Harvest Moon Anton’s Diary: Year 1 Winter Part I

Day 1
I woke up today to find the entire town blanketed in snow; whilst this means I can ignore crops for a while, it just highlights how depressing this season truly is. Even the lake has frozen over, although this does permit access to the Winter Mine, a place where I can gather the rare and valuable Orichalcum and Adamantite ores.

Today has been about more than mining, however, for in between trips to the mine, I went to town to ask Saibara to turn some Orichalcum into jewellery for Popuri (1000G is now nothing to me), before heading to the inn to order the whisk from TV shopping. On the way back, I stopped into Yodel farm to purchase my first sheep- Zonetrae. My barn is now getting quite full, but I dare not allow the animals outside in this weather.

Day 2
I am gaining a reputation as the strange man who runs around with a basket on his head, but none of those accursed villagers can understand how important ‘Baskey’ is to me. It is my only companion on those long quiet trips to the mine, where I fill it up with pure profit and tell it my innermost thoughts and frustrations.

Today I presented Popuri with some leftover Pink Cat flowers I had stored from summer- she loved them so much that our relationship has progressed to the fabled red heart level. When the time is right, I will surely propose to her- after all, it is better too have our wedding in the quiet winter when I won’t miss much by not working for a day.

Day 3
What an awful, awful day! After taking care of the animals in the usual way, I headed out to the mine in the hopes of making a nice profit, only to get so engrossed in my work that I barely noticed how tired I was getting. In the end, I collapsed with the strain and ended up in the clinic, wasting the vast majority of the day and not even getting a chance to go and see Popuri. Why is the cold winter making my body so weak?

Day 4
Thanks to yesterday’s mishap, I did not get up until midday today, and woke up to feel quite disorientated. Nonetheless, determined not to let this setback get the better of me, I planned a more relaxing schedule to get me back into the swing of things, starting with a visit to Popuri’s house. After we had talked for a while, I headed over to Barley’s to buy my second sheep, Brimstne- I must really think of investing in some clippers so that I can start shearing them. With that done, I took the opportunity to visit Saibara and pick up the pink necklace he had made for me to give Popuri, as well as turn in my sickle for upgrading to Mystrile- essential if I wish to plant grass for my livestock. I have also commissioned Gotz to extend my house again- essential if marriage is to occur.

Speaking of which, Ragnarok and Infernox have matured into full-grown cows, and this situation only highlights the difficulties of keeping so many animals in the barn. As well as the problem of having to ensure that I talk to and brush every identical cow (other farmers may be able to tell their animals apart, but I am not one of them), I must muscle my way through them in order to put their feeds out, not to mention deal with the bizarre circumstance of having two cows melded together on the same spot! At least I can walk through my chickens.

By late afternoon, I decided to face up to my fears and return to the mine in order to mount a rescue operation for Baskey, who was left behind on one of the lower levels after my collapse. Naturally, whilst without it, I picked up more valuable ores than my rucksack alone could hold, and ended up having to toss away some precious profits. Once Baskey was retrieved, however, I decided not to tempt fate by mining any more, and quickly returned home for an early night.

Day 5
How I hate snowy days, for they seem to sap me of all my will to work. This morning, I was delighted to find all my cows and sheep lined up in a convenient fashion when I entered the barn, but as soon as they saw me, they started milling around, causing numerous difficulties with regards to talking to them all. Worse yet, however, was my experience in the mines- even the lightest of mining work made my arms and legs feel like lead, and I ended up having to retire early rather than continue to rake in the profits. This winter has become a huge cash drain, and there are still twenty-five days of it to go.

On a more positive note, I have invested in a Blue Feather, which, for reasons best known to this village, is an item required for proposing to a girl. Once the house extension is complete, I shall approach Popuri.

Day 6
I am growing to hate the winter, for today I was once again so tired that I could not rouse myself out of bed until midday. After navigating my way through the cow filled barn and otherwise tending to the animals, I made the daily visit to Popuri to present her with more leftover autumn flowers. With all those tasks out of the way, I was able to spend the rest of the day mining- once I welcomed mining as an escape from farming, but now it is becoming as tedious and repetitive as everything else. With that in mind, I tried my hand at fishing for the first time in the Winter Mine’s underground lake, but I do not seem to have the knack of it, and I doubt I ever will.

Day 7
The hatred I felt for this season yesterday is nothing compared to how much I despise it today. It was snowing again today, and thus my stamina had dwindled to nothing, whilst worse yet, I seem to be losing my mind- yesterday I neglected my horse, and today I almost forgot to feed my chickens. In between some mercifully brief mining sessions, however, I mustered the energy to collect my Mystrile Sickle for Saibara, stock up on animal fodder, buy another sheep (Dethsyth) and court Popuri. I had planned to invest in a Mayo Maker today, but after learning that it costs 20,000 G (almost two thirds of my current savings), I decided to wait until the more lucrative spring season.

With all that complete, I realised I could bear no more of the day and retired to bed at the early hour of 4pm; hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Day 8
Despite having one to bed ridiculously early, I overslept again today, although by the time I woke up, I discovered that my house extension had been completed whilst I was asleep- I now have a separate bedroom with two beds (one for me, one for the wife-to-be). With all preparations complete, I went straight over to Popuri’s to propose, and to my amazement, she accepted readily! Our wedding will occur in one week’s time, which gives me only seven more days of bachelorhood and peaceful freedom.

I have also ordered a Rolling Pin from TV Shopping; hopefully Popuri will not use it against me once she comes to live here.

Day 9
It says a great deal about how much I hate snowy winter days that I was forced to go back to bed at 10:50AM this morning, for having done the animals and attempted mining, I kept tiring so quickly that I could not be bothered to continue. Why does snow sap my stamina so quickly? Is it because I am wearing the same clothes that I use in the spring? I should note that these clothes are not only most unflattering, but they leave me too hot on warm days, freezing cold on cool days and soaking wet whenever it rains or snows. Is this the application of what they call Sod’s Law?

Day 10
Despite spending over a day in bed, I was unable to rouse myself until midday today; I should probably spend more time restoring myself in the hot spring, but I understandably feel awkward about getting naked outdoors in the middle of winter. Since everyone else was attending the Dog Race today (I did not enter Potato, for with the dog ball lost I was unable to train him) I decided to have some quiet time in the mine, which proved to be a profitable venture for once. Nonetheless, tomorrow I will have to start interacting with people again in order to purchase goods and the like- I only hope it doesn’t start snowing again.

Day 11
The gods must be punishing me, for today it was snowing again. Having learned my lesson about doing too much work on snowy days, I tended to animals before heading to town hours before anything was open- since time does not flow inside the warm indoors, I was forced to wander around in the snow like an obsessive stalker until business hours commenced. Once the lazy villagers finally opened their shops, I finally bought the Clippers from Saibara before heading over to Barley’s to stock up on animal fodder and invest in my fourth sheep, Cedar.

Having attended to those tasks, I thought it wise to check up on my bride-to-be Popuri, although oddly no one else in her household ever comments on our engagement, preferring instead to chat about trivial matters that I have heard many times before. Once we had our customary chat and flower exchange, I swiftly headed home to try out the Clippers on my sheep. Unfortunately, since this town is too primitive to sell electric clippers, these ones resemble a giant pair of scissors, but since the wool is worth money, I do not mind putting in the effort- even if my sheep looked pathetic when shorn.

With those tasks completed, I would have been wise to go to bed, but with my farm haemorrhaging money this season, I realised that I had no choice but to try to recoup some losses through mining. Despite the limitations of the snow, I worked for as long as my pathetic body could manage before recharging in the hot springs and heading home for an early night.

Day 12
I am finally starting to make a profit again, but it has required me to adopt a strict schedule- once the animals are done and Popuri is attended to (unfortunately I have now run out of stored summer and autumn flowers), I devote all my energies to mining. Naturally, on a snowy day like this one, that means I have to take frequent breaks to recharge in the hot springs, but onerous as this repetitive working day is, there is no other choice if I wish to amass enough money to expand my farming empire and keep a wife at the same time. At least I am not being asked to pay for the wedding, for it seems to have been magically arranged at the very moment I used the Blue Feather. Could this be a special property of such feathers?

Day 13
Now that I have run out of flowers, I have been forced to cut into my profits in order to present Popuri with Spa-Boiled Eggs. I have invested too much time in her to just let her slide right before our wedding, and so each day I shall Spa-Boil four eggs to keep her love for me strong.

After implementing this change in plans, I chopped lumber for the first time in ages whilst waiting for Barley to open up and sell me my latest sheep- Coriolis. If not for the sweet sound of jingling coins and rustling notes, I would not shear my sheep, for they look so pathetic and naked once I am done, and do not even have the grace to grow back their wool the very next day. I have to admit that I prefer cows, for they provide milk daily (magically not even needing to have given birth in order to achieve this) and the look of love on their little faces is sweet enough for me to forgive the difficulties they present in telling them apart.

After all normal chores were completed, I worked myself to the bone in the mine, exploiting a rich vein or Adamantite and Orichalcum that I swear was not there the last time I visited. Having put so much effort into the mine, however, I was forced to retire at 4:20pm, as much out of boredom as exhaustion.

I must also note that Won came around today and asked me to buy a useless Vase for 5000G; although I was tempted to take up his offer, I recalled that such a vase would have no practical value and would merely deplete my finances further.

Day 14
Today was my last day as a carefree bachelor, and whilst my calendar indicated that it was also traditional for girls to give their boyfriends chocolate on this day, no one offered me any- not even Popuri. After wandering around town for a while so that I would be easy to find should anyone want to give me precious chocolate, I decided to work off my sorrows with an intense mining session, but unfortunately, once again I collapsed and was forced to rest up in the clinic, leaving Baskey and its wealth behind in the depths of the mine.

Day 15
My wedding day has finally arrived, and through no action on my part, I magically found myself at the church wearing a white tuxedo I never knew I had. After the wedding ceremony, Popuri came to live with me and has now started calling me “Honey”. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any work done, and Baskey remains missing, so tomorrow I will leave Popuri at home whilst I retrieve it.