"Not so much, as it turns out," Michelle said. She waved at the island around them. "Sadly, there aren't any trees here. So no wood to burn for fuel. So this peat is a godsend."
It was clear, though, that Kate had no idea what Michelle was so excited about. No surprise, really. She'd had idea that it existed or what it was good for until Ceirdwyn had taught her. Growing up in modern Seattle, she'd no use for the information. How much less did Kate have, coming from New York City?
"Centuries or millennia of accumulated plant material. It doesn't decay in the bog, it just piles up and compresses. Bury this under enough earth for a few million years and it would turn into coal eventually," Michelle said. "Fortunately, we don't have to wait for that. We can mine it, dry it, and use it like coal now."
But there was nothing to do with it at the moment. Finding the tools to cut and mine it, and a way to move it--a wheelbarrow would be nice--to where it could be dried and then used would have to wait. They still had rabbits to find. Time to move on.
There were no trees on the island, but there was brush. Tall grass or shrubs. They were carefully approaching one such area sometime later when Michelle stopped. "Is that a rabbit over there?" she asked Kate.