Hearthmere Turn Report — Midsummer, Year 1 (Month 5)

Domestic Kilns, Slope Harvest, and Labor Care

Midsummer conditions allowed intensive work across Hearthmere’s yards while seasonal heat was kept under careful control:

• Kiln Firings and Spark Safety: Kira conducted three complete kiln firing cycles over the month. Noll maintained a cleared thirty-pace buffer of scraped bare earth around the kilns and fuel yards and kept spark-watch vats filled, preventing any dry-season flare-ups or yard fires.
• Hillside Barley Harvest: Noll organized the cutting and binding of Hearthmere's ripening hillside barley patches. The harvested grain was cleaned and stored directly into freshly fired ceramic jars, sealed against pests and moisture.
• Household Protection: Mela enforced shaded midday work pauses across all pottery, fuel, and hauling crews to guard against heat exhaustion, while ensuring equitable food distribution among all households.

Second Jar Consignment Delivered to Barleybank

River transport along the downriver corridor ran without incident:

• Reedhaven cargo reed boats, outfitted with protective wicker shock baffles, successfully carried Hearthmere’s second consignment of forty volume-certified ceramic jars to Barleybank.
• The delivery arrived intact with zero transit breakage. Barleybank workers received the consignment and staged the jars in storehouse cradles to await the coming harvest.
• Pia conferred directly with Barleybank representatives to align post-harvest grain return schedules, establishing clear expectations for ferrying Hearthmere’s grain allocation once threshing begins.

Inspection and Exchange at Measure House

Pia attended Measure House during midsummer exchange proceedings:

• Under the joint oversight of Keeper Oren, Convenor Belen, and Junior Keeper Sella, Reedhaven completed its scheduled midsummer grain-for-baskets exchange against certified standard weights with no discrepancies found.
• Belen and Pia conducted a formal inspection of the test jars placed into custody back in Month 2. After months of exposure to valley weather, the beeswax and clay slip seals remained intact against midsummer humidity, preserving the sample grain inside without spoilage, moisture intrusion, or weevils.

Shelter Gifts on the Upland Road

Reports from travelers along the northeastern route confirm that Stonecross constructed a brush-thatched shade arbor adjacent to the roadside shelter waystation, providing shaded rest for pack animals and traveling exchange parties. Traveling parties delivered Hearthmere’s goodwill gifts to the station—two large ceramic water cisterns, braziers, and curved roof tiles—alongside fine split-reed utility baskets brought by Reedhaven, outfitting the upland route for regular transit.

Immediate Pressures and Outlook

• Harvest Return Logistics: With seventy Hearthmere jars now staged at Barleybank (thirty from restitution and forty from the second consignment), coordination will be needed to ensure Reedhaven’s reed boats are scheduled to transport Hearthmere's return grain as soon as Barleybank's scythes finish cutting.
• Fuel Reserves: Three firing cycles consumed substantial timber; Noll’s elevated racks will need continuous replenishment from drift logs and river deliveries to prepare for autumn firings.
• Storage Management: Hillside barley is secured, but domestic stores must be organized to accommodate incoming grain shipments from downriver without crowding pottery storage spaces.