Agricultural work continued still in autumn. Not later than in the Middle Ages people started to dry grain in a riihi – a building warmed up with a sauna oven. After drying, the grain was threshed, cleaned and ground, either all at once or gradually during the autumn and the winter as the need arose. Turnips were lifted in September. Trees of the areas that were to be burn-beaten next spring were usually felled in Autumn.
The cattle grazed outdoors until the end of September when it was taken into the barns. At this time, a good deal of the cattle was slaughtered and the meat was conserved by smoking, drying or salting. Blood and skins were also kept. Sheep’s wool was at its best right after the grazing season. Reeds were cut on the seashore and added to the cattle feed.
Fishing and hunting probably continued in Autumn. For example, Baltic herring was caught near outer islands. Big fish were also caught with a fish spear at nights in shallow waters. As the daylight decreased in October, more and more ringed seals got stuck in seal nets.
LANDSCAPE AND ENVIRONMENT
