He's been here before. He knows what to expect.
Over the next three hours, those two boys plus Charlie did the following things:
-Set a (questionably effective) deadfall trap under the copper beech tree on the front lawn.
-Dug potatoes and leeks in the garden.
Mia supervised.
-Hauled a sled-load of wood from the shed to the big woodbox by the dining room door.
That utility sled is a three-boy job.
-Ate the potatoes and leeks they dug from the garden. After I cooked them with bacon and cheese, that is.
-Made and hunted with spears in the pasture, which involved commando-crawling through the grass. It was a very serious endeavor, although not ultimately successful.
-Climbed the persimmon tree in the pasture to harvest and eat a few persimmons*.
-Climbed around the old barn foundations and dragged out a fairly large sapling.
-Sawed the sapling into smaller lengths to make bows.
The bow-making was interrupted by Cubby's friend's mom arriving to pick him up. But he'll be back to finish the job, I have no doubt. Boys always want to come back to Blackrock. Maybe girls would, too, but I wouldn't know about that.
* Cubby's friend, who had never had a persimmon before, thoughtfully remarked that they taste like sunscreen. Upon reflection, I can kind of see what he means. But then, I'm not a fan of persimmons.
