Any animal can be loving, timid, cautious, or cowardly…right up until you try to kill it. Then all animals, from the meanest to the most mighty, open their own purple testament with abandon. So it was this time. My first jab is aimed at the creature’s body. It bites flesh just below the shoulder. As […]
My first spear will be a conifer branch of my own height. That’s a bit long, as I’m 1.9 cm tall. That’s fine. Reach is more important than compactness right now. To make the spear, I must first find a spearhead. I’ve sharpened the tip with the stone axe, but this tip will do little […]
Ok. Me vs. the Marsh, Round Two. I scaled the decline in early morning, leaving behind my collection of leather and hooks. If I’m delayed, the rain may wash out my equipment. While I hate risking this, it’s better to store materials. I created a small break out of rocks that should shield the bindle […]
There are no clean ways to kill a carcass while nude, ankle-deep in mud, surrounded by flies, with no tools. I will not try to dress up the occasion. I’ve dragged the carcass up the hill to a flatter plain with thicker mud. I lay down fronds of the nearby barrel-shaped plants, along with some […]
It looks like a thinner-skinned cousin to a crocodile, though it’s only the size of a dog. Its eyes are on the top of its head, unshielded by thick skin. It reminds me also of a salamander, but somewhat larger. Its jaw is rounded like an alligator, though its teeth are small. It emerges from […]
The sun’s finished rising. The air is thick with humidity, stale from the excesses of CO2. As I wander down the decline, I see conifer trees through the mist. I tread over pine cones the size of my hand. There are short, stumpy trees, barrel-like in the trunk with fronds of evergreen leaves. The trees […]