14 Ymiden 716
The book was non-fiction, like most of the books in her collection, Lazuli seldom had time for fairy tales, and perhaps this was why she had convinced herself of the fact that exciting things didn't happen to normal people. She was plain, boring, work orientated, and of a mind few shared. Still, the book was interesting. Sweetcorn is pollinated by the wind and should therefore be planted in blocks rather than spread out, maximising its potential to grow well. If left too long before picking, the natural sugars will turn to starch, diminishing the quality of the harvest and the well received sweet taste.Her eyes followed the text quickly and she made notes, jotting down important observations, such as the planting depth of the seeds, which was to be no more than an inch, while each plant should have at least three of four inches between itself and next, in order to optimise productivity and give the crop room to grown nice cobs and long leaves used to absorb the sun's energy. Sweetcorn should be watered well after the seeds are planted, and prefers a long, dry growing season. Perfect, Lazuli thought, if she got the seeds in the ground today, they would have the early rain of Ymiden to help them germinate, followed by the intense heat of the season of Saun, and the long dry-spells of Vhalar to finish the growing process before the corn would be ready to harvest, with most of it going to the city of Andaris, while the rest would be stored, dried, and the seeds kept for the following year.
The young woman put her boots on and went in search of her gloves, finding them just beyond the front doorstep where she had left the large sack of corn, stood upright against the wheelbarrow she had struggled to lift it into the day before. One last heave saw the sack go into the wheelbarrow and she cut the top open just enough to be able to reach in without trouble and take up the seeds when she was ready for them. The fields had already been prepared, and the soil looked dark and rich, freshly turned by the ox and plough.
In long narrow rows, Lazuli walked back and forth, bent over the raised earth with pockets stuffed with the sweetcorn seed, two tiny pellets deposited into each inch deep hole she pricked with her gloved finger, ensuring that something would come up. For an hour she did this before stopping to look back at her work and go inside in search of a hat or an old t-shirt she could wear on her head to protect the back of her neck from the sun. Passing the wheelbarrow on her way back, she filled her pockets again and returned to work, a quarter of the way through the field, but ready to speed up, having gotten the hang of this now.
The plan was to stop midway for lunch, but Lazuli had a habit of going until the job or the day was done, whichever came first.