Harvest Moon Anton’s Diary: Year 1 Summer Part II

Day 16
The repetitiveness of my daily routine is beginning to affect my performance; although I was cheered by the hatching of two more chicks- Cherry and Apple- this morning, the thought of two more mouths to feed only added to my depression as I commenced the usual tasks. In my depression, I accidentally smashed an egg that I had intended to incubate, and similarly threw away a Copper Ore in error down in the mine. In order to combat my increasing unhappiness, I ended the day with a nice long soak in the hot springs before turning in at the early hour of 7pm.

Day 17
This morning I had only just got up when Ann arrived to give me a meal she had prepared and tell me that the inn will use my eggs from now on; does that mean I should keep delivering them by hand? Just in case, I prepared the usual number of eggs, as well as a special Spa-Boiled one as a birthday gift, but unfortunately, my trip to give them to Ann was a disaster. First I stopped off at the supermarket to buy a Large Rucksack (identical in appearance to the others, but able to hold eight items) and wrap the egg, but unfortunately I accidentally smashed it whilst trying to place it in the Wrapping Corner. Despite this setback, I decided to go and see Ann anyway, only to find that the inn was closed! Having wasted several hours in this way, I speedily made my way back to the farm to complete the usual duties, minus lumber chopping. I know I am not really interested in love, but part of me is still tempted to win Ann’s heart through daily gifts of Spa-Boiled eggs.

Day 18
Much as I want to give up the pursuit of love, manipulating people’s feelings has an odd satisfaction to it, and thus I have decided to woo Ann and Popuri for as long as it suits me (I am sorry, Karen, Mary and Elli, but much as I would love a harem of five women, the rapid flow of time in this game dictates otherwise). Each morning, I shall present Ann with a Spa-Boiled egg, before heading out to obtain a rucksack full of Pink Cat flowers for Popuri. Should either woman forget her place and become too demanding, however, I will no longer bestow my attention upon her, and I certainly have no intention of getting married and- heaven forbid- fathering a child!

Affairs of the heart aside, this morning my first Corn harvest came in, causing that no-good loafer Kai to come and ask to buy some. Since I want to maintain a front of kindliness and generosity, I let him have it for a mere 50G before getting down to the task of gathering and selling the rest for a more reasonable price (all the while ensuring not to throw away the precious Mystrile I collected last night). After taking a trip to the inn to verify that I do not need to hand deliver the eggs any more, I got down to the tasks of watering the garden and collecting lumber. There was no time for mining, so I may need to defer it for now, or evolve a new daily routine.

Day 19
Following the birth of my latest chick- Lemon- I decided that today would finally be the day to get my free Fishing Rod; not that I have any intention for fishing (or indeed the time to indulge), but I refuse to pass up any kind of free gift. After that, I soon discovered the dangers of love; not only did I completely forget to spa boil an egg for Ann, but by the time I had collected a rucksack full of Pink Cat flowers for Popuri, half the day had passed. Although I tried to pack as much into my afternoon as possible, mining has had to go by the wayside yet again, for I realise that chopping lumber for my first house extension and levelling up my axe so that it is ready to be upgraded to Mystrile level should be the priority right now. I can always mine in the winter when there is little else to do.

Day 20
Damn those villagers and their infernal festivals- why can’t they see that their lives are too bleak and pointless to be worth celebrating? With few tasks to get done on the farm today, I decided that I might as well spend some time at the Cow Festival, but what a soul destroying experience it was. First, I arrived ten minutes too early and had to idle outside until the Mayor decided to let me in; on entry, however, I couldn’t help thinking that I should have just stayed at home. Everyone there was enthusing over three identical cows and the benefits of milk, almost as if this were some kind of government health advert! Milk may be marvellous, but until I can afford my own cow, I can hardly hope to drink any (and even then I would rather become unhealthy than lose profits).

Finally, after eight hours of sheer torture, I was allowed to return home at 6pm, where I proceeded to take out my frustrations on some innocent tree stumps. After a long soak in the hot springs, I finally went home and jumped into bed.

Day 21
God must truly hate me, for there was a hurricane today- I couldn’t even leave the dull confines of my house, and worse yet, the TV was only receiving static! My life on the farm is cruel and callous enough without having to endure this kind of setback; I suppose I could have at least used the day to mindlessly swing my axe, but instead I found myself agonising over my appearance. Why am I so ugly? And why must I wear the same clothes every single day?

Day 22
This morning I tentatively stepped outside to see what kind of damage the hurricane had cause, only to see that some of my beloved tomatoes and carefully raised pineapple plants had been ripped up. Although others in my position might appeal to the gods to reset time, I decided to get on with my life, beginning with a morning trip to collect flowers and see the girls. Once Popuri and Ann’s affections had been won over with cheap gifts, I visited Gotz to ask for a house expansion, before chopping more lumber to replace the 367 pieces I handed over to him.

During the afternoon, I happened to spot Karen at the springs; every time I see a girl my instinct to woo her kicks in, but with nothing to give her, all we could do was chat. Afterwards, I returned to the farm to harvest the tomatoes and water the rest of my crops, for there is no end to that sort of repetitive task. At least two more chicks hatched today; I have named them Melon and Tango, and they complete the complement of ten chickens that my henhouse can house.

Day 23
With the first pineapples having finally ripened today, I had to dedicate the entire day to harvesting and tending for my crops (although as I went to bed I realised that I had forgotten to water the Pink Cat flowers). Although I had a little time left over in the evening, I decided to dedicate it to the ever exciting task of chopping lumber, for unlike Gotz, who worked on my house extension before slacking off at 3pm, farming does not keep to sensible hours. Tomorrow I must start the day with lumber chopping before heading into town in the hopes of buying a basket and upgrading the axe. I long for the day when I can chop stumps with ease.

Day 24
Damn those villagers- my plans for the day were ruined by the fact that no one seemed to be around, so when I learned that they may have gathered for a fireworks festival, I went to the beach to investigate, only to find that the place was deserted! Having wasted most of the day in this way, I had little time to do anything more than the most basic of farming and lumber chopping tasks. I will have to go into town tomorrow instead, complete with gifts for the neglected girls.

Day 25
Whilst I can hardly call myself an expert in the field of carpentry, I must say that Gotz’ methods seem slightly suspect to me- instead of working with the lumber I gave him, he merely makes sawing motions through the air for a couple of days until an extension magically appears.

Today I was finally able to turn in the axe for upgrading (an excuse to take a break from chopping lumber for a few days) and purchase the basket. The basket is a godsend, for I can throw up to thirty items in there and then toss them all into the shipping bin at once. Although it is technically meant to be used for crops, I took mine into the mine and loaded up on as much ore as I can carry. Hopefully it will fetch a good price on the market. Unfortunately, items in the basket can only be dumped straight into the shipping bin, so I will still have to use the rucksack for gifts and other important items. Ah well, life should be a little less crushingly tedious now.

Whilst out today, I also happened to notice Karen going on a date with Rick- if only Ann and Popuri weren’t already occupying all my flirting time, I would protect her from Rick’s predations. I also introduced myself to Elli, but there is no time to work on her.

Day 26
Last night I went to sleep in a functional yet hideous one room building; this morning I woke up in a more spacious abode- did Gotz finish his work whilst I was sound asleep? For some reason, the new house extension enables me to receive a TV shopping channel, so before going out this morning, I decided to tune in. Today’s offer was a knife for 3000G- rather expensive for a knife, in my opinion, but apparently this was a bargain not to miss. Now that I have a kitchen and thus the means to subsist on more than pre-packed meat buns and raw vegetables, I decided to order the knife regardless, although oddly the phone at the inn (the only phone in this backwater town) connected directly to the shopping channel and let me place an order without even asking for my name and address!

Whilst on the way to the inn, I happened to notice Rick and Karen have an argument; all to the better, I say, for the women should all be mine. That being said, I have given up on Ann for now- giving her eggs costs me money, whilst I can harvest any number of Pink Cat flowers for Popuri at no cost to myself (other than time, of course).

Unfortunately, despite the smoothness of the earlier part of the day, during my night-time scrounge at the mine, I accidentally left my precious Basket behind. Will I ever see it again?

Day 27
In my anxiety over the basket, I managed to mess up today right from the start. First I collected the usual Pink Cat flowers for Popuri, completely forgetting that today is Sunday, and thus she would not be out. After that, I ventured back into the mine in the hopes of regaining the Basket, and was most gratified to see it waiting for me. After filling the basket with fresh ores, I took a morning dip in the hot spring before finally getting back to the farm (I keep forgetting to harvest my honey, however). Unfortunately, I haven’t yet got the knack of efficiently using the basket to harvest crops, but perhaps that will come in time.

With all that done, I was anticipating an early night, but unfortunately, Seiran got his first taste of freedom, and he was not at all willing to let it go. I must admit that I was happy to see him grazing outside, but happiness soon turned to annoyance as he refused all efforts to be pushed back indoors. I finally got the damned horse to cooperate at 10:30pm, by which point I was all too glad to get into bed. If only the horse could be picked up in the same way as the dog.

Day 28
During my early morning trip to collect Pink Cat flowers for Popuri, I happened to notice that Mary and her mother were out, so naturally I took the chance to whisper a few sweet nothings to Mary and present her with some spare flowers. Upon getting back to the main object of my ‘affections’, I discovered that Popuri had reached blue heart level; a fact so shocking that I accidentally threw away a Pink Cat flower in disbelief. Those flowers will stop blooming soon, so I must find something new to win her affections with. I have also ended up neglecting Ann entirely, a fact which I must rectify.

Once love had been taken care of, my excitement over being able to afford a cow got the better of me, so much so that I went to Yodel Ranch despite the fact that it is closed on Mondays. Once I realised my error, I left to pick up my Mystrile axe and resumed the age old lumber routine; unlike the old days, lumber is now effortless to obtain, and so I feel less bitter towards it.

As always, the evening was spent reaping massive profits in the mine- I have to say that this is far more financially rewarding than farming could ever be.

Day 29
With the end of the season in sight, I have begun cutting down the crops that will not regrow by the time autumn is upon us. More importantly, however, I have finally obtained my first cow, Elrood, hopefully the start of a lucrative dairy business (even if it does mean that caring for the cows is now a whole new chore to contend with).

Due to my general tiredness, mining was not as lucrative today, but I am still pleased with the season’s profits overall.

Day 30
The end of summer is here, and with it I can swap one set of meaningless tasks for another. Today I harvested the last few crops, before spending endless hours cutting them down in preparation for the autumn sweet potato harvest. I also collected many Pink Cat flowers to give to Popuri; I must find something else that she loves in order to charm her throughout Autumn (preferably something that I can find lying around on the ground). I may also start wooing the other girls, for they must all fall hopelessly in love with me so that I can have the satisfaction of rejecting them and breaking their hearts.