Chapter 7: Maintaining a Live Action Stage

A never-ending drainage pool of time and resources was the fee for defending the land from the ever-encroaching plant life that grew and took over from within it's very borders. As part of the groundskeeper labor description, the campsite was to be well manicured and pleasing to the eye, with priority to be tamed before every event. The challenge came when you realized that there is 56 acres of live action/real-time growth cycles happening on various levels, by various species, encouraged by various weather patterns on Britannia Faire’s stage and playground.

In 2011 the lawn had much less of a budget. Bandit Camp exit to Tavern-August 2011

Yes. Some of that acreage number is run heavy and thick with trees, tall weeds and brambles, covering various slopes of elevation and terrain, and remain inaccessible for the first level -adventurer to play on. I had major plans in my head: Ideas like how to make those trails accessible to the public and informing LARPers why their character should want to make the strength, endurance, and constitution checks it takes to the body to explore the untamed areas of land. I fantasied about writing up little map for each area and putting one clue of a hypothetical quest or a skill training activity at the center of the not so commonly explored BF landmarks. I even went as far as to design tokens that would represent the completion of a quest, an area achievement, or skill advancement. The thought of how to safely maintain and mark the trails for public access to the viewpoints and additional points of interest on the Faire lands seemed too much an endeavor for the first year and one person's efforts. I could not lose focus on what the overall goal of this year was to be: The stage that was already in game had to be more ascetically maintained, the tavern exterior had to be finished to blend in more with the environment, and the Back 40 needed to be brought out of the path of destruction the previous years had spun her into. I told myself, next year there would ideally be time to make those ideas manifested and open up the game to different levels.

Photo exiting Bandit Camp to the Tavern Yard during BoFA 2011

Points of Interest this year became, listed from Faire entrance to 40: The Parking Lot-->Troll Bridge-->Fording the Fight Pit--> StreamSide--> Bandit Camp --> Tavern Yard and Water Feature--> Usable Tavern --> Battle Field-->Back 40. The Back 40 did not acquire priority until there was talk about hosting a Paintball LARP event back there, but more about that development later. 

During the 2011&2012 Season, the Faire did not possess the resources, time, nor the manpower to maintain all of the usable space. Therefore the Battle Field was kept only half maintained with an overgrown weed berm to outline the hard boundary of the field of play. 

In the remainder of the field, there was to be high grasses that would soon be choked out by tall weeds if left unchallenged. The Stone Circle was located in this unmaintained half of the field, but was to always be kept an accessible point of interest, even during the early events.  

Cannot deny, that I personally enjoyed what the tall weeds provided to the set of Britannia Faire. I remember during this time the weeds were left to grow into a maze. This made battles more exciting and kept your adrenaline on edge for surprise combat as you rounded any corner of this overgrown labyrinth. However, some individuals began to worry about the number of ticks that were wandering beyond their welcome in the tall grass. And with that thought, sadly the maze would be sacrificed to the Mowing Calvary as an attempt to decrease the percentage of encountering these minuscule foes.

Path to the swimming hole Pre 2013 season. Photo capture belongs to David Laime.

To address the concerns of the people, and to give them more room to play on, the remainder of the battle field was to be maintained as a putting green in the upcoming season. The rest of the in game land was also to be sustained as short and clean cut as possible. Keeping up with this request required a 4 day start to finish battle with the growing number of grass soldiers and specialized weed infantry. This battle would be fought in closer intervals during the warm, wet, and sunny summer months that were to follow.  

During the spring months, one can get away with only fighting this battle once before the opening Masque Ball event during Beltane in May. This is due to the fact that most of Winter's run off is still flowing and the lawn is just waking up to shake off its rest phase.

Lawn maintenance at this point required traversing the lawn to collect downed sticks and tree limbs that may have had a tumble with gravity during the off season. The completion of this task provides a simple stock of tinder and fire starters that one can use for heat and light: + Survival BONUS

The beginnings of Bandit Camp's Shag Carpet.

The Fight Pit in it's Spring Shag

It is not long until the entire Faire is covered with a layer of thick hair. Again the idea was to postpone the first cutting until near the first event to minimize the growing expense lost to the land battle fund. 

When the time came before Masque of 2013 and '14, any tract of land able to be mowed by the Rider was to be completed as priority. Then as time presented itself, I was to go back and trim around all borders paying close attention to details and how I could shape the land with maintenance. This land maintenance game acquired the name Elvin Magic down the road to represent how some elves are depicted in games and stories to be in tune with nature so much as to have the power to shape and encourage growth of the environment in which they live. Well this game allowed you to do just that... only in a real time setting.

There was a lot of playable area that was unsuited for the rider and even push mowing. Thus two and a half days was allotted to trim the entirety of the playable area every time the Faire needed to have its hair cut. Every bolder, every stump, every tree, and every structure would be outlined by a weed whipping device.

As time consuming as this process was, I actually enjoyed the 2.5 day whipping challenge. Covering that much area encouraged one to pass a strength and safety check: holding the weed eater up for 8-10 hours at a time. There would be time for reprieve when one would run out of whipping thread or completely empty the gasoline reservoir. If one did not have the kit nearby which consisted of plastic wire, wire cutters, one gallon of gasoline oil mix, ear plugs, and eye protection, one could give your arms a change and haul the weed eater back to the shop for a water, fuel, and bathroom break before heading back out into the thick of it. 

The summer state of the Bandit Camp Berm.

There was an idea I had the early 2014 season that if kept up, would cut off the need to weed eat around all the trees and berms of Bandit Camp, thus saving a half of days worth of time and about one gas reservoir fill up of fuel. However due to the portal closure, this was unable to be maintained and feels much a wasted effort. However, had the season gone on as expected, I’m certain this would have worked out to its intent. I will discuss further the beginnings of this project and its requirements further along in the Blog when we reach that time in the story.

Additional perspective of how fast the grass can get away from the grounds-keep. June 2010-Photo Credit to David Laime

During the off event weeks, the Faire was left to its own devices, given free range to grow until the next need came around. However, with the summer months right around the corner, that time became more and more frequent. 

Additional perspective of how fast the grass can get away from the grounds-keep. June 2010-Photo Credit to David Laime

To be fair, the area around the tavern yard and battle field were maintained at a more regular interval at once every two weeks no matter what the state, For this area was to be the feature and where the visitors would spend the most time. Occasionally, during periods of heavy rainfall followed by two days of sun, even this two week interval proved to be too far apart, and you just had to bite the bullet and mow the grass again even though you swore you just mowed it three days ago.

Troll Bridge as it stood pre-mow 2011 season. Some time in the future this bridge would go on to receive roped guidelines for safety and looks. Photo credit to David Laime

Walking all the way out to the Parking Lot, crossing the threshold into the land of Britannia Faire, one can see the impression it would give to first time visitors were something as trivial as the parking lot left  unmaintained. ****As far as I have ever been a guest on Britannia Faire's soil, one has always been greeted by the sight of the white Bobcat here to give first timers a confused yet wonderful first glimpse into the world.****  

"These are the Faire's Entrance Guardians; really they are."

This rock structure was erected July of 2013 on top of a stump that is part of a hard to maintain inclined area that marks the front of the parking spaces. In the background of the photo one can see the effect trimmed grass has on this area. Sadly, no more pictures exist of the happening of the parking lot. There was a few things that went on in this area this season. The edges of the lot became more defined, while there was metal in the form of steel, harvested from the soils underneath. The water's edge located a few steps in front of this structure also became a hot spot for gravel and rock harvesting. In addition, sometime near October the land would acquire the TimberKing Saw Mill, back from top side unsold to reside once again within the lower lands. 

Around this area, to the right of the bridge's end, is a huge bramble patch. This was the closest spot in which to gather berries that didn't involve a walk to the back 40's edge. They would make a wonderful treat if I was to be mowing or trimming in this area. 

This year, mowing and trimming services would extend to the roadway traveling stream-side, that serves as the main path for four wheeled dragons and other vehicles that go on to supply the Tavern with various goods and services.  
 

Stage one: After the mower, before the trimmer. Sadly no Stage two photo for comparison.

 There was also an attempt to keep the stream-side weeds low so that one may have a decent view of the waterway. This hobbled the long reaching thorned weeds and low laying tree branches from draping off the cliffs to encroach upon car paint and the arm, face, or leg of the unaware walker.

This individual right here funded most of the gasoline expense at the Faire during the 2013 season in addition to the many repair parts it took to keep a working home grade lawn mower in shape enough to maintain the diverse yard and lawn features that is the Faire. This was commonplace for Timmourne Darkwater's Avatar the days before a summer event.   

As aforementioned, the tavern yard and the battle field was intended to be the most up kept area at the Faire. This required constant attention in the summer. If one let the grass grow too long before the next cut, the clippings would dry up in the sun and leave a gray tint upon the grass. Not to mention clumps and stray grass clippings would hang to your clothes and stick to your feet, after the dew forms in the valley on cool damp nights. That was great for adventure impression. (Sarcasm)  I would constantly gamble with how soon to trim the grass. If I waited too late, the blades would be long and dry up, but if I cut them too soon, the blades will have had a chance to grow back before the players arrived and the set lost it's sharpness.

However, after two or three days of decay and a bit of rain, the valley floor loses its faded look and pops back into sharp and saturated hues of green. This picture gives segue to a short side story about the charging solar light patch. A few months into the season, Elon would go on to purchase a supply of solar lights valued one dollar per light. During events we could outline a path in light, or put a solar light onto an area with a stump or something that could be potentially hazardous while traversing the Faire lands at night. This lead to a decreased fuel bill, by avoiding the price of diesel fuel to refill the many Tiki torches used to mark those same things in the past. Having the lights recharge between events in one centrally located patch made it better for lawn care. With the lights here, I would not have to worry about whipping a stray one (or four) of them down when they became hidden underneath the growth of the Faire. This process of place and retrieve took a few attempts to manifest itself. For the reason this area would glow at night, it became referred to as the mushroom patch. In addition, if one would hold the light at a certain angle, it could be used as an impromptu flashlight.  

During the summer, I would go on to experience a "been there, done that" feeling with the lawn care project. As aforementioned, the lawn took 4 days to completely level. Periods of heavy rainfall followed by multiple days of full sun and a cool dew in evening's light would be the correct combination for the land to push itself to stretch higher into the sky. Almost overnight one could witness the day's prior five o'clock shadow morph into a thick, full beard of lush grass.    

For the longest time, the Faire did not have a working trimmer. Timmourne left his personal one on loan to the Faire. This would work out for until the beginning of July when the engine just couldn't keep up. It was time to upgrade to a machine that could. It was discussed how necessary a trimmer was to the stage of Britannia Faire and the core group of managers agreed that it needed to be a priority replacement. So after Ragnarok XXIX, Elon would front the money for this commercial grade trimmer.

It is honestly the best trimmer I have ever had the pleasure of using, and I've worked many landscaping jobs in my day. This thing could attack anything. The day I brought it out of the box, it was the sound effect when Link opens a treasure chest and finds something useful in the SNES Game Zelda: A Link to the Past. This trimmer was to be my master sword and I was going to cut the money out of those weeds. ****Sadly, no rupees or life increasing fairies were found during these adventures****  

Anvil mounted a top of Rider. Together their efforts would tame areas in the Back 40.

Ironic that the next picture in line for this story ends up being of my Zelda addicted roommate Anvil. He was to be my company and extra hands at the Faire during June and most of July. It was a wonderful pleasure having him around to help out wherever needed, always with a wonderful smile and a way to make me laugh.
"Every morning I wake up being serenaded by Zelda music... my roommate is an addict and falls asleep to it after I am already sleeping. I am usually the first one up as the day breaks through the small window above the door and falls on my bed. Thus continuous Zelda music on loop fills the airwaves. Not that it is a bad thing... just a daily thing."  - Journal entry of Theowyndwood Keyote dated June 13th 2013

This was not a perspective seen by the regular public. This is from the passage that led from the back of the cabin, garage and woodcutting area; around to the kitchen, and past that to the tavern or garden. 

It feels just the same: when the grasses and wild flowers are trimmed back, off of the immediate work/stage area, my mind has space again to process thoughts of progress. Until the base is maintained at a constant state, there could be no room for additional production elsewhere. Once this level was achieved, one was able to get a 4-5 day stretch of days where one does not have to directly work on the land; longer still if the rains held off.  

This was the look the land had the day before Masque Ball of 2013. The land had been managed and cut just in time for arrivals the following day. The Faire looked so lush with growth at this time and Britannia Faire's Lawn Calvery totally pulled start-to-finish spring lawn maintenance off in three days. This was due to the extra hands involved. Multiple people on the rider, Anvil on the push and myself wielding the current trimmer sword on hand.   

There were multiple ways to cross this drainage crik, that separated the Tavern Yard from the Front Lawn. There was two wooden bridges built over it, the one above remains the vehicle bearing path, along with two naturally placed rock bridges. In well maintained times the risk is low enough where one can jump the banks like Achoo from the movie Robin Hood Men in Tights. For those of you that want the reference (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DmFRZ9jCFc) at time reference 1.21s- 1.35s

This bridge had many outfits throughout the season. Currently the bushy grass was warranted survival to add some contained elevation, texture, and additional spring green to the stage. 

Holding off the trimming right up until Masque meant I would gamble with the grass height to decay ratio. It was three days before an event and the grass was still a dull decaying plague about the water feature. But too many other things needed to be prepped with no extra time to warrant going back and raking out the dead grass. Even the water flow had dried up enough to hinder the natural removal of these trimmings from this feature.

As luck would have it, both good and bad, the day of the event, it would rain. This additional energy naturally whisked some of the dead dry weeds away from the rocks. It still did not contain the striking look a raked bed would have resulted in, but this is how the dice would fall. There was another event in which I missed timed a trimming, but that event I made sure to make time to rake off the dead grass beforehand given that there was no predicted rain for that event weekend. It just looks more of a feature when its trimmed and clean.    

The flowing waters easily melted the dead grass color away and replaced them with sharp, lush, coloring.

It is not advisable to mow the lawn in the rain, as the water give extra resistance to the blades underneath the mower deck and depending on how high the clippings are they could clump within the deck and stall out the engine. Mowing on sloped surfaces while the grass is still wet is also not advisable. The tires may lose grip and the tractor could slide sideways or become in danger of flipping depending on grade or cause deep ruts in the heavily saturated ground. However, weed whipping in the rain has less of a risk. More than once I found myself wielding in the rain, knowing that this was the only time I had to complete the task at hand if I was to get it done on time. More than once I lost my shoe the way mowers may lose their tires in the mud. Good thing this is small scale damage.

Eventually I got smart and vowed to wear only my combat boots into the field during this challenge. I could fully lace them up past my ankle and they had much more traction on slopes and thick grass when compared to my sneakers. The con was that they weighed a few pounds heavier on my feet. Over time, I welcomed the challenge and saw the task as additional leg training.

For true safety in the 2014 season, I found some soccer pads to wear around my shins to ward off the flying rock that is thrown at your legs at painful speeds. Again with portal closure, I was unable to use my armor level up for this game. 
I only wore one pair of pants for weed trimming, knowing the chloroform would back lash and stain my jeans with its life-force. In the late or early of August, the sun was high for three days and so were the weeds; I wore these pants through so much mascara that they actually stood erect by themselves after I had vacated them on the third day, rigid with plant matter.

How I love my job. It allows for such creative play. This day I played the Stag of Britannia Faire defending the Realm from invasive vegetation take over. Reward for completing this challenge: Stronger arms and laterals muscles, (+Strength exp) and (+Endurance exp) for fighting the battle two 8-10 hour days in a row.

Common look after a day of trimmin'

About half way through the season, I began to play another game with myself. I would race my previous lawn trimming time to see if I could begin to weed eat the Faire faster and faster as the lands were tamed and condensed. I was excited late summer when I was able to get the trim time into two days worth when it had previously taken two and half of day three's time. This mentality is how I approach the once grueling task of weed eating the lawn: by turning it into a game of attack, defense, and strength training whenever I wield a weed whip.  

On days I listen to music, its energy would go on to encourage an extra rhythm in my step. This allowed me to double dip and train how to shift energy within my body with additional objects encouraging certain movements. By encouraging myself to remain mobile this added training allowed me to take that practice and shift it over to hoop dancing or fighting footwork. There were added benefits all over for doing work.

At the far end of the battle field past the entrance to the swimming hole, a very narrow road appears in the form of a causeway. This was the barrier in between Britannia Faire's Medieval Adventure and the portal entrance into Britannia Faire's Post Apocalyptic lands of destruction and rune. This naturally formed set would be the perfect stage to shift Britannia Faire into a different reality of Paintball LARPs with the potential for proper range training of firearms with instructors. But that is the beginning of another adventure. Let us end enjoying the beauty of our medieval fantasy land.    

 

Chapter 8: Tales of Ruin and Restoration - The Back 40 Badlands

At the far end of the battle field, past the entrance to the swimming hole, a very narrow road appears in the form of a causeway. This was the barrier between Britannia Faire's Medieval Adventure and the portal entrance to Britannia Faire's land of destruction and ruin.

The Back 40 was site for the largest restoration project of the season. Efforts spanned over the entire 2013 season and into spring of '14, with still much more progress to be made before this area of land would be up for public use. Given the initial state of neglect the Back 40 was in, I personally accepted the challenge to do as much as I was physically able to restore bits of the Back 40 to a usable state for more things than wood storage and dragon parking.

Mid season, there was talk about individuals hosting paintball LARPs and I myself wanted to to design an agility course and set up a long firearm and bow range in the vast open area of the back field. Therefore, having the Back 40 usable, was a pertinent thing to spend time on. In the recesses of my mind, my long term goal was to shift this area into a Post Apocalyptic Set complete with ideas on how to alter the Tavern to host alternate games in that setting. 

In years prior the Back 40 would only have been used for wood harvesting, storage, and additional parking when required. As aforementioned in a previous post, the Back 40 is home to mounds and piles of wooded slates left over from a logging harvest that took place the year before Reddwyck bought the land. This is but one tiny hidden pile of wood. There were at least 4 more mounds, most of them at least 3 times the size of the one pictured here. When talk of the Post-Apocalyptic Paintball LARP were on the design table, there was thought to construct natural barriers, obstacles, and paths all over the back field out of the wood naturally provided from these piles. However, the people involved in hosting the event backed out, and these designs were never able to become reality.   

The Back 40 held an additional resource that I was to exploit throughout the season. In addition to the vast number of bramble patches in the Back 40, this centrally located saw dust pile of epic proportions is composed of remains left over from the logging company. Some of this deposit would be used to pad the feet of those who danced around the multiple fire rings in addition the base of many Bandit Camp trees, in attempt to deter weed growth.

Some of this deposit was laden heavy with oil residue from the mechanical components of the lumbering equipment. On wet days, one can see the plume of oil sludge that slowly makes its way downward towards the stream. When wet, the dark gray dust turns into a slick, saturated, sink hole for truck tires and feet alike. Beware. 

Initial State: After I was settled into the Tavern and first crossed the barrier to the Back 40 in June of 2013, I took my initial assessment of the back acreage from a land management perspective. What first struck my eye was the grass… well weeds at this point… past mid-calf, decorated with windblown garbage strewn all about the field. This included milk and oil jugs, plastic food bags, broken plastic bins, aluminum beer cans, tin foil, glass bottles, mason jars, horse tack, and metal scrap.

As I traversed the land, my eyes took note of additional areas that needed restoration. There was a fallen down shack of a house, an additional tool shed for storing the most obscure things, a crippled and buried with growth and sadly the remnants of an incinerator pile and the beginnings of a poorly managed landfill.

There is no picture of this state as the initial sight is something that I didn’t think there should be record of. 

This capture is of the Back 40 as I last saw her right before I left at the end of May 2014. I will forever see much potential and give her many thanks for the resources she provided during my stay at the Tavern Outpost.

Also buried among the tall grass, were downed trees, bits of scrap milled lumber, mounds of dirt, and hidden holes that would swallow your mower.

The above photo was taken at the very end of Britannia Faire's reach at the far end of the Back 40. In the image you can see the framing to Mac’s shack. (Remember the fire walker from Volume 2, at one point he had plans on living permanently at the Faire.) With the help of Roake McFeelgood, this structure would be erected. This assembly was raided for its siding materials and a few non-load-bearing posts, but the structure still stands, with sturdy cement poured footings. There was thought of using this as one of the bases for the paintball course we had in mind, after we fortified it a bit mind you. 

After the windblown plastic and paper products were removed from the grasses, the first mow job of the season was to commence. Anvil and I would take on this task. Near to Mac's shack the land was so disrupted and bumpy that we could not use the riding mower. Thus, the push mower had to be equipped for the area above in the far back. This was both a good and a bad thing. The pro: (+Improved Vision) scouting the downed trees, stumps, and PVC tubing buried in the field. This is also a defense bonus to Rider (the mower) as he avoids ramming or running (attack) them over while damage (-HP) to his deck may ensues. The con: the push mower required an unreasonable amount of effort to use because the self propelled feature had malfunctioned. (+Strength)/(-Strength)  

After an entire day of lawn care and a gallon and a half of water later, the Back 40 would go on to have its first hair cut of the season. After the initial mow job, we brought Princer (the character name of the truck) around the back field to collect all the spare objects found within the once overgrown grass.   

The downed trees were cut up by chainsaw and its 16" pieces brought back with us to the splitting station (+Surival BONUS)(+Woodcutting exp) while the already processed and rotting lumber, was to be burned in situ, center field (+firemaking exp). With so many other areas to harvest wood stock, there was no need to save these rotting pieces. Burning them while working on the Back 40 would reduced them to ash thus decreasing the space they once took up, and we could keep an eye on the flame pile while we were completing the remainder of our field clearing task. There was more than one burning session that took place in the Back 40. It was on days like these that Fire Jenga and was implemented for an afternoon of fun filled labor. (+fire bending)(+heat resistance)

Clearing the 40 field required perseverance, patience, and oh my goodness, So. Much. Gas. The weed eater, rider, push mower, chainsaw, and truck were all utilized in this project, each requiring a certain chemical to provide energy. The riding mower was a champ! It took on weeds up to its headlights with only a bit of protest, and successfully navigated around huge holes, mild bumps, and hidden obstructions. For the reason the mowing deck didn’t sit straight during this process, some of the lawn required two passes to fully rid the intended area of all its inhabitants. Ideally, the Faire just needs a commercial grade mower with a brush hog attachment, but one can keep dreamin' about that fantasy; as many more levels need to be unlocked for that to have been a thing. That's like a level 75 achievement prize for the Faire's character when so few people play with her and increase her exp.   

When the staff realized that the paintball LARPs were no longer in a rush to become a thing, the Back 40 got a more relaxed time table. There was no need to spend time and resources keeping play area no one else was going to see, looking as sharp as one would the medieval setting. Therefore the edges of piles and objects were allowed to grow wild once again. This is how things would be until the growth began to dwindle in Fall and die back during the beginning of November.

During the initial metal harvest from the field floor in early summer, Anvil and I came across two baby Copperhead snakes living underneath a piece of metal. Knowing that these Copperheads would grow to be poisonous adults, we made the joint decision to dispose of them. Given that both Anvil and I have adversities to the "killing just to kill mentality" we both vowed that we would harvest whatever meat we could from the snakes as to not have wasted their energy and consume them into our bodies. In addition, Anvil kept and tanned the snake skin to either use in future project or to barter off in trade; whichever came first.   

When seasoned with the correct spices, the Copperhead meat tasted surprisingly like chicken. That might have been influenced by the chicken wing eating style one had to adapt while stripping the meat from the bones. While cooking and even hours after death, the snake and many other reptile nervous systems are still intact. So don't be freaked out if the body tries to curl around your arm when your trying to skin it, in addition to attempting to standing erect and coiling around while searing in whatever pan you choose to fry it in, because that totally happens.  

As mentioned in my initial assessment, I noticed many piles of trash and ruin located around the 40 acreage, where the storage shed and two locations of fallen down buildings remained. Ideally, this area would have to be more contained and its trash properly dealt with if this area was ever to be presentable for public game. 

And with that thought I began picking and burning my way through the structures within the area.

As it turns out Drakus, the Woodsfield local, and Laura Delli would come out to the Faire and help me start containing this project. As we would sort through the downed material, we would begin to harvest beams and poles that were still usable with thoughts of reusing the resource further down the road. 

As we were sorting through the rubble, some metal artifacts struck our eye. On left we have a tool used for canning and to the right is part of a detailed metal hinge.    

Any additional random object that was found among the tall grass or within the confines of the ruin were taken off of the field of restorative play and placed in piles of similar objects. Sheet metal, mason jars, bricks, tires, and horse tack seemed to be the most common objects other than wood that was taken off the site. Any rotting or broken wood would be burned in a pile right at the end of the area in attempt to reduce the amount of wasted space. There is still a pretty decent foundation located under the ruin pile but, there much that needs to be done within that area to warrant building a new structure atop of it. The idea was that this area would host the second base of the Paintball course. 

One can see the groupings of unusable resources that was piling up quickly.

As the weather took a turn for the cold and events no longer took place, again there would be zero rush to complete progress on the medieval setting. By late fall the grass had stopped growing and the lawn was well maintained. The days grew frigged and I managed to stay warm naturally by layering up and moving to produce additional heat. The end of the season project was to harvest additional metal scrap that was scattered around most of the Back 40 that was too overgrown with foliage to seek in the summer months. 

After the foliage dies back on can see the remnants of yet another downed structure and additional precut logs for harvesting.

This project became quite the scavenger hunt with hidden pieces of metal buried all over the overgrown land. It was quite the surprise what items were found within the overgrowth. There was a tractor bucket and heavy metal treads for the bobcat, metal barrels, additional metal drainage piping, multiple pieces of tin roofing scraps, and an engine block just to name a few.

Once a path of access to the area next to the storage shed, which just happened to hold the largest amount of buried metal, was forged, almost an entire fall day was utilized harvesting hidden metal from this area alone. 

At the very end of the season in late Fall, the idea was had to bring this area's restoration project to its completion. After the first snow had fallen and the foliage had shrunk back to manageable levels, this area began to be cleared of its overgrowth. Again everything that could be burned to reduce its its space was. This additionally provided heat for a cold day's work. 

By the end of two full days of laboring in this area, the once thick forest of vines, trees, and weeds, would be tamed and cleared to look like the capture below. Given that this area now had all of this additional space in which to store things, all tires, plastic tubing, in addition to the unpictured, 24 buckets of white sand that Elon brought in from the Upper Michigan lands, were stored in this location. For reason that the engine block was too heavy to lift with two individuals and the metal drainage pipe was too long to transport, they sadly kept residence exactly where we had discovered them.  

All scrap steel and any other random metal was taken to a scrap yard located 30mins west of the Faire. All plastic, glass, and aluminum was sorted and taken to the appropriate recycling facilities, while the 7 black bags of garbage that resulted from this Back 40 clean up were taken to the dump to be properly disposed of using the funds generated from the sites metal scrap proceeds. 

Taking the time to properly sort and recycle any metal one comes in contact with is fairly profitable, and typically pays for the gas required to drive the scrap to the nearest site with surplus. 

A capture of the local metal yard.

I had mentioned in my initial traverse around the back lands the findings of an incinerator pile and evidence of a landfill. My restoration efforts went on to include their areas too. I made sure to wear gloves and dig through the garbage of the landfill, recycling what I was able and then properly disposing the additional garbage within black garbage bags. It was from here that 6 out of 7 bags of Back 40 dumpster bound trash was generated. While the landfill pit was opened, it received the remainder of the incinerator pile's twisted glass and contaminated dirt. Since the fill had already done its damage to the land, I felt that by removing this exposed pile of matter to be relocated within the fill would be the lesser of two evils.

The burnt rubble was transferred and hauled by hand in buckets to the fill area. This was the last project of the 2013 season and the whole process felt a symbol of progress that had been made in the season that had passed. With the refilling of the landfill, it felt as though I was literally filling the hole the land of Britannia Faire was sinking into, and that next season we could start on level and flat ground. Sadly, the landfill never did get properly refilled with the dirt that was piled alongside the hole to deter future use. There just wasn't enough spare time at that point. 

With so much having been competed in this last season alone, I was excited to see what unplanned progress was to be made next season on this restoration project. If anything the ruin of the Back 40 felt more contained, and any rubbish that could be disposed of was taken off site. The land finally felt like it was beginning to heal.   

The following Spring would find the land growing well in areas that had been restored and maintained. The ground was mostly cleared of debris from our efforts last season and there was much less on the restoration to-do list. Once again gears began to turn on how the Faire was to use this land that was more up to public viewing than I had ever seen her in the entire time I have been associated with her. 

By the end of this season, there would be a gun and a long distance bow range that faced the far wall in the middle of the 40, the beginnings of an agility course made from recycled wood and tires harvested the previous year, and there were to be barriers constructed out of piles of wood placed in strategic locations about the open field. Yes, this would make the field a bit more difficult to maintain, mowing and trimming around all the piles, but it would be worth the additional area of game play. However, given portal closure, these plans will forever remain a fantasy trapped within my head. 

Even though this area of the Back 40 holds a lot of unfinished projects for me, I am still grateful for the time I was able to spend on restoring the land. If anything, the land seems to be in a much better place because of it. Nature is incredibly resilient, and will continue to carry on and adapt to whatever situation it finds itself in. However, being the Native American Half Elf that I am, it will forever remain a warming feeling trying to convert land back to the homeostatic relationship it possessed before humans began to alter its path.   

This is where the incinerator pile was located the previous season. It continues to recover slowly.