NUTS - for fabric

I went nuts at the fabric shop - after making certain that ALL my bills were paid.

First I selected some cotton fabric, a vivid deep yellow, and a  summer leaf green. These will become a "summer" dress - medieval of course! I will be trying out  new - to me - patterns from Medieval tailor's Assistant. I will also use the same patterns on the WOOL that I bought...

I've been keeping my eye on the available wool fabrics for the past few months.  They went from a meager selection to a much better (much, MUCH better) selection at the beginning of December. Colors are still somewhat limited, but... and I am frustrated by a general 20% polyester content, but...

I selected black (2.5 m) for a sleeveless gown (full length, flared.... Then a pretty muted coral (2.5m) which I envisioned as another sleeveless gown but am currently wondering if - and how - sleeves might also be possible. I also got a "powder" blue (2.5 m) which is a color often seen in nature here in Finland, when the sun is hidden behind a thinnish wall of clouds and a light mizzle slides over the lakes an cloaks the world in magic. This was planned to be a sleeveless gown also, but is now hopefully going to be a gown with sleeves! Then I got a red/light-grey herringbone (3.5m) definitely to be a sleeved dress. Finally I selected a 90% wool 10% cashmere in "grey". It has a mid grey side and a dark grey/grey herringbone side. This will become a sleeved surcoat for outdoor winter use. I wanted 3.5 m, but when I saw that there was just a "little bit" left over, I decided to take that too so I have 4.1 m which will certainly allow enough for a hood to match. This I plan to sew so that it is completely reversible and so that the contrasting other side also can show. All these fabrics have a lovely hand (soft to touch).

Four of my five new wools (and an old pillow). these have the washed samples on them as well as the washing instructions and purchase details

I began by cutting a small sample from each and subjecting them to a wool wash (in my new washing machine! :-) ) to test for shrinkage. The samples returned in excellent condition, so I washed the "powder blue" fabric, however, it seems the wash water didn't get the entire fabric wet, because it has large patches which are completely dry. Therefore I am wondering if it will be best to cut without washing the others, and to hope they stay clean!  in any event, I was NOT planning to wash the wool cashmere because it should develop it's own character

I also have - waiting to be cut - a beautiful yellow wool (100%), to be a sleeved gown. It has been washed and is about 3.5 m - or maybe 4.

The new powder blue, the muted coral, the red and light grey herringbone and the black, will need to serve double duty - for me, and as potential wear for family members who are thinner than myself. The cottons which I bought also need to serve double function in the same way.

The washed "powder blue" showing huge dry spots just moments out of the washing machine. Hope they do not leave "marks".

Medieval Feast

I invited friends for a Medieval "feast". Among the friends who came were six others who are involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and three friends who have been somewhat interested in the SCA.The feast was on Sunday December 16, 2018.

I started by selecting recipes from The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy (1993) by O. Redon, F. Sabban, and S.Serventi.As the book numbers the recipes, I include the numbers and titles here: #3 Winter Squash or Pumpkin Soup; #19 Little Leaves /Hashed chard and spinach, #21 Sautéed Mushrooms and spices, #61 Innkeeper's Escabéche, #62Sweet and Sour Fish, #133 Rice Pudding with Almond Milk, #142 Spiced Plum Mousse with Honey, #143 Poached Pears in Spiced Syrup. The only thing I did not make for this feast was the Plum Mousse: I had left-over Plum Mousse from a test feast (see below), but I have made it in the past and my student (see below) followed my suggestion of only making half the recipe.

In addition to the above was an Apple Onion Pie.

Before the feast I actually "tested" all the recipes by having a group of students make them and we ate them together. The only recipe I made at that "pre-taste", was the onion apple pie - and I had pre-pretested it on family and friends two weeks before! I deliberately planned which dishes to prepare on which days prior to the Feast, so that I would not be too overwhelmed with just intensive cooking on the day of the feast. I also considered how to make do within the limits of my pots, pans and serving dishes.

I did my shopping on the Thursday before the feast and prepared both fish recipes (#61 and #62) immediately upon returning home with the fresh fish. For recipe 61 I used pike (because that's what my student had used the week before and I had really enjoyed it (and I do NOT normally like fish). I chose salmon for recipe #62 which calls for a firmly fleshed fish. I discovered the salmon was not as firmly fleshed as I'd thought when I began frying it.  According to Redon et. al. both fish recipes should "gel" upon cooling. Neither did, either for me or my students. After preparation, and cooling, both dishes went into the refrigerator as both could be served either cold or at room temperature.

On the Friday, I prepared the Onion Apple Pie. I prepared the dough first and put it to cool in the Refrigerator while I chopped the onions and then peeled, cored, and chopped the apples. I prepared the spice mix which called for sugar, salt, cinnamon and cardamom, having decided from my first testing that a tablespoon of sugar, a half tea spoon of salt and a teaspoon on cardamom and two teaspoons of cinnamon had appealed to people. I also mixed the heavy cream and eggs. All the dairy products were labeled "lactose free" just in case someone had a lactose problem (One person informed me the day before the feast that they have a lactose intolerance, so I was relieved that I had, because the pie was already made!) When the onions had fried - or softened I added the apples and cooked them a bit before removing from the heat and adding the spices. Then I could roll out the dough, by which time the onions and apples had cooled so I could assemble the pie add the egg and cream and top the mix with sharp cheese and then the top pie crust. After baking and cooling it also went into the refrigerator.

On the Saturday, I prepared the mushrooms - except for giving them their last frying to make them "golden" and to be able to serve them warm. Recipe 21 asks for the mushrooms to be boiled before frying. I have done this recipe with and without boiling the mushrooms, but this time I boiled them and think that it helps keep the mushrooms from whithering to almost nothing when frying. When that was done and cooled it went into the refrigerator. I was using Kale in place of the Chard and Spinach which recipe 19 calls for, I cut off the stems and chopped it then rebagged it and returned it to the refrigerator to cook on Sunday. Then I began the Squash Soup. The recipe asks for seeded and peeled squash to be boiled in chunks until just tender. I cut the squash in half and seeded it, but decided to peel it after it had boiled. I sliced it into large pieces and boiled it until done. I allowed it to cool before removing the skins, which were much easier to remove after cooking.  I made a decision to reuse the cooking water for the almond milk. I am not sure if this was a poor decision, perhaps some bitterness from the skins effected the resulting soup. I mashed the squash with a potato masher and mixed it with the almond milk. When it was cool, it went into the refrigerator. I washed, quartered and cored the pears, but did not peel them. I prepared the spiced syrup and let the pears soak in that overnight.

On the Sunday the Pumpkin Soup was the first thing out of the refrigerator and as it neared room temperature it went into my crock pot to cook until an hour before the feast. I had nothing more to think about it until I served it! Around mid morning I cooked the kale until it was just tender and a little wilted. then I uncovered it, and had it off the heat to cool. I wanted the bright green color to remain and that meant cooking just until tender and then getting it off the heat and not keeping a lid on.  While the kale got underway, I began the Rice Pudding. First I made the almond milk and rinsed the rice. I read the recipe, and read the rice cooking directions on the bag of pearl rice I was using, and decided to cook the rice in the almond milk (bag of rice), versus adding a bit of almond milk a little at a time as the rice cooks (recipe). I stirred the rice almost constantly as it cooked to ensure it wasn't burning. I took the rice off the heat when it was done, covered it and left it to wait for the feast. I cooked the spiced pears. One pear had obviously been too ripe as it turned to mush, which didn't look very nice. At noon I took the two fish dishes, the pie, and the mushrooms out of the refrigerator to allow them to reach room temperature. About a quarter of an hour before guests were to arrive, I finished frying the mushrooms. Then I fried the onions for the chard, added the spices and mixed in the chard and placed it in a serving bowl. Everything was ready and set out to be served.

The soup and the pie were the starters.  The two fish dishes the mushrooms and the chard were the second course. The third course began with the rice pudding and plum mousse and ended with the Spiced Pears. Water and "mulled wine" (Glöggi) was served as beverages. The meal was bright and colorful with a varied selection of textures and flavours.

Pumpkin Soup. It may be worth trying this again using fresh hot water to make the almond milk. It may also be worth peeling the squash prior to cooking. I cannot say where the - to me - slightly unpleasant or bitter taste came from.

Onion Apple Pie. To me this is a success. I think in the future I will not put decorations on the top crust. they do look cute and I have done it with the two test pies in the past, but if one needs to cut more pieces of pie, it is easier without them.

Innkeeper's Escabéche. Looking at the translation of the original recipe I do not see anything to suggest that this is to gel, and neither mine nor my student's rendition of the recipe gelled. I really like this dish.

Sweet and Sour Fish. This seems to have been everyone elses' favorite. I'm glad. I didn't really like it, perhaps with a different fish. The recipe also suggests this will gel. Mine didn't. Neither did my test student's version.

Hashed Chard. This seems to have been a fairly popular dish. I love it and make it frequently just for me.

Sautéed Mushrooms. I noticed I'd only purchased half the mushrooms the recipe calls for, oops! and my own notes from first making this says "double this recipe, there can never be too many mushrooms". It worked well and was popular but we needed more mushrooms to really have it be a hit.

Rice Pudding. This was an outstanding success. They fell on it as if it were chocolate. I had to remind everyone to try it with the Plum Mousse. It seemed even more popular then.

Spiced Pears. I make this regularly. I leave the pear skins on so the color of the syrup doesn't fully penetrate the pear slices and gives an interesting color spectrum to the pears as well as adding textural nuances.

The Pumpkin Soup cooking, Onions for the chard and bowl for the Musshrooms

Cooking the Rice Pudding while the Kale begins to steam

Kale has steamed and cooked down is still a bright green, time to remove it from the heat.

The Sweet and Sour Fish in the white bowl, the Pumpkin Soup to the right, and the cooked kale to the left.

The Onion Apple pie and the Innkeeper's Escabéche find a place to wait in the cold oven (I have a small kitchen)

The chopped herbs (dill and parsley) onion, and spices for the Chard (Kale in this case)

Book cover and all that is left of the Pumpkin Soup

Busy Summer 2017 Projects

My home has projects everywhere. I can’t really turn around without seeing a project.
 

On my right is one of my looms with two scarves part way finished. Also my guitar, and my bag of knitting, and some sewing, and some mending, and some material to consider when writing…

Almost in front of me is more knitting and spinning...

In front of me is my computer and I should be writing (novels or a libretto or something, but I’m doing this blog…). 

Across the room high on a bookshelf is more knitting (a pair of socks I started oh maybe four years ago…), and some calligraphy that I want to do.  And my recorders reside there too.

On the table (the one I am supposed to eat at) is a miniature project, a maxi project, music… and crowded round my table (same one) is my harp and lute (the latter is on a chair – but protected from being “sat” on), while two other chairs are occupied with “gardening projects”, and two more sewing projects. 

  My table

My bedroom houses my large loom which is still partly warped – meaning I haven’t finished putting the warp through the heddles and… that project has been waiting for almost 18 months).

My closets are packed with wool (some silk, cotton and linen too) WAITING to be spun, And a few more sewing projects are also lurking in the closets.

My two spinning wheels are hiding on my left, horrified that I haven’t been spinning in – far too long.

Last week I finished sewing a dress, and the week before a skirt. This week my sewing is a top, a shoe (the second of two - first visible on my table, above), and a “book cover” (which is cut out and ready to be sewn - also on my table).

skirt 

dress

 

top which may become a dress    

This week I began a new knitting project – only because I wanted to understand the directions! I think I have them working to MY satisfaction though not precisely “as written”. I also began another “mini-book” like I did for my Illuminated Manuscripts of Medieval Europe course, which I took last winter. I’ve got a couple of projects like that either planned or “in progress”. One is my “maxi project”. It is to reproduce several pages of choral music in four acapella voices such as were used by church choirs in the Middle Ages. Another is a romanticized biography of my Society for Creative Anachronism persona Yrmegard. The latter is NOT to be confused with my novel by the same name.

My “mini” project is taking up most of my table and part of my kitchen. Sounds pretty big to be a mini project! I’ve been following a few YouTube channels on miniatures such as those used for fantasy role playing games or model railroads. Some of those are amazing. But I would like to be more authentic. So I began with making a wattle wall. My plan was to make a miniature three sided “booth” such as a merchant might use, and to lean about wattle and daub (haven’t gotten to the daub yet… haven’t finished with the wattle!). Anyhow the more I did the more I learned. Lesson #1: it helps to have a firm base. Lesson #2: use the finest (thinnest) twigs for miniature wattle fill, because it is what holds the daub in place. Lesson #3: I’d better build a proper frame to hold my projects in if I am going to extend this experiment! Lesson #4: it is a good thing I didn’t use Styrofoam as a base for my mini project – the stresses of the wattling process would have destroyed the foam! Concrete “might” work, but probably best will be holes drilled into a sturdy board (a 4 x 4 or its equivalent).  Now the table has various sized sticks and twigs, and there are two potential types of “roofing” material drying (grass for a proper thatched roof, and something else which can pass as wooden shingles). I know I know. One can do mimis the easy way, pre-made plastic forms, or cut your own imaginative forms from foam, but REALLY!!! Why not try doing it the old-fashioned way (ok, yeah they made things full-sized. But what if I ever actually HAD to make a home using the “real stuff”… which will be better preparation? Yeah, the tedious hard real way!)some of my mini project

close-up of my wattling 

 A different mini project:
 preparing paper for a mini book, staining one side of the paper with a diluted coffee vinegar mix to resemble real parchment (sort of, but not really).

 after the paper is stained and dry, I cut off the "ends" and then do the mise en page... on the right is a MAXI project. Below the pricking and lining a text has been writen, and below that  I am experimenting with capitals and initial letters before adding them to my mini book.

 

 

Maxi Project: Measure and divide in half

and below the successful division. These will form the covers of my maxi book

 

 

Spindle embroidery

The above is the first spindle I did. Learning process was huge!

The above is the second spindle I did. A slightly different look. I was feeling more comfortble. I have tried to "even up" this spindle, and its cop.

This last one isn't quite finished. Like the others, it too is different. I meant for this one to look like spinning has just begun, Waiting to hear what suggestions the owner of this wishes...

Another old house

If you know me at all you know by now that I have a thing for old houses. So here is my latest investigation (actually "in town").

This is a two story house built in 1942, From the decore, I'd guess that it was last remodeled in the 1970's. I started taking pictures on the second floor, which has four bedrooms off a tiny hall at the top of the stairs: Bedroom two on the right

Below is bedroom 2 on the left (from the top of the stairs):

 

 

And below is left bedroom one (from the top of the stairs) This one has no closet, but there is a place on the floor (and ceiling) where one obviously used to be.

 

 Below is bedroom one on the right (from the top of the sairs) and it has a mostly intact old loom (this item alone could make me make an offer)!

 

Below is from the top of the stairs looking down. I like these stairs. However, I would want some sort of curtain inn the window, just to ease the sunlight. Very nice wood finials on the stair post ends.

Below is the main floor "bed" room. Nice and sunny at ninish in the morning. It doesn't actally have a door, and two walls are partly open to the main entry (which is to the left in the photo).

Below is from the entry looking into the living room. Part of the arched opening is seen. The downstairs "bed"room sorts similar arches, and is now on my right.

Below is looking from the livingroom into the kitchen. All the cabinets are in working order, though one is missing a glass panel. Appliances would need replacing.

Below is the kitchen as seen from the "eating" area (the living room is on the left). This is the baking oven and main heat source, plus a second oven.

And below you get one exterior shot of the house, which is on a corner lot, with a "mostly" fenced yard (fence would need attention, and a real driveway would need to be added, as there really isn't one. It's impossible to tell from this that the place actually needs a new front door although everything looks fine and dandy until you're really up close!

And finally a tiny bit of the yard is shown below. I was enthralled by all the irom pots (another selling point in my book of "useless selling points that really work on me").

So what has this house got going for it? It is livable though it would need some serious work, it is in town, it has a nice lot that until recent years has been lovingly tended. It has fruit trees and berry bushes. it also is in a lovely location.
And what are the drawbacks? The most serious one (in my book of "important reasons NOT to buy a house) is: I'd have to have a car. The bus service is a bit too hefty a walk over varied terrain to make catching a bus in bad weather (icy, or minus 20, or...) something I'd even consider doing. It's close to a kilometer to the bus stop (a nice little walk I admit, but NOT when carrying groceries, or getting to work).
Then there is the matter of the indoor washroom (wc, shower and sauna). That part of the house would have to be ripped back to the bare wood, I expect new floor joists would have to be sistered in, floor relaid, walls completely redone.... (insulation etc).
The roof seems intact - no visble evidence of water damage, no evidence of rodents.
Someone with the knowledge and skill would have to investigate whether the second floor floor-joists have enough support from the lower level (all those main floor arches are pretty, but they may not give enough support).
It would need to be replumbed and rewired and it needs new floor covering throughout.

Busy Writing - or: WHY I'm not writing Ears!

Currently in my free time I am busy writing, and editing, and rewriting, and yanking bits of text out, or moving it somewhere else, or... 

I've "several" novel manuscripts in various stages of readiness. Each one needs certain things done before being ready. Generally my biggest problem is number of words: I usually have too many!

Eight Feet series:
These include Inside a Love Song and Behind the Drum. Both have been edited down, checked and edited some more, and both still are too long. So I need to go in and ruthlessly yank scenes out, while making sure that the overall narratives lose nothing vital by these gut-wrenching changes. I could break both into two shorter novels, but that interfers more with the overall continuity. I hope to revamp them during the Christmas holidays. Meanwhile the third book in the series: Singer of a Songless Land is getting initial very rough draft updates once a week as "the guys" discuss new material. Most of my summer went on these two.

Yrmegard series(?):
Yrmegard, like Ears, is histocial fiction. I've had so much fun learning about medieval Germany at the rise of HR Emperor Frederick II. The more I learn, the more complications arise for me as a writer! The biggest challenge is finding relevant material in English. Will Yrmegard become a series or a mere duo? I'm not certain yet. With it crrently divided into two, Yrmegard, the Magdeburg Years (Y1) and Yrmegard: the Breslau Years (Y2) these will make two managable novels that won't be too long for consideration. Ears is a character who gets "honorable mention" in Yrmegard. He appears briefly, and in company with his master - though that connection is not presented in Yrmegard. Anyhow I am currently boggled in Y1 at deciding which of three ways to take Yrmegard: a) into a brutal marriage; b) into an engagement; or c) just let her be. Originally the story presented the first scenario (a), however, once I learned what the divorce laws in 1212 would have implied, that seemed the most difficult to resolve with good narrative and historically accuracy. Nevertheless I will have to "try on" all three - which involves writing out all three scenarios - before I'll know which one works best so that Y2 can go on as it is. Oh I KNOW the first one works best, it's just all the legalities which make it such a challange!

Jack:
Jack in somehat autobiograpical yet is firmly fiction. I'm not sure if Jack is going to turn into a series. Version one, which I'm supposedly editing as I write this blog (and no, I can't do two things at once), is - suprise - too long! And I haven't even finished the first part of the story! So I need to find a nice convenient place to tie it up and still have the possibility to continue. That's what I'm supposed to be working on currently - and was doing last week! But this week I've been looking ahead and creating three years beyond the initial story - which certaily hints of a possible series. Certain vistas opened and I've been working every free moment to get those down before they were forgotten!

Taken!
Taken! is my scifi story. Much to my surprise it is NOT too long! It does have the possibility to turn into a series. There are a few science things I'll need to edit, (they promise to be quick fixes which I can get done in a day or so. Basically it is ready! Hurrah... so this means trying to query agents, and that takes research which takes time away from writing.

And these are the reasons Ears is not currently being updated. I AM sorry!

Ears 4

This continues my story of Ears. Normally I continue it each Monday by about 19:00 GMT (7 pm GMT). By scrolling down this blog you will find the opening Ears preceded by Ears 2 and Ears 3. When I update or add new material it will be in blue. There will be more as soon as I can turn my attention to it again!

Ears Part 4

     This changed my routine for a while as I could not ride until the sores healed. So I sat with the baggage, and we asked in each village if there leather braies or leather hose that would fit me. It took several days to find a pair but they were new and I spent several days rubbing oil into them to soften them enough to make them comfortable. By the time my saddle sores healed, my new leather hose were supple and soft, and protected my limbs from the saddle. Then my riding instruction continued apace as we rode.
     Whenever we stopped for the night, his Grace and the highest lords in his retinue had the best housing. The outer precincts and guest house of an abbey if we were in a town large enough to have one, or the best house in the hamlet if there was no abbey. My Lord, the other squires, lesser men, and myself frequently made do in hay barns. Though they provided a sound roof to keep off the rain, these had no walls to keep out the wind, nor heat to keep us warm. We bundled close to each other, wrapped in our cloaks and used the dwindling supplies of hay for softness and warmth.
     Knowing they could burn easily, we set no fires close to these barns. Our fires frequently brought a few villagers out to hear news. Some came to be sure we didn't disturb the local peace. Others came in hope of finding excitement. We made our food, played instruments and sang, or tried various games of chance if the night was fair. And through it all Samael was there.
     Ostensibly he kept Lord Olbrecht's men in line, and out of trouble. But most of them were accustomed to his way. So his focus was me. I listened.
     I listened for nuances in words.
     Samael would lean toward me as if to reach for bread and murmur, “Listen to the rough voiced one, Yarl. He aims to pick a fight. Listen.” Or he'd ask for ale,  and while I poured, he'd advise, “Beware the quiet one, he fingers a pig-sticker.”
     I still used my eyes, looking, but as time went on and I saw again and again that Samael knew, knew through his ears. I began to try to use mine more, dared to close my eyes and focus on the minute sounds that told the underlying stories.
     “Listen how Alard's voice changes.”
     I listened. Alard spoke well, told a good tale. Men enjoyed his tales.
     “Look to his eyes. What do they say? Look to his hands. His right stays close, does it not?”
     Alard's eyes moved constantly. I pondered this and decided perhaps they moved as if to see everyman there, but most often they darted to Samael then quickly away.
     “Listen well to his voice,” Samael scratched an itch and settled back, a slight smile on his mouth. Next day he advised me to pay attention to Alard for much of what he said were half-truths, but each half-truth was hinted at with a change in the timbre of his voice. “You need to know the voice of truth from the voice of falsehood.
     So I spent evenings listening to Alard, and Samael scratched his nose or his ear, or his ankle when he heard a lie, until I began to scratch before he could. Then he took me further field to test my skills as we bargained for fodder for Lord Olbrecht's mounts or a barrel of ale for the men.
     “Most men rely on their eyes for information. Hopefully you will have greater skill. Sift truth from false. Listen and be able to repeat the truth, and to explain the false.”
     I enjoyed this new skill and discovering more.
     “They say we should not bear false witness, but most men try to hide some of their truth. Consider if that is also not false witness.” And then he advised that I keep ears open for  Kiczold or Thiemo. One tended to drift near others' possessions. The other liked to pick fights.
     Practicing my skills with sword or cross bow were hampered. Instead, while I rode in the wagon, I tried a less noble weapon, a sling-shot. Samael had a priest tell the tale of David and Goliath to inspire me to take this simple weapon seriously. Jostling along in the wagon, taking aim was a challenge. It was also difficult to have a steady target. I couldn't aim at the dray horses pulling the wagon behind ours, or at the man who walked at their side. Aiming at the butts of ale we carried, was a bad idea, least I damage them and they leak. I needed a target that was distant enough, yet not so distant that I could only guess whether or not I hit it. Mostly I aimed for trees. There was precious little game to be seen. No surprise that. By the time the wagons rumbled, creaked, and groaned along the road, any animal had long since fled  the passage of his Grace's column. Duke Henryk and his closest nobles had first shot on any game surprised by our passage. Their kill were sent back to the wagons and were skinned and gutted even as we traveled.
     If food was scarce in the villages, the lords would take out hunting parties. When we did this, Samael armed my Lord with crossbow and pike and me with just a crossbow and we stood on the edges of the line receiving the game those thrashing the bushes drove toward us. The beaters usually surprised more than one animal.
     I waited tensely, looking toward the thinning forest, unable to see clearly. Samael must have guessed this. He demanded I shut my eyes and see. I felt my Master twitch at this injunction. My breath came raggedly as I listened to the sounds approaching. I feared to hit one of the beaters with a crossbow bolt.
     “Get down,” Samael growled, “Kneel, aim low. Can you hear it?”
     I listened and nodded. “Yes,” I hissed, recalling he might not distinguish my nod from other sounds I made. I  threw myself on the damp plowed field, bracing my elbows and tried to gauge distance. It sounded small, perhaps a hare. But not too far behind came a beater. If the hare broke the cover of the forest, I would lose its sound on the soft plowed ground. No beater would thank me if I hit them instead. And anyone would be grateful for some stewed hare to thicken the onion broth we had eaten the last two days.
     I steadied myself, my breathing, my aim, eased my grip, prayed silently, wished my hands weren't sweaty, and that I could live up to my Father's original hopes for me as I tried to be sure the beater wasn't directly behind my unseen target. I swallowed, my mouth dry.
     I had just cocked my bow ready to shoot, when a shrill squeal, loud crashing and a shout went up.
My eyes snapped open, my bolt loosened, as a huge wild boar broke cover to my right.
     “BRACE!” Samael and my voices rose as I spun around to see my Master armed with his crossbow. Surprised, he loosened at the beast's head as I lurched half upright to help Samael set and  brace the pike. My master threw himself to our aid, bracing the ash pole firmly against the charging boars full weight.
     Roaring protest, the boar impaled himself on our pike point, driving toward us, our feet slipping in the mud with the force of his charge. His small eyes seemed riveted to mine as he just kept coming.  The pike had no cross-brace to prevent him spitting himself on the pike. His charge ended as others threw themselves to our aid. But his snout was less than a hand-span from my shaking hands, his razor sharp yellow tusks snapping in death. Blood spurted from his neck.
     We heaved a collective sigh. My shaking hands and the boar's passing weren't the only reason the pike pole shivered. No one had expected the beaters to flush a boar. Lord Olbrecht stood up, chest heaving, his knife dripping blood. He had slit the boar's throat. He cleaned it in the dirt at his feet.
     “Get that thing strung up, bleed it out.” He yanked my Master to his feet, as Samael scrambled upright. Then I stood, separating myself from field, mud, blood and close proximity to the boar.
      We had the boar strung up by the time his Grace Duke Henryk galloped toward us. The beaters had flushed other animals, and he had taken down a deer.

Currently I am not udating Ears as planned. The reason being other writing projects which I'm (hopefully) preparing for publication! I will resume Ears' story as soon as I can think.