Chapter 13: A Long Cold Winter

“Damn, it’s cold,” I thought, as I forked hay into the manger.

The winter had been cold, and I couldn’t remember when it had snowed so much. It seemed like there was a snowstorm every few days. However, the bad weather did not cause me to be unproductive. Taking care of the animals took only a small amount of time, and Kata took care of most of the chores. This left me with a lot of time on my hands to work on some of the projects I had been considering last summer.

I spent the past three months trying to create steel. I had the knowledge: you put iron, glass, and charcoal together and then heated the combination. The result would be a crude, but effective alloy.

My problem was in making it into usable tools. Heavy tools seemed to be easy to make. I had successfully made hammer heads, adz blades, and other similar tools. The real challenge I was having was finding a way to make a knife.

I could form the blade, but it always came out too brittle. I had finally given up on this method and switched to the more difficult method used by Japanese sword makers.

I would form the blade, then place a thin coat of clay on the cutting edge and increase the depth of the clay towards the middle of the knife. This would allow the cutting edge to cool at a quicker rate that would maintain the hardness necessary to keep the sharp edge on the blade. The thicker coat of clay in the middle of the knife would allow the middle portion of the knife blade to cool at a slower rate.

This made it more flexible and was able to stand up to greater impact. I had also found that repeating this process 18 to 20 times made the blade even better. The final step in the process was to heat the blade a final time and quench it in water. Finally, I felt I had the process down.

Celle was getting big; her pregnancy was more than evident. Kata, on the other hand, while beginning to swell with child, was nowhere near as large. Rocha still had not become pregnant, and I wondered if she was too old to have another child. She still had her monthly periods, but so far, she seemed to be immune to Donta’s attentions.

The past three months had drawn the three of us into a close-knit family. Maybe it was the isolation, or it might be that the women were just used to living together as a family before I came to rescue them. I didn’t really care; I was happy with the newfound serenity in my life.

The great surprise was the stove/oven I had built. Even though this was a wicked winter, the stove kept the house warm. The stove/oven heated up the masonry, and then the masonry slowly reradiated heat into the house. Even on the coldest nights, with the coal fire banked, it was comfortable in the mornings when we woke up.

The other surprise was how much the stove/oven had made Rocha’s task of cooking much easier. I had made several skillets for her, and the time it took to prepare and cook meals had been significantly reduced. Celle had found that she liked making bread and would bake several loaves in the new oven two or three times a week.

I had worked up a sweat while forking the hay and leaned against the fork, resting. I looked out over the pasture and watched as the livestock moved towards the mangers for their daily feeding.

“This is a good life,” I thought to myself. “I have three wonderful wives and will soon have children. Soon spring will be here, and we will all be busy again, but that is what makes it all worthwhile. We are a family, and being together is what is really important.”