# High Barley — Turn 002 (Mid-autumn, Year 1) Plan

### 1. Concluding the Harvest & Loft Curing (Hesta & Beren)
Mid-autumn brings increasing rain and winds; we must secure the remainder of the crop without allowing damp to take hold:
- **Final Field Sweeps:** Hesta will direct sickle teams into the remaining standing barley during any clear drying intervals. Cut stalks will be bound promptly and moved uphill before precipitation resumes.
- **Threshing & Curing Rotation:** Beren will oversee the movement of thoroughly cured grain from the wool loft hurdles down to the threshing cloths during dry, windy spells. Once threshed and winnowed, sound grain will be bagged and transferred directly to the storehouse. Newly harvested sheaves from the field will immediately take the cleared hurdle space in the loft, ensuring continuous, well-ventilated drying.
- **Straw Management:** All clean barley straw will be bundled dry and divided deliberately: the finest portion reserved for winter goat fodder and bedding, with the remainder allocated for thatch maintenance and insulating household floors.

### 2. Storehouse Security & Seed Safeguarding (Leth & Beren)
With yields coming off the hurdles and fields, storage hygiene must be uncompromising:
- **Elevated Stacking:** Leth will supervise stacking of all new grain sacks exclusively atop the raised timber dunnage. No sack is to touch the storehouse floor or outer stone walls.
- **Continuous Moisture Monitoring:** Daily inspections of the lower bay will continue. Leth will check sack bottoms and floor timbers for any rising damp as autumn ground moisture increases, immediately airing any sack showing cool condensation.
- **Seed Protection:** Prime seed grain selected by Beren will remain in the driest upper racks, tied in distinct, marked sacks. This seed is formally placed under Beren's sole custody and barred from winter ration drawing.

### 3. Winter Fuel Stockpiling & Structural Weatherproofing (Cal, Leth, & Village)
Before seasonal rains saturate the hillsides and cold settles in, we must prepare our homes and hearths:
- **Fuel Gathering:** Organize dedicated collection teams during dry interludes to gather fallen deadwood, dry brush, and upland peat from the shelf and upper slopes. Fuel will be hauled back using goat frames and stacked under covered eaves, lean-tos, and dry outbuilding corners so it remains ready for winter burning.
- **Roof & Thatch Reinforcement:** Inspect thatch across all dwellings and stores ahead of late-autumn gales. Secure ridge caps, tighten thatch spars and rope bindings, and patch any worn eaves before high winds can strip them.
- **Late Foraging & Root Harvest:** Collect wild edible roots, autumn berries, and greens to supplement the drying grain, drying or pit-storing roots alongside beans to provide dietary balance.

### 4. Herd Care & Northwest Trail Vigilance (Osa)
As rough grazing diminishes and temperatures fall:
- **Fodder & Shelter:** Osa will begin transitioning the pack goats toward sheltered penning during sustained rain, utilizing straw, cut alder browse, and rough fodder. On clear, brisk days, the goats will graze the upper upland slopes to preserve winter fodder reserves.
- **Ridge Observation:** While grazing near the upper shelf, Osa will keep passive watch over the northwest pack trail for any new prints, tracks, or travelers, maintaining village safety without venturing beyond mapped ground.

### 5. Care Rota, Hearth Sharing, and the Covered Bowl (Cal)
As work transitions from outdoor harvesting to indoor processing and winter preparation, social cohesion remains our cornerstone:
- **Adapting the Rota:** Cal will adjust household shifts to match the seasonal rhythm. Indoor tasks—threshing assistance, wool sorting, basket repair, fuel stacking, and root preparation—will be integrated with child and elder tending.
- **Shared Warmth:** To conserve firewood, encourage households to share common hearths for evening cooking and warmth.
- **The Covered Bowl:** We will maintain the nightly covered bowl without interruption, explicitly acknowledging that domestic care, sickbed tending, and shelter maintenance are equal in value to field labor.

### 6. The Eastern Ford & Coastal Neighbors (Jun)
The peaceful reconnaissance by two travelers from the coastal smoke confirms our neighbors are aware of us. We will prepare for contact with prudence, firmness, and hospitality rather than fear:
- **Ford Watch & Water Gauge:** Jun will maintain close, daily observation at the spring and ford, monitoring the water level as rains increase. Jun will establish simple stone water markers to track when the ford is passable on foot.
- **Peaceful Boundary Marker:** Jun will construct a modest, clear stone cairn on our side of the stream ford. Upon it, place a simple woven willow ring or token of welcome—a universal sign indicating that the shelf is inhabited, vigilant, and inclined toward peaceful relations.
- **Contact Protocol:** If travelers or envoys return along the alder trail:
  - Jun will not hide or raise alarms of war, but will hail them across the water in a calm, clear voice, indicating they should halt at the eastern bank.
  - Jun will immediately notify me while keeping visual contact.
  - We will meet them at the ford openly, with two steady village elders, showing respect and willingness to speak, but maintaining the natural barrier of the stream. Strangers will not be invited directly up the ridge into our storehouses until peaceful intentions, shared customs, and mutual interests are established.
- **Cautious Scouting Window:** If three consecutive dry days leave the ford low and work in the village allows, Jun and one sure-footed tracker may cross cautiously to the edge of the lower meadow, inspect the alder path for recent signs of passage or camps, and return before dusk without pushing toward the coastal smoke.

### 7. Personal Leadership & Oversight
I will divide my time between:
- Working with Leth and Beren on the threshing floor and storehouse dunnage, ensuring grain preservation is handled correctly;
- Inspecting household fuel piles and roof repairs alongside Cal to ensure every family is ready for winter;
- Visiting the stream ford with Jun to survey the crossing, review our contact protocols, and inspect the approach firsthand.