Musings

Within the barn, in a well built wooden box to protect it from the rodents who prowled the building despite the presence of predatory canines, a stack of soft sheepskin was piled like many colored rugs. Corbie was sorting through them, pulling them out one at a time to drape over half walls to air out as she inspected them for any signs that they had been damaged or improperly tanned. They were from this year's lambs, mostly, though a few more mature skins were scattered throughout from ewes who had been past the age of bearing young. Though they'd kept enough to expand the flocks there had been plenty extra that they'd needed to harvest last season, so there'd be many tanned lambskins to trade in addition to the fleeces that had been shorn earlier in the year and set aside to spin over the course of this down season. Corbie reached the last skin in the box and dumped the box itself over to shake out any debris before flipping it back over and carefully scattering a few aromatic herbs at the bottom that would discourage insects. Leaving the skins to continue airing out, she stretched and wandered towards the other side of the barn, the side that had been most damaged by time so there were some holes in the roof. They'd cleared out that area of old straw and debris to allow for a fire to be safely lit there, and the flames crackled cheerfully tonight within their ring of stones. There was some snow falling there, but not as much piled up as there might have been when there wasn't a fire burning. Enough of the barn here remained intact that the heat was reflected off the walls, and would melt the remaining snow quickly enough. She'd made sure during the summer's renovations that the ground under foot here had been carefully cobbled with stone to keep the mud down, so the little bit of damp wouldn't matter much. With a sigh she settled on a sturdy rawhide bed that was one of many that had been scattered around the fire for their comfort. She was close by the hook from which currently dangled an iron teapot that could be twisted to be over the flames for the healers to heat water for their teas and medicinals, but she left it where it was. It had taken some shrewd trading to obtain it, but she thought it would be worthwhile in the long run. All in all, things were shaping up well, she thought. The pack remained small, but it was well on its way to being able to support more members now, if she could gather them in.