My Stardew Journey // week 5

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Summer 1-7

Ah, summer! I had a good feeling about this season, and I found my expectations to be entirely correct, at least thus far.

Firstly, the valley is BEAUTIFUL in the summertime! If spring was what brought on the budding of new life, then summer is where that life really thrives. The entire valley is just absolutely bathed in sunshine, and there’s so much lush green all around.

A new season meant a new set of crops to get started growing. Spring crops die out with the change of the seasons— something I thankfully had a bit of a heads-up for before I stocked up at the end of last week. Monday, I ran to Pierre’s first thing and bought a handful of all the seeds he had to offer.

ittedly, it’s a lot to water, even with the better watering can. But I’ve got a good feeling about this season’s harvest, too.

On top of that, there have been all sorts of new foraged items I’ve found, scattered all over the place just like spring’s plants. I’ve already begun stocking up on summer fruits and flowers.

There are even new fish to look out for! According to Willy, certain fish love the warmer water, so I’ve been catching quite a few new types.

Now, onto this week’s news…

Tuesday night, there was a small earthquake. Everything was okay, thankfully, though I was a bit shaken up (haha), not being used to earthquakes back home.

However, with this occurrence came the clearing of a previously blocked-off area. There’s a spot just north of Robin and Demetrius’ place that had been blocked by a rockslide, and the earthquake ended up clearing all of that out.

Beyond the hill are a set of railroad tracks, along with, to my surprise, a bathhouse. I picked a stormy day to check it out, and it’s actually quite nice! Definitely going back when winter rolls around.

This week, I’ve also had plenty of opportunities to hang out with friends. Abigail and I have been spending a lot of time together in particular.

Fridays, she likes to visit the saloon with Sam and Sebastian. The boys like to engage in a surprisingly competitive game of pool, and Abby and I just sit and watch, chatting about whatever we feel like. Sometimes we crack open a few Joja colas, and sometimes we even grab a hot meal while we’re at it.

I also had an afternoon to hang out with Alex at the beach. He’s the type that comes off as a little arrogant at first, but really is a sweet guy at his core. We even tossed a gridball around a little bit. Even when I fumbled it (which was more times than not), Alex was super encouraging.

I’ve met Penny at the library a few times, too. I’ve been in and out quite frequently as I’ve found more items for the museum, and she’s there more often than not. She’s had a lot of book recommendations for me recently… hopefully I get some free time to actually read them one of these days.

And, of course, I’ve been hanging out with Shane. I’ve figured out his schedule by now, and I catch him on his way to work a lot of mornings. Between those walks and our chats by the saloon’s fireplace, we’re really getting to know each other well.

He sent another letter, too!

I have no idea how he managed to stuff an entire frozen pizza into my mailbox, and I’m a little afraid to ask. But I really appreciate the gesture! In spite of his initial hardness, he really has shown himself to be a sweet guy…

And, on the topic of Shane… I had an interesting encounter the other day.

I had stopped in at Marnie’s when I heard her talking in the other room. I peeked around the corner (I wasn’t snooping, I swear!) and found her in Shane’s room, looking worried. I tentatively stepped inside and, well… he was ed out cold.

We managed to wake him up, and he was tipsy and in a bad mental state. Just as Marnie was lecturing him about finding some purpose, Jas had started eavesdropping. And unfortunately, she heard Shane say that he wasn’t hoping for any future for himself at all.

Shane was really quiet when I went to him the next day. He didn’t say anything about the encounter, and he didn’t say anything about Jas. I really hope he managed to straighten things out… the poor girl was in tears.

I don’t want to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, of course, but I can’t help but be concerned. I’ve really started to care about Shane this past little while. I don’t want to see him hurting.

I’ll just do what I can, and be there when I’m needed. I’m sure things will come around.

Looking forward,

~Maddie

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