September already. "Summer's almost gone; winter's comin' on," he whistled. Not that he'd be going anywhere. This job was the kind of work that he enjoyed doing, when he enjoyed working. Mostly, however, he enjoyed fishing and hunting in the back woods. With all the game native to this part of Europe steadily drifting into the forests inside the Ring of Fire, and no game wardens to chase him off, he just didn't know what kind of animal he might come home with on any given day. But while the competition was up, a lot of folks didn't have the passion for hunting like him. The backwoods folks always had poached to fill the pot; now it was just a bit easier to get away with it. Hunting could be profitable if you knew a farmer. Hell, you could get paid just to watch his fields and fill your game bag at the same time! Still, he'd promised his wife Phyllis that he'd stick with this job for Brother Enriquez until it was finished. Getting on the wrong side of Phyllis was never a good idea.