The post-frost sun rose clear and amber over the eastern crests, burning away the fine lace of ice that clung to the stone walls. In the quiet after the early morning repairs, a new urgency had settled into our routine. The shift in temperature signaled that late autumn was advancing faster than expected, making the final winter insulation of the upper pantry and grain annex our primary task for the day.
Down in the lower storage shed, I stood over a pair of heavy pine sawhorses, aligning thick panels of pressed sheep’s wool felt against a frame of planed cedar. This felted insulation, treated with dried elder-berry ash and lime water to ward off insects, would seal the roof joists of the food store against the biting drafts that swept down the gorge every November.
My copper marking gau
