turn the soil," Natalie complained.

  "We need to water the crops," I pointed out as Mary took off running. "I'm trying to make that happen."

  Verval laughed bitterly. "He's got it right. If this bamboo can help bring water to the fields we might make all of this work. Meanwhile, I like his idea. I'll get the second plot plowed and then we can work on the first one. We will need to look at fencing it all in though. So far our herds are staying away, but cattle love to chew on fresh hay buds."

  The two started to walk away. I looked around for Cimbra or Heather. Heather was still racing away from me. I could hear her calling for Lawus as she headed eastward. I guessed that Lawus must be working with Al and Jeff.

  Cimbra was nowhere in sight. I put my hands on the ground and prepared to stand up.

  Shaylin ran over. The young woman had been sitting down in the shade of the north wall of the valley. "You aren't supposed to get up!" she ordered me.

  I looked up at our young enchantress. "Why are you not helping?" I asked.

  "I was told to watch you," she told me firmly. "And I'm supposed to rest. Esme is still worried about my headache after we fought that monster."

  "That was two days ago," I said worriedly.

  "That's what I told Esme," Shaylin complained. She crossed her arms in a pout. "Now what are you going to do? Everyone says your ankle needs a couple more days of rest."

  "I'm sick of just lying here. Everyone else is working on getting things started. I need to be helping," I grumbled.

  "But you shouldn't put any weight on that leg!" Shaylin complained. "I know Heather hid your boots to try to keep you from walking around."

  "I can still move around if you help me," I said. I winked at Shaylin. "You want to do something too right?"

  Shaylin giggled and reached down to grab my right arm and pull me to my feet. I hopped a couple of times while Shaylin got her body in position to support me.

  "I'm not helping if you fall down," Kariy murmured. "But have fun."

  Shaylin giggled louder. "Where do we go?" she asked.

  I thought for a moment and then nodded to the west. "I haven't heard much talk of anyone exploring to the west. How about we do that? We can be the first."

  "It could be dangerous," Shaylin said carefully.

  "I have you to protect me," I said confidently. "Besides, we need to explore the valley. There might be some important places deeper in the valley."

  "Let's go!" Shaylin called out confidently. She started to trot forward, forcing me to hop on my good leg. She realized the problem and slowed down a moment later, allowing me to balance as I limped forward.

  We moved slowly. I tried to avoid putting too much of my weight on Shaylin as we crossed the meadow. Dafalia noticed us and shook her head. "We need something that can help close off an area for the chickens," she called out. "It would be great if you could find something."

  I nodded as Shaylin and I continued walking. The ground of the meadow was a little uneven and sloped away from the granite walls of the valley. This worked to our advantage. Shaylin was able to walk on the upslope side of me. The difference was extremely slight, but it was enough to keep me from leaning on her. I was trying to estimate the size of the meadow as we walked.

  Over two thousand limped steps later we finally reached the edge of the grove that was our first destination. "How big is that?" Shaylin asked as I counted the last step.

  I turned to look at the wall of the valley and then glanced towards the river. It ran almost perfectly from west to east across the meadow, cutting a straight line. The walls of the valley on the
south side of the river were still moving away from the river, but on this side, they paralleled the river. It estimated that we were about a third of a mile from the river.

  "Big," I said. "I'm not sure about the measurements you are used to, but I'd guess that the meadow is bigger than most farms."

  Shaylin giggled. "It's larger than the one my father runs, or that Gertrilla's father runs. But isn't that a bad thing?"

  "Well, if we can't get the cattle to move this way in the meadow, it might become a problem. But I expect they'll be happy to head this way once the smell of that monster fades," I said. "We might want to see if there are additional meadows. It would be nice to spread out the herd a bit."

  "It’s not big," Shaylin protested. "We do have all the sheep, but Gertrilla tells me that Haydee can control all of them now that they are on that side of the river. They won’t go east and enter the water, and to the west is that forest of plants that Mary believes might be a plant she calls bamboo."

  "Bamboo mixed with all of the other trees,' I said shaking my head. "I have a problem believing that. The only way it would be found around here would be if someone planted the bamboo. But we've seen no sign that humans have ever lived in the valley."

  Shaylin looked at the grove and the trees. "Ron? Some of these trees look like the ones by the valley mouth, but others…"

  I looked up and realized I was looking at some kind of pine tree. I started walking forward while scanning the grove. The majority of the trees were the same oak and maple trees I remembered from the valley mouth, but about one in every six was a pine tree. Shaylin put her right hand on one of the pines as we passed. "How?" she asked.

  I looked to the left and noticed that the grove was larger near the valley wall. As you moved closer to the river there were fewer trees and what trees I could see were clearly younger. "I'm guessing that there are pine trees up above us," I said pointing up the cliff face. "A few seeds must have fallen from up there."

  Shaylin looked over the grove. "But why?" she asked.

  "It's a sign that the valley hasn't had many large herds wander through," I said. "Probably at one time this whole valley was a big meadow, but the trees were able to grow undisturbed. That could be a good thing. The soil might be a bit depleted from the grass, but Natalie hopefully can rotate the crops to replenish the soil."

  "My father always talked about that, but I never understood why," Shaylin said.

  We were most of the way through the grove. The trees were visibly younger and thinning as we continued moving westward. "Plants take from the soil as they grow. But different plants require different things, so if you rotate the crops, you often will have some plants that can add to the soil. Or at least that's the easiest way to explain it. So by rotating the crops you avoid wiping out the soil. I'm sure Verval knows that trick. The other way is to allow floodwaters into your land since the water often brings the elements you need."

  Shaylin giggled. "You know too much," she said.

  I nodded as we emerged onto another meadow. The river that flowed through the valley bisected this one. It has changed course and was cutting diagonally across the valley now with the headwaters obviously somewhere to the northwest of our current location. However, I could see that a small stream flowing out of the southwest joined it in the middle of the meadow.

  "I think this is as far as Soldrin got," I said.

  "We didn't see the path that monster took," Shaylin pointed out.

  I looked to the left. We had just emerged from the trees. About one hundred yards away from where we were standing, I could see a gap in the grove. "I think it entered over there," I said.

  Shaylin leaned around me to look. "Oh," she said. "I forgot we were so close to the valley wall. But we could tell that the trees got younger, or at least you mentioned that. How did we miss that?"

  "We missed the forest because of the trees," I mused. "Let's not worry about that. Although we ought to have someone see if we can salvage any wood. At the very least it’s firewood for Kariy."

  “You should tell Dafalia about it,” Shaylin said. “Maybe she can weave the branches into the fencing she wants for the chickens.”

  It was my turn to nod. “Good idea. We’ll have to do that. Meanwhile, let’s walk over by the river. I’d like to look at it a bit more closely. Especially since we have a stream joining the main river here.”

  Shaylin helped me walk to the river. The meadow area on this side of the river was much smaller than the area we were camping in. I watched my step as we crossed the ground. I noticed that it was flatter than the meadow we had claimed.

  “The ground feels soft,” Shaylin complained.

  “It’s muddy,” I said. “I think this meadow gets flooded regularly. Rice will almost certainly grow well here once we get it all set up.”

  “It does prefer to be near the river,” Shaylin agreed. “Will you be able to walk through this?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said. “But now I definitely want to look closer at the river. No one said that there were signs it floods the meadow we have claimed.”

  “I think this meadow is a bit lower,” Shaylin noted. “Not a lot, but enough to make a difference. Also the river appears to be narrower here. It might flood every spring.”

  “I thought you said you knew nothing about farming,” I said with a smile. “Now you tell me that the river floods every spring. Next you’ll tell me you can see a flat spot of granite right next to the river.”

  “Not the river, but the stream,” Shaylin said using her right hand to point to a spot on the stream that flowed into the river. I followed her hand and could see a sizable granite boulder lying exposed next to the flow of water.

  I tried to measure the boulder. “I can’t remember, is that larger than the millstones we have? If it is we can use that as a foundation for a waterwheel. It will allow us to anchor the stones.”

  “But couldn’t the flood wash it away?” Shaylin asked as we reached the riverbank. I carefully crouched down, putting my injured right ankle into the water. It was warmer than I expected. We were just above the point where the stream merged with the main river. “I think we might have a hot spring,” I mused.

  “A hot spring?” Shaylin asked.

  “The water is warm. It’s warmer here than downstream, where the water that is brought to our camp at night is collected. If that other stream is snowmelt or coming from a regular mountain spring, it would cool the water downstream,” I said.

  “Does that do us any good?” Shaylin asked.

  “There are tales that suggest that hot spring water promotes health. We’d have to check, but I think we should probably return. I’m surprised that Heather and Cimbra haven’t tried to hunt us down,” I said.

  Shaylin looked up. “We’ve been walking for about half a day!” she shrilled.

  “More like a quarter of a day,” I said as I looked up. “But either way, we’ve been walking for quite a while. It will be getting dark soon. Let’s follow the river back. I want to see how the sheep are doing. Do they hang out near the river?”

  “I don’t know,” Shaylin said. “But that sounds like it will be interesting.”

  We began walking back. I tried to speed up our walking by putting a bit of pressure on my injured leg. Shaylin kept trying to increase the support she gave me. Our progress was fitful as we followed the river.

  The river itself flowed peacefully. At first it was flowing to the southeast. The river here was just over ten feet wide and appeared to be three to four feet deep. It was clear, and I could see many fish swimming in the flow. Shaylin was watching the river and shook.

  “Problem?” I asked as we reached the bend in the river. It narrowed here to just five feet wide, and I could see a few rapids. The south side of the river was a short wall of granite coming a couple feet out of the water. Beyond that I could see the forest of bamboo that Mary had hinted might exist. I could not say it was bamboo, but the tall thin trunks did remind me of a forest scene from a martial
arts movie.

  “I don’t know how to swim,” Shaylin said. “And that water appears to be moving quickly.”

  “We’ll probably try to give lessons to everyone later in the year,” I said. “Once we have the crops growing and don’t have quite as much to do every day. We’ll still be busy, but we should be able to give everyone a few hours off and perhaps one day in every seven.”

  “I’d like that,” Shaylin said. “But I want to start working. I hate sitting around.”

  “Esme worries about you,” I said. “She couldn’t understand why you collapsed when we fought the monster.”

  “I tried to do too much,” Shaylin said. “The energy to cast the spells has to come from somewhere, and since I don’t have a staff and wasn’t prepared, I was calling on my personal reserves. When they ran out, I collapsed.”

  “Try to avoid doing that again,” I suggested. “And I have to ask, will there be any permanent effects due to that?”

  “Only that I’ve been reminded that I need to practice more and to make a staff. I have a good crystal, but we have been moving so much that I haven’t even looked for a good piece of wood.”

  I pointed to the grove that surrounded us as we walked along the river. “You have plenty of wood available.”

  Shaylin giggled. The giggles stopped abruptly. “I think we’re in trouble,” she said.

  I looked to see Heather and Cimbra standing next to the river. My two loves were glaring at me. They stood there with their arms crossed. “I can’t believe you took Shaylin away from the camp,” Heather growled. “She was hurt when you fought the monster.”

  “I was not hurt!” Shaylin snapped. “I used too much magic and collapsed when I ran out of power. That happens to a wizard. All I needed was a bit of rest.”

  “You still should not have wandered away. What if you ran into…” Cimbra started.

  I pointed at the carcass of the monster we had found. The legs had been removed and Hencktor had skinned it, but the bones remained where the monster fell. “That monster would have killed any other predator big enough to threaten a human.”

  Heather frowned. “If you start making sense how can we keep you under our thumbs?”