It begins. The cow has been named, and now must undergo the rite of passage of its tribe: the claiming of the outer shell.
Mick begins, under the watchful eye of his elders, to measure his vines:
He marks them off with crude symbols so as not to become confused and make a mistake:
Once that is done, he begins to tie them around himself in intricate patterns. These patterns act as natural camouflage against predators such as the infamous Limp Noodle and the Massive Lump, and a cow's skill in weaving them can impress potential mates:
These designs, however pretty, are not practical to allow him to move. Therefore after a few confusing inches Mick moves to the traditional plait of his people, the Herring Bone:
This continues for many feet, the strain of effort forcing Mick to take regular breaks, in which the tribal Elders bugger off for a cup of tea:
Further and further the plait goes, straight and smooth:
The anticipation builds as the end is neared...:
Midnight passes, the overlay is done, and the exhausted cow takes a well-deserved break:
To compact his new adult form Mick goes back to the rocky flats of his youth and rolls around in the dust, then returns to The Landing:
The elders look on in amazement, saying "a cow without a twist! Sacrilege!". But one speaks up for Mick; "this cow is not like any other. Born of love from a son to a father, raised in ardour, he may be different to you but his spirit allows him to fly with the strength and speed of two of you combined". And with that, the mysterious stranger bestowed upon Mick a belt of copper to protect him further, and laid him down to bed:
Early the next morning Mick woke to find a strange prosthetic attached to him. Realising it was a makeshift handle, of the kind that would allow him to fly, he leapt out of bed to tumble his way across the great Grass Plains outside the village. Never was he happier, as his new body glided smoothly through the air. With quick motions, he could make the very tip of his tail echo like a shout in the mountains:
And so, with a heavy heart Mick left his village to search the wilderness for his very own handle, knowing that he would only be complete when he found it.
Thank you all so much for indulging my madness, it's been much more fun building a whip when I can share it with you lot
. Episode 6: Flight will probably be some time coming, so don't wait too expectantly, but the whip section is finished. Just to run over the specs, it's a 6ft 14 plait 1 belly cow whip, with a TT shot-loaded core and a six-point fall hitch. It's pretty beefy for its length and I think a weighted fall might be in order when I can get some ball chain, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. My strand drops on this one have been my best ever, and it flows very well.
