Chapter 62: Act 2: Chapter 9

Sixteenth day, Tenth Moon, 252 AC (+9 days)

Today was a bit of a lazy day; I was relaxing around home, not doing anything overly taxing or stressful. The children had done the farm chores for the day before they went about their other tasks, Nyra was talking with her goodsisters at one of their homes, and I had my feet up while I dozed in the sun.

The sun was warm on my face, and I drifted in and out of thought. My grandpa used to do something similar in the afternoons but would always deny he was sleeping. 'I'm just resting my eyes,' he would claim. It would always get a laugh out of my family, but I'll be damned if it wasn't great.

A cloud passed over the sun, causing a shadow to fall on my face. Frowning, my thoughts turned back to the arrival of the newest batch of people to arrive. Half of the group had been farmers; a quarter had been younger, impoverished people and the final quarter had been a mix of different peoples, who ranged from fishing to trapping. Most wanted to farm, though a few wanted to keep with their professions. It was clear to me that Master Glover had sent his people from marginal areas, that he viewed as liabilities, and did his best to get the most he could out of our deal. After talking to some of these farmers, they were all from one little village that had supported a mine that had run dry a few years ago. The land was poor, and as there was no real reason for a village to be there anymore, the Glovers were more than happy to send them our way. The younger people were a mixture; some were orphans, others were the youngest in large, poor families. The youngest was probably 14 or 15, though the boy claimed he was twenty and a man fully grown, while the average age was around 17. Then the others seemed to be randomly picked to fill out the group, but they all shared the same trait, in that the region they lived in didn't really need them.

Some of the fishermen fished in overfished rivers that no longer supported them; the trappers were competing with too many trappers, etc. The solution would have been to raise new villages and expand the population, but after the six-year winter back in 230-236AC, there had been a massive population decline. It was bouncing back, but too slowly for some people to continue to live in the same area, hence being sent here.

I didn't really hold it against Master Glover. He was, in a way, providing good opportunities for his poorest people, while sending me people I desperately need and receiving foodstuffs in exchange. Koryn and Tylan were already dividing up farmland and getting the teaching program up and running. I had already earmarked the appropriate amount of food to be sent to Master Glover after the next harvest, and I hoped that he would continue to send more my way.

It was even partially to my benefit, to have people who have never farmed before. They were blank slates, and open to our methods, which meant a smoother transition. They would, hopefully, not be resistant to different things, like planting trees for windbreaks or keeping trees near rivers. A minor goal of mine was to have farms all along the river, diverting some of the water, and hopefully increasing the soil health in order to reduce the risk of flooding. By having strong shores, and soils that will absorb plenty of water, it would minimize spring flooding.

Things like planting rows of trees along watersheds, and mixtures of pasture and trees, would increase water penetration in the soil and reduce the flooding down the stream. It would also increase farm yields as the crops would have increased access to water, as the soil would be capable of retaining the water.

But this required a lot of forward thinking and long-term planning. Maple, for instance, took about forty years to grow large enough to harvest sap from. I was unsure if Westeros maple trees were the same, and everyone only seemed to agree it took a generation or two, so I had to plan now and estimate how many trees I needed to be planted. I wanted a large patch of trees to concentrate harvesting, and I needed it near enough to have the required amount of labor to harvest the sap, but I also needed it to be far enough away to avoid interfering with any expansion of Redbridge.

On a smaller scale, Koryn has included the maples in the group of trees that would be planted on each farm. It would give a measure of increased food for each farm, as well as help break the wind year-round. The variety of trees would also provide the most effective windbreak possible: a mixture of deciduous trees, such as maple, and evergreens, such as pine. The varying heights and the way they behave in winter provides the ideal windbreak.

Having other trees that provide perennial crops, such as hazelnut, chestnut, and walnut would provide even more food. Typically, people use the nuts in small quantities for personal consumption, but overwhelmingly as livestock feed. I hoped to shift that perception by using the flour of those nuts to make bread since the trees were much more weather resilient and needed fewer inputs from the farmers.

The cloud passed overhead, and the sun once again beat down on my face. I let my thoughts slow once again, letting thoughts of water runoff systems and trees pass through my head.

Today was my day off, thoughts of the future can be left alone for the day.

A new thought popped into my head; it was a warm day and perfect for a nice swim. Leaving my thoughts behind me, I got up off of my comfy chair and made my way to the stream. A swim sounded lovely.

A/N: Just a short chapter showing the arrival of the newest group of farmers. The next chapter will be the preparations for the tour, and Chapters 11-20 will deal with the tour itself.