Fieldwarden’s Directives — Early Spring, Year 1

To the people of Barleybank, our storekeepers, crafters, and field crews:

The rain is cool and persistent, but spring does not wait for clear skies. Our community’s life rests in our soil and our seed. We have immediate work under our feet and careful diligence ahead at Measure House. Here are our orders and arrangements for this first month.

1. Immediate Field Labor: Drainage and Planting Preparation

Priority One: Ditch Clearing

• Bran, take the primary ditch crew down to the lower fields immediately. The silt blocking the main drainage channel must be cleared out down to the gravel bed before the lower seed beds flood further.
• Direct the spoil from the silt ditch onto the upper embankment to reinforce the bank against future washouts. Cut secondary relief trenches if standing water threatens the germinating soil.
• Every available hand not assigned to shelter repair or seed preparation is assigned to Bran’s ditching crew until the lower beds drain freely.

Priority Two: Loft Roof Repair

• Allocate a small, skilled crew under our thatchers and carpenters to repair the communal loft roof immediately.
• Strip back rotted thatch or warped shingles over the main storage bays and replace them with seasoned timber and tight, pitch-sealed thatch. Ensure the floor of the loft is dry, ventilated, and elevated from the floorboards before moving bags.

2. Seed Protection and Grain Inventory

• Ada and Cora, conduct a strict inventory and grading of our remaining seed barley:
  • Separate high-grade seed grain from consumption grain. Ensure all seed stock is moved into the dry, repaired communal loft.
  • Calculate the exact seed volume required for our planned spring acreage. Keep a contingency margin in reserve.
  • Inspect the sacks for moisture damage or mold from the recent rains. Aerate any damp grain on dry cloths under cover.
• Consumption grain must be carefully portioned so we do not tap into our planting reserves under any circumstances.

3. Carts and Equipment Maintenance

• Dain, inspect and overhaul our transport carts, yokes, and gear.
• Axles, wheel rims, and draft harness must be put in reliable working condition now, before the ground dries enough for planting and transport runs begin.
• Work with Ada to verify the standard tare weight of our empty transport sacks, crates, and sleds/carts, stamping or marking known tare tare-weights clearly.

4. Preparation for Measure House & Weight Verification

Regarding the discrepancy noted during the winter delivery of twenty nominal weights:

• Ada and Esme, gather all receipts, tally sticks, and documentation from last winter’s transaction, as well as preceding seasons.
• We will not make accusations or spread rumors. Oren has twelve years of respected service, and Sella’s duplicate tallies provide a structured trail. However, our narrow reserves mean we cannot afford a single uncounted grain.
• Internal Calibration:
  • Before we attend Measure House, we must know our own standards. Ada, Dain, and Esme will establish a precise local reference balance in Barleybank.
  • Calibrate and record the weight of our sacks, standard dry volume measures (bushels/strikes), and known counterweights. Determine whether the discrepancy was a matter of sack tare, moisture absorption, or an imbalance in the Measure House stones.
• Month 2 & 3 Roadmap:
  • Esme will prepare to represent Barleybank for Month 2's receipt copying and seal checks.
  • We will participate fully and openly in the Month 3 public reweighing, bringing our verified receipts, calibrated tallies, and our appointed witnesses in accordance with customary law.

5. Community Message

We depend upon our fields and our neighbors, but first we must keep our own house dry and our ditches clear. Let every worker know their task: Bran on the ditch line, Cora and Ada on the grain, Dain on the timber and iron. When the rains break, our beds will be drained and ready for the plow.