i woke up early today, ready to really get things rolling. and boy howdy, what a day it was. i started off by grabbing some quick breakfast, then i headed straight outside to tend to the yams. there were a few weeds growing around, so i got those out of the way, then made sure everything was well-watered. stuff grows so quickly here, i was surprised to see how tall they'd grown just since last night!

with that out of the way, i sent myself back into the house to really focus on cleaning up. i picked up several items, stashing them away as i went and somehow managed not to get distracted along the way. i swept up some cobwebs (make sure they were unoccupied first, of course), made the bed, and i even organized the kitchen a bit more. it was still pretty early, and i suppose i could have kept working on the house, but instead i decided to list out what needed to be done next:

• defrost the freezer
• fix the front screen door (screen needs to be stapled back on in one corner)
• add some wd-40 to the bedroom door
• fix the leaky faucet
• add a wooden wedge under the kitchen table so it doesn't wobble

i'm sure there's more beyond that, but it seems like that will keep me busy for a good, long while. feeling satisfied with my plan, i headed to town next, hoping i might be able to find some books on the town's history. while at the library, i met arcade, a lovely tyke who really did seem too young to be doing any kind of work, but who am i to judge? it's a freelancer who tends to use the library as a work spot when it needs to focus on its work. it did help me find an appropriate book, which i sat down to read for a little while before properly checking it out and heading back home.

knowing that the yams were coming up, i figured i might as well head out into the forest and poke around for a chicken. i do love eggs, and having fresh ones daily would be a real boon. now let me tell you, i am not the most graceful creature on earth, so the chicken chase was probably quite hilarious from an outsider's view, watching me trip over myself no less than four times before i finally managed to convince it to come toward me. with enough treats, livestock will do just about anything for you!

i got the chicken settled into the coop outside the farmhouse, and she seemed happy there. so happy, in fact, that she followed me around for the rest of the day. i don't think she'll end up staying in the coop after all, considering she's already made herself quite at home in the laundry basket. at least it'll make the trip from “farm” to table a lot shorter!

with chicken in tow, i went to check on the yams again, and wouldn't you know it—i swear they had grown another couple of inches just in the time that i was gone. i had another go at weeding, plucking out anything in a two-foot radius around them. once that hard work was done, i meandered over to the bench that overlooks the farm, wherein the hen promptly sat herself on my lap. i was hoping to do a bit of meditation, but i just couldn't get my mind to settle. maybe it was the chicken in my lap, or maybe it was the rumbling of my stomach. whatever it was, i gave up after a good long while and headed inside to make some thai curry. i've never been a particularly strong cook, so it's one of the things i've been trying to get better at.

and you know what? i nailed it! the curry was full of flavor, rich, and wouldn't you know it—absolutely satisfying in every way i could imagine. i felt like i was back in the city, fine dining at one of those upscale restaurants... but without the price tag. my stomach now at ease, i cleaned up and headed to the living room, making sure the hen had a nice spot on the couch, and settled in for a reading session on the book i'd gotten at the library.

it was primarily about the town's start. the iron mine, the group who had founded it, and so on. it seems that it was actually a group of opossums of all things that started mining for iron all those years ago. looking at those old faded black and white photos in the book really was something. they were all wearing smudged up clothes, but they really did look happy with what they were doing. they discovered the iron deposits shortly after coming to the valley for farming, and the iron mine had made the town boom shortly thereafter. all this happened so long ago, i'll be curious to see what the last section of the book holds.

i managed to get a little bit of cleaning done after my reading session, though i felt a bit like a zombie toward the end of it, so i decided to call it a day to sit down and write this. fingers crossed tomorrow will be just as productive!

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woke up this morning feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep. i was eager to get down to business and start planting the produce seeds (yams, according to my brief research) aunt wanda had given me as a parting gift. so i grabbed a hoe and got to digging. and wouldn’t you know it, the spot i picked out was so rocky, it was near impossible to get anything done. unwilling to give up so easily, i took a short break for some water and a snack, then chose a different spot.

at this point, i was pretty sure this place was cursed, since the second spot i chose was also just as rocky, and i wasted a bit of time there trying to make it work again. grumbling and feeling a little bit down on myself, i set my hoe down and figured i would go meet whoever lives at the house next door. emerald—a zebra—is my new neigh(!)bor, one of iron valley’s musicians. we had a good chat over lunch and got to know each other a little. they play guitar in the town square after every community garden day, but it sounds like i got here just after the most recent one.

feeling a bit more optimistic about my farming prospects (and wanting to get something done today), i headed back to the old farm and yet again got to work. i was pretty exhausted at that point, and i could feel the blisters coming in hot. lavender, who happened to be passing by on his way home from work, offered to lend a hand, so we grabbed some ice cold lemonade and powered through it! yams are now in the ground and watered! we had a good long chat afterward, just getting to know one another and shoot the breeze before lav headed home.

feeling a bit more energized by the progress i’d made, i wandered around the perimeter of the farm and happened upon some strawberries, which i promptly gathered and took back to the house (which is still a bit of a mess). eating a few strawbs now before i crawl into bed for the night.

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today started off well enough. i woke up, said goodbye to aunt wanda, and loaded my bag onto my bike, bound for the train station. unfortunately, i got a flat along the way, which took way too long to fix, which made me miss the train (of course). i ended up hanging out at the train station for a few hours reading a book i picked up from a little free library nearby. it was short, and i managed to finish it with enough time to return it before the next train arrived.

the train ride itself was uneventful. i grabbed some lunch from the café car and spent most of my time staring out the window and watching glimpses of the city receding.

finally in iron valley, i grabbed my bike off the train and began pedaling toward aunt wanda’s old house. i didn’t get very far before a penguin flagged me down, saying he had heard about wanda’s niece coming to swap places. we got to talking, and lavender—aforementioned penguin—explained that he had lived here since he was born. he’s the groundskeeper at the old iron mine. sounds like the place really slowed down in production a couple of decades ago, which would explain why the town’s economy has suffered.

i had intended to get to cleaning once i got to the old farmhouse, but about five minutes into that i found an old photo album of aunt wanda’s. there were so many photos of my dad that i just couldn’t pass up taking the time to look at them, especially the later ones where my mom—and later, me!—start to come into the picture (pun intended).

once i realized how loud my stomach was grumbling, i put the album back and started rummaging through the cupboards for something to eat. let’s just say there weren’t a lot of options, but i managed to cobble together some enchiladas! they weren’t the best i’ve ever had, but they got the job done, and now i’m pleasantly full and ready for a good night’s rest.

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after a series of tumultuous relationships, i feel like i need a good, long break from all that. no more swiping on dating apps (and honestly, no more phone at all), no more first dates, no more let-downs. i want to find myself out in iron valley, and i think a big change is just what i need to do for my own well-being. i want to be comfortable being me, rather than trying to be somebody for someone else.

lucky for me, my great aunt wanda decided she wanted to live that big city life, so she and i are swapping spots. she’s going to take over my lease, and i’ll get to stay at her old farmhouse in the meantime. and when i say “old,” i mean it. that thing is kind of a dump! it’s going to take plenty of work to make it feel like home. but hey, i’m going out to iron valley just for that, aren’t i? something outside of a relationship to focus on.

it’s early winter, so i guess i’ll have time to work on things before the big growing season starts. i won't be able to bring a lot with me, but i do have some chocolate coins, some brand new work boots, and a bag of assorted produce seeds aunt wanda gave me before i leave the big city. i don’t know exactly how long i’ll stick around, but fingers crossed it’ll be a pleasant stay.

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iron valley is filled not with humans, but with adorable anthropomorphic animal folk. with their opposable thumbs and upright stances, they have been running this town for generations. everybody knows everybody, and aside from a few small insignificant squabbles, everybody gets along. they’re hard-working and tend to rise and fall with the natural rhythms of the sun.

where you come from, you might expect some magic, considering the talking animals, but no… no magic here. just a bunch of compassionate folks trying to make the world a little bit better.

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