Hello, and welcome to my new fanfic!! if you already know me...hi. if not, thanks for lookin and go ahead and look at my 'avatar: the last airbender' fic.

ok, author's note: i'm still not sure where this is going...kind of sad because i've already made like ten chapters. thus, this fic is subject to droppage. on the other hand, ten chapters are guaranteed, so don't stop reading :) also, i know this chapter is pretty slow, but i want to set the scene up--no love associations, no friends, just plain Jill. hope you enjoy

Jill straightened her back and groaned. Watering all of her crops had become such a hassle since she added that extra row of potatoes. She gently massaged her lower back and walked toward the barn. At least the hard work was done.

The smell of freshly cut hay and manure reached Jill as soon as she stepped through the threshold. Most of the city-girls that she had known before she moved would have been disgusted with her line of work, but farming was Jill's greatest joy. She liked nothing better than waking up in the morning to do the daily chores.

Tess and Jessie lumbered toward Jill slowly, lowing loudly. Jill smiled, "yeah, yeah. Just let me milk you first." They both mooed again, nuzzling her hands. Jill laughed softly and took her rucksack from her back.

After feeling around for a moment, she withdrew a long silver device from the small backpack. "I really should get a bigger rucksack," she told Tess as she attached a nozzle of the device to each of Tess's udders.

Tessela had been Jill's first cow. She had to forage for herbs in the mountain for a season and a half in order to earn enough money. Jill remembered back to the times when every penny was scrimped and every crop was sold. Even Barley, the owner of Yodel Ranch, had been impressed with her dedication.

As the silver device whirred away beneath the great cow, Jill extracted her horse-hair brush from her rucksack. She gently brushed the animal, and remembered Tess's first day on the farm. Back then, Tess wasn't able to produce any milk at all. The heifer had changed a lot since those days. Now, she was able to produce L Milk easily.

Jill turned to the other, younger cow. Jessie was the second cow on Crescent Moon Farm, and, according to Barley, the child of the most successful cow from Yodel Ranch. Jill had never been sure if the old man was being honest or just trying to fill Jill's stable. She smiled to herself as she brushed the animal. It worked out for her, either way.

Jill turned back to Tess. The milking machine had stopped whirring, meaning that it was done. Jill bent down and lifted the machine and the pail of milk. Ever since Tess had become pregnant, she could only produce S Milk. Sighing, Jill put the machine and S Milk into her rucksack. She was glad that Tess would have a baby, but it meant a pretty big cutback in the net income.

Tess lowed again, happy with the attention she was receiving. Jill laughed heartily, "Okay, okay, I get it. You want food now." Jill strode over to the small window overflowing with hay. Grabbing the pitchfork that was leaning against the wall, Jill stabbed at the bales and lifted the heavy fodder into a feeding trough. Repeating the motion, Jill filled the second trough. She still hadn't gotten the motion completely right—she always ended up with at least a few straws in her hair.

Tess and Jessie lumbered to their respective troughs and mooed soulfully before they lowered their great heads and ate. Jill laughed again, "You're welcome. It was my pleasure." She waved goodbye to her two cows as she left the barn.

The warm sunlight met her outside. Spring was the greatest time of year for Jill. The weather is beautiful, the crops grow well, and foraging is good. Spring even smelled good. With all of the toy flowers in bloom, it was hard not to be filled with joy. Not to mention it was Jill's second year on the farm.

Jill raised her hand to her lips, whistling shrilly. Within the moment, Jill's large, chocolate horse trotted to her master. Neighing softly, Jackie lowered her soft nuzzle to Jill's hand.

Jill smiled as she kissed Jackie between her eyes "hey, Sweetie, how are you?" Jill pulled the small brush from her rucksack again, and stroked Jackie gently with it.

Jacquelyn arrived at Crescent Moon Farm just after Tessala did. Barley had arrived one day, in the middle of the afternoon, with the small mare with him. He made Jill promise to take care of Jackie and to raise her for inspection in a year.

"But we'll pass the inspection, won't we, baby?" Jill brushed at Jackie's mane tentatively. Only recently, Jill was able to start riding Jackie. The first time that happened, however, Jill had almost broken her neck from falling. She loved Jackie, but Jill preferred to walk.

"Later, Darling. You have fun," Jackie whinnied loudly as she trotted back to the fields.

Jill went over her mental checklist again. Crops were done, Cows were done, Jackie was done. All that remained were the chickens.

A loud, yapping noise rose from Jill's feet. "And you, of course, Max." Jill's small, honey-colored dog yapped again. Laughing, Jill scooped the tiny puppy into her arms and started walking towards the chicken coop. Max held a very special place in her heart—after all, he was the first animal on the farm to begin with. The very first day of the farm, Max was found hiding in the corner of the aged dog house. Since then, the doghouse had been rebuilt, thanks to the carpenter Gotz, and the puppy had grown into a dog.

"You'll still be my little puppy, though, right?" Max licked Jill's cheek in response before wriggling out of her grasp and leaping back to the ground.

"Good idea. You'd just get into a fight with the chickens." Max yapped one last time, and ran away to wherever he went during the day. Jill reached out and grabbed the door handle of the coop.

She hated to admit it, but Jill didn't enjoy the chickens quite as much as she did the other animals. The chickens were just more noisy, more impatient, more violent when it came to their food. Even as Jill thought this, the feathered rats gathered around her feet, pecking at her boots and overalls.

"Okay! Take it easy!" Jill grabbed the chicken feed from a window in a corner of the small room. Grabbing a few handfuls, she scattered the feed as widely as she could in order to avoid as much chicken-fighting as possible. Of course, it didn't work out. The oldest hen, Nicky, alternated between gobbling as many grains of food as she could and pecking at any of the other five chickens.

Jill sighed and walked out. In her earlier days, all of the noise from Nicky had scared her. But she knew now that no one ever got seriously injured. Thank God Tess and Jessie weren't like that. The cows would have torn each other apart.

Jill smiled to herself again. She had really turned the farm around. The first days, indeed the first few seasons, had been nothing short of nightmarish. Struggling to figure out each instrument, struggling to figure out each animal, and even struggling to survive within Mineral Village had been hard work.

Jill breathed deeply. It wasn't without its benefits, of course. Compared to the city…

Well, she didn't like to compare things to the city. But still, the farm had made Jill strong and independent. And these were the greatest achievements for anyone…

…especially for a blind girl.