28 Jun 2019, 01:51
Gardening for Money
Katrina trudged down to the campgrounds, everyone was packing up yet she still wanted to make a bit of money. So she was here, ready to do some gardening. She was notified that she needed to water the flowers, plant a few bulbs around the edge of the lake, collect a few baskets of apples, carrots, and blueberries, and prune the bushes beside the lake. She arrived at the lakeside and found that there was a note left beside a basket filled with gardening equipment. The note read what she already knew, the tasks that needed to be done, and that equipment was provided.
She peered in the basket and found that it included the gloves, the bulbs that needed to be planted, clippers, and a water pail already filled. She decided to start with the watering. She grabbed the basket and searched for some flowers that needed to be watered. She didn’t have to search far- soon she found a field of Garden Cosmos, she recognized them from her mom’s own garden. She poured the pail onto the flowers until her arm ached, the pail continued to magically refill itself. Still she continued lifting up the bucket to continue to pour. If they could magically make a bucket stay full, why couldn’t they make it light?
Eventually all of the bright flowers were watered and she decided it was time to plant the bulbs. Katrina found that there was not a spot that was cleared for the new flowers. There was only a bed of dead tulips. She pulled up a root ball and found the Tulips had become infested with mold. There is certainly not a way to bring these back to life! She kneeled on the ground and started pulling up the tulips. Each tulip was beyond growing back again.
After what must have been nearly an hour, she had pulled up all of the flowers and tilled the soil by hand. Katrina sat back, arms aching, head pounding, and back tweaked. She wondered if this was worth the money. She stood and stretched- starting off to the basket holding the new bulbs. She carefully packed each bulb into the soil and watered each one. The ground looked as it did before, but there was a pile of dead flowers off to the side.
Katrina trudged over to the gardens holding the basket in one hand and a pair of clippers in the other. She remembered that she had to harvest the apples and blueberries. It wasn’t hard to find the leaning trees overflowing with apples. She could reach only a small percentage of the apples, the rest she had to get via the thick branches. She stretched over and grabbed each apple by hand. At one point she realized the basket was not only one, in fact it was nearly twenty large baskets that filled more than they seemed. She climbed all over the apple tree getting splinters all over her hands and ruining her cloak. Finally the tree was done- she had about ten more to collect.
On about the sixth tree, she misjudged a branch and it snapped in half. She hung by one arm, petrified still. Her hand slipped and she took a tumble to the ground. Holding her arm, she continued to pick the apples being careful to not move her arm too much. Katrina was lucky, soon her arm was fine again, only a little bit tender if she hit it. She finally picked the trees clean. The baskets were laden with apples, it was now time for her to pick the blueberries.
She found the blueberry patch and promptly began to pick more blueberries. She picked the first row in about ten minutes— the time it took to pick the bushes increased rapidly. Her arms were so sore and her legs threatened to collapse when she finally finished. It became to monotonous that time seemed to fly by. Soon the bushes were almost empty.
Soon Katrina headed over to bushes she needed to trim. She picked up the clippers and fitted the gloves back on. She clipped and clipped and the bushes looked the same. She hand picked the dead flowers off and placed the on a new pile. Katrina couldn’t feel her arms anymore. She was so tired now- all she wants to do is sleep.
Katrina snapped to focus when she heard some rustling in the undergrowth. She leaped back and saw the rustling belonged to something rather small. Creeping forward with shaking hands she caught a glimpse of a snake. She settled down and continued to clip the bushes. She saw the snake again a few times but she wasn’t nearly as scared. She carefully trimmed the bushes. This was the most rewarding of the tasks she had done. The change was more obvious, you could see the progress that had been made.
She glanced over the list of what needed to be done. At once she realized that she had forgotten to collect carrots. She meandered around until she found the carrot patch. By now she was so sore and aching that it was hard to walk. She collapsed and crawled on her hands and knees to pull the carrots from the ground. Each carrot she brushed off the dirt and put into the last basket she had empty. Luckily the carrot patch was much smaller than the other patches of vegetables so she was sure the carrots was all fit. After about a quarter of an hour she had finished the carrots and left the patch mostly clean of plants.
On her way back to the rest of the baskets she noticed a flower patch overgrown with weeds. She reluctantly bent down and began to pull the weeds out. That moment reminded her with the last time she would ever garden with her mom. No, she would not think of that! She refocused herself on the unneeded plants.
Finally she was done. Katrina stood shaking by the full bags of carrots, blueberries, and apples. A pile of pulled weeds was to her side and the gloves and clippers sat on the ground by her feet. Next time I will not do all of this hard work by myself. She drug herself back to Hogwarts.
Katrina exits the thread
WC: 1054/1000
She peered in the basket and found that it included the gloves, the bulbs that needed to be planted, clippers, and a water pail already filled. She decided to start with the watering. She grabbed the basket and searched for some flowers that needed to be watered. She didn’t have to search far- soon she found a field of Garden Cosmos, she recognized them from her mom’s own garden. She poured the pail onto the flowers until her arm ached, the pail continued to magically refill itself. Still she continued lifting up the bucket to continue to pour. If they could magically make a bucket stay full, why couldn’t they make it light?
Eventually all of the bright flowers were watered and she decided it was time to plant the bulbs. Katrina found that there was not a spot that was cleared for the new flowers. There was only a bed of dead tulips. She pulled up a root ball and found the Tulips had become infested with mold. There is certainly not a way to bring these back to life! She kneeled on the ground and started pulling up the tulips. Each tulip was beyond growing back again.
After what must have been nearly an hour, she had pulled up all of the flowers and tilled the soil by hand. Katrina sat back, arms aching, head pounding, and back tweaked. She wondered if this was worth the money. She stood and stretched- starting off to the basket holding the new bulbs. She carefully packed each bulb into the soil and watered each one. The ground looked as it did before, but there was a pile of dead flowers off to the side.
Katrina trudged over to the gardens holding the basket in one hand and a pair of clippers in the other. She remembered that she had to harvest the apples and blueberries. It wasn’t hard to find the leaning trees overflowing with apples. She could reach only a small percentage of the apples, the rest she had to get via the thick branches. She stretched over and grabbed each apple by hand. At one point she realized the basket was not only one, in fact it was nearly twenty large baskets that filled more than they seemed. She climbed all over the apple tree getting splinters all over her hands and ruining her cloak. Finally the tree was done- she had about ten more to collect.
On about the sixth tree, she misjudged a branch and it snapped in half. She hung by one arm, petrified still. Her hand slipped and she took a tumble to the ground. Holding her arm, she continued to pick the apples being careful to not move her arm too much. Katrina was lucky, soon her arm was fine again, only a little bit tender if she hit it. She finally picked the trees clean. The baskets were laden with apples, it was now time for her to pick the blueberries.
She found the blueberry patch and promptly began to pick more blueberries. She picked the first row in about ten minutes— the time it took to pick the bushes increased rapidly. Her arms were so sore and her legs threatened to collapse when she finally finished. It became to monotonous that time seemed to fly by. Soon the bushes were almost empty.
Soon Katrina headed over to bushes she needed to trim. She picked up the clippers and fitted the gloves back on. She clipped and clipped and the bushes looked the same. She hand picked the dead flowers off and placed the on a new pile. Katrina couldn’t feel her arms anymore. She was so tired now- all she wants to do is sleep.
Katrina snapped to focus when she heard some rustling in the undergrowth. She leaped back and saw the rustling belonged to something rather small. Creeping forward with shaking hands she caught a glimpse of a snake. She settled down and continued to clip the bushes. She saw the snake again a few times but she wasn’t nearly as scared. She carefully trimmed the bushes. This was the most rewarding of the tasks she had done. The change was more obvious, you could see the progress that had been made.
She glanced over the list of what needed to be done. At once she realized that she had forgotten to collect carrots. She meandered around until she found the carrot patch. By now she was so sore and aching that it was hard to walk. She collapsed and crawled on her hands and knees to pull the carrots from the ground. Each carrot she brushed off the dirt and put into the last basket she had empty. Luckily the carrot patch was much smaller than the other patches of vegetables so she was sure the carrots was all fit. After about a quarter of an hour she had finished the carrots and left the patch mostly clean of plants.
On her way back to the rest of the baskets she noticed a flower patch overgrown with weeds. She reluctantly bent down and began to pull the weeds out. That moment reminded her with the last time she would ever garden with her mom. No, she would not think of that! She refocused herself on the unneeded plants.
Finally she was done. Katrina stood shaking by the full bags of carrots, blueberries, and apples. A pile of pulled weeds was to her side and the gloves and clippers sat on the ground by her feet. Next time I will not do all of this hard work by myself. She drug herself back to Hogwarts.
Katrina exits the thread
WC: 1054/1000
>Stats: Sta 9, Evas 8, Str 3, Wis 11, ArcP 9, Acc 6<
>Healing Sage | Perfectionist | Charmer || Leader of SHC| Owner of The Kat Shop<
>Healing Sage | Perfectionist | Charmer || Leader of SHC| Owner of The Kat Shop<