Journal 106

I stepped off the steps into the snow. Jonas was close behind and he didn’t look thrilled about having to go on our little expedition. Jonas mumbled something about hating the cold. At least the two of us were on the same page. I hate the cold too. I asked Jonas where he would like to go first. He looked left then he looked right. Then he looked left and then he looked right. A couple more moments of contemplation and we walked off towards the farms on the edge of town. It would have been a waste of time to go searching for food in town. No one will set up a kiosk when the weather is cold.

Farmers are a rare breed, and they take their farming very seriously. Bear Country’s agriculture club provides most of our food. We don’t have everything we need. For example, Bear Country doesn’t have chickens. A good laying chicken is worth its weight in gold. Getting an egg on the open market is almost impossible. You must know someone to get eggs. (Any kind of egg, Chicken or otherwise) Another thing that is hard to find is real milk. A few farms will sell milk from their cows, sheep, and goats but you are going to pay a very hefty price. Beware of anything sold on the open market claiming to be milk. If you are going to purchase milk, buy it from a farmer and insist on a little sip. You don’t want to buy milk that has been sitting around in a bucket for two or three days.

The first two farm doors we knocked on had nothing to trade. By this time, I was freezing to death. I was almost ready to tell Jonas I wanted to go back home to Bear Country. Jonas and I had been out in the cold for two hours. The third farm looked a little more promising from a distance. We could see smoke coming from more than one of the buildings and a few people walking around outside doing chores. An active farm usually means a working farm and food to barter.

We almost made it to the main house when I heard someone ask us if we were lost.