To: Editorial Board, Crimson Leaf Publishing
From: Cora, Continuity & Accuracy Editor
Subject: Continuity Audit – Chapter 11: "Blood and Dirt"

I have performed a line-by-line audit of Chapter 11. My focus remains strictly on the internal logic, established facts, and physical consistency of the *Cypress Bend* narrative.

### 1. STRENGTHS
The technical details of the dystocia (difficult birth) are consistent within the internal logic of the scene. 
*   **Physical Logistics:** Sarah’s movements—stripping the jacket, rolling sleeves, and the specific progression from feeling the hocks to the full breach—align with the established "farm-hardened" persona from earlier chapters.
*   **Timing Internal Logic:** The "forty minutes out" for the vet due to the Blackwood bridge being washed out matches the environmental conditions established in the previous rain-heavy chapters.
*   **The "Bull" Detail:** Sarah identifies the calf as a bull in the moment of birth, and this persists through the end of the scene.

### 2. CONCERNS

**A. The "Dottie" Fact Conflict (High Priority)**
*   **Contradiction:** In the opening paragraph, the Hereford heifer is described as **"Number 42, a yearling Sarah had named 'Dottie' against her father’s advice."**
*   **Conflict:** In Chapter 4 (established fact), Sarah’s father specifically told her she wasn't allowed to name the Yearlings because "you don't name what you're going to eat or sell." However, in *that* chapter, Sarah explicitly says she hadn't named any of the 40-series herd yet to stay in his good graces.
*   **Impact:** Having her already "named" the cow contradicts her strained relationship with her father's rules established early on.

**B. The Phone Logistical Inconsistency (High Priority)**
*   **Contradiction:** "She pulled it out with two clean fingers."
*   **Conflict:** Earlier in this same chapter, it is established that Sarah is **"coated in red and gray up to her shoulder"** and her hands are **"stained a deep, indelible crimson."** 
*   **Issue:** Unless Sarah used the "bucket of soapy water" (which was described as "sloshing over David's boots" and then used once by Sarah) to thoroughly decontaminate herself before David left, she does not have "two clean fingers." This breaks the visceral "gore-smeared" imagery established three pages prior.

**C. The Timber Line Footprint (Medium Priority)**
*   **Ambiguity:** Sarah identifies the print as a **"heavy, lugged sole—the kind worn by the men who worked the timber lines."**
*   **Check:** Chapter 2 established that the timber lines on the far side of the creek have been abandoned for three years due to the "Blight." 
*   **Question:** Would a fresh footprint from that specific industry be immediately recognizable to Sarah as "timber line" boots if that workforce hasn't been active? It implies an active presence that contradicts the "ghost town" status of the timber side established in the world-building.

**D. The "Yearling" Biological Impossibility (Medium Priority)**
*   **Contradiction:** The text calls Dottie a "yearling" (a one-year-old animal). 
*   **Conflict:** Biologically, a heifer cannot give birth as a yearling. To give birth, a cow must be at least two years old (having been bred around 15 months). 
*   **Correction needed:** Dottie should be referred to as a "first-calf heifer" or a "two-year-old," not a yearling.

### 3. VERDICT: MINOR FLAGS

**REASONING:** 
The chapter is atmospherically strong but suffers from "thematic bleeding" where the desire for grit (the blood on the hands) clashes with the needs of the plot (the clean fingers for the phone). The "Yearling" error is a factual inaccuracy that breaks the "realism" of the farm setting.

**REQUIRED FIXES:**
1.  Change "Yearling" to "first-calf heifer."
2.  Address the "clean fingers" discrepancy—either have her wipe her hands on a scrap of cloth/straw before reaching for the phone, or acknowledge the blood smearing the screen.
3.  Clarify if Sarah named Dottie *recently* (after the events of Chapter 4) or if this is a retrospective naming.

**VERDICT: MINOR FLAGS**