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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 22:53:45 GMT -6
[56]
(Minor time skip, Juniper exits)
The evergreen had shed another cluster of berries, but that looked to be the last of them that were anywhere close to being ripe, so Nerius wasn't concerned when Juniper wandered off. Giving that new staff a try maybe. He wasn't left entirely alone, Russet was still perched on his shoulder as he picked the up the shed berries. The leafscatter watched them with interest, berries were a natural part of their diet, and they looked appetizing.
"Hey, not for you," Nerius told him, noticing how the little critter was eyeing the healing berries. Best to distract him with other food, so he offered Russet a garden pellet, "These are for you." The leafscatter wasn't as fond of them as Juniper was, but he accepted it. If ever he wanted to do any training with the leafscatter, Nerius suspected he'd need to get a better reward. But right now, he just didn't want Russet trying to eat the healing berries as he added them to his harvest basket.
(Nerius: 1/20) (Russet: Lv: 10, 51/55 | Lyl: 10, 51/55)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 23:00:52 GMT -6
[57]
It didn't take long to grab the handful of berries, and with that Nerius considered what he wanted to do. The berries had been his goal in coming to the garden today, mission accomplished, and he could head home now, but it was still early in the day, and he rather wanted to make the most of the long trip here. There was plenty he could still do, there was no shortage of work to be done.
He'd keep trimming the shrubs around the path, he decided, he'd wanted to before, and it would make later visits easier to travel. He also needed to figure out some way to get rid of the yard waste, he was ending up with a lot clippings and dead plants. Setting them on fire was an option, but he didn't think the plant critters would like it. Russet, who was still nestled in his coat collar, hadn't liked the candle flames in the mansion, and would probably like a bonfire even less.
(Nerius: 2/20) (Russet: Lv: 10, 52/55 | Lyl: 10, 52/55)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 23:08:04 GMT -6
[58]
If nothing else, he could always have his TROD clear out the cuttings if necessary, and he was making more of them as he trimmed back another shrub. This one wasn't as massive as the first, and it didn't take too long to shape it down, even with Russet still using him as a perch. The leafscatter had gotten a little more used to it, and wasn't getting in the way as much.
He'd then moved on to the next one, but when he looked down near the base, he spotted a pair of squash. Kneeling down to inspect them, they seemed to be in perfect condition, despite being left out in the cold for so long, but squash were a hardy winter vegetable. Using the clippers, Nerius removed them from the vine, but then wasn't entirely sure what to do with them. They didn't really fit in his basket, and they were a bit heavy and awkward to carry around while working.
(Nerius: 3/20) (Russet: Lv: 10, 53/55 | Lyl: 10, 53/55)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 23:14:29 GMT -6
[59]
He'd just set them by the gate, Nerius supposed, it wasn't' a fancy way of dealing with the squash, but it'd work. Though, as he picked them up, he realized they were rather heavy, he could move them, but didn't really want to lug the things all the way home. Yes his TROD was getting used for a lot of heavy lifting, but for the short distance to the front gate, he was able to manage.
He'd done a little more work near the gate than the rest of the garden, and it wasn't as cluttered with overgrown mess. Which was maybe why Russet scampered down off his arm as he set down the squash, scurrying over to a pile of.. were those seeds? They were strangely shaped, but Russet was very interested in them, eating one before going back to gather more into a pile. He was very willing to share, as well, and held out a large seed to Nerius.
(Nerius: 4/20) (Russet: Lv: 10, 54/55 | Lyl: 10, 54/55)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 23:21:30 GMT -6
[60]
Nerius accepted the seed, setting it in his basket, fortunately it had a tight weave, and the seeds were large. He would have offered the leafscatter a pellet as a treat in exchange, but he'd gone right back and snacked on another seed. Clearly the pellets weren't really his favorite. But he also didn't seem to mind Nerius taking some of the seeds himself, though he was sure to add some to the leafscatter's growing pile. He wasn't sure how many the little critter would eat, but there seemed like more than one meals worth here.
Letting the leafscatter work, Nerius took a moment to inspect one of the larger seeds. They seemed to be from some sort of flowering plant, but he couldn't identify which off the top of his head. There were several dead stalks in the area, but they were just that, dead and withered from the cold, and it was impossible to tell what they had been.
(Nerius: 5/20) (Russet: Lv: 11, 55/60 | Lyl: 11, 55/60)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 23:27:44 GMT -6
[61]
He'd have to look them up later, but for now, he simply added them to his harvest basket. Well, the ones that Russet wasn't gathering, and eating, he'd pick up the remainder if the leafscatter didn't eat them all. He was still happily munching, and Nerius let him be for a moment, looking around the garden. There were more overgrown vines on the fence, and he decided to work on that for now.
They weren't necessarily a bad thing, but they did obscure the fencing, and it made it hard to tell if anything was broken or falling apart. These were a bit more of a challenge than the previous vine had been, the other had been dried and brittle, but this one was still very much alive, and much tougher. It also did not want to simply be pulled off the fence, it had gotten all wound into the metal, and he ended up having to clip it every few inches.
(Nerius: 6/20) (Russet: Lv: 11, 56/60 | Lyl: 11, 56/60)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 23:33:18 GMT -6
[62]
It was much more of a pain than the other had been, and after a bit of work, he paused to check on Russet. The leafscatter was still eating the seeds, which was almost a surprise given how long it had been. Nerius was just happy he hadn't scurried off anywhere, and went back to cutting away the overgrown vine.
Thankfully, it wasn't too large, and only took a few more minutes of work before Nerius was able to yank the rest of the thing off of the fence. The metal underneath wasn't in the best condition, there were no holes, at least, but the fence was badly corroded, and would probably have to be replaced. Honestly at this point, Nerius wondered if it would be less work to start up a new garden, and it wasn't the first time that thought crossed his mind. He'd really purchased it for the included plant critters, not the real estate, actually, he wasn't sure if people even could sell the garden plots themselves.
(Nerius: 7/20) (Russet: Lv: 11, 57/60 | Lyl: 11, 57/60)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 23:39:45 GMT -6
[63]
Glancing back over to the leafscatter, he saw that Russet hadn't run off yet, but had seemed to have finished with eating his seeds. It wasn't all of them, and there was still a small pile left. Walking over to him, Russet offered out another seed. Nerius accepted it, adding it to the basket, but decided to leave the rest of the pile for the leafscatter. He knew they weren't too active during the winter, but he wanted the leafscatter to have a snack later if he needed one.
That wasn't the case right now, and when Nerius offered out an arm, Russet climbed back up to perch on his shoulder. He probably liked the warmth, leafscatters weren't designed for cold the way evergreens were, and Nerius was currently the best heat source in the garden. He wondered if he should get some kind of heating area, the plant critters were capable of surviving the winters, but that didn't mean they necessarily enjoyed them.
(Nerius: 8/20) (Russet: Lv: 11, 58/60 | Lyl: 11, 58/60)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 23:46:00 GMT -6
[64]
Another thing to add to his growing list of garden to dos, which were not the thing he really wanted to be growing in his garden. It seemed like the more he worked in it, the more issues he found. It would take a long time to get it looking decent at this point, and he'd best get back to working on it now.
He had been dealing with the shrubs so far, but honestly he was getting a little tired of that, and wanted to see if he could find the pond. He knew there was one on the plot, and had seen it in the distance on occasion, but it was so overgrown that it was hard to spot. Russet probably knew where it was, but he wasn't any help at the moment, and happy to snuggle into Nerius' jacket. He wouldn't have been surprised if the leafscatter did fall asleep at some point, they spent most the winter doing just that.
(Nerius: 9/20) (Russet: Lv: 11, 59/60 | Lyl: 11, 59/60)
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Post by Nerius on Dec 31, 2019 23:50:59 GMT -6
[65]
That was fine, Nerius didn't need the leafscatter to do anything really, and he was content to stay curled up as Nerius searched for the pond. He would have thought that would have been easier in the winter, with less leaf cover to hide the water feature, but that didn't turn out to be the case. What he did find was a lot more overgrown shrubs, and another stump he'd just about tripped over, half hidden in the snow. Why where there so many stumps? Had the previous owner done some very lazy tree removal?
Eventually though, Nerius came across a large cluster of dead looking reeds, and on the other side of that was the pond. It wasn't as solidly frozen as he'd expected, either the previous owner had splurged for a heater, that was somehow still working, or the lotine had done a good job of keeping it from freezing solid as she swum around.
(Nerius: 10/20 +Added) (Russet: Lv: 12, 60/65 | Lyl: 12, 60/65 +Added)
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Post by Renathan on Jan 1, 2020 1:05:59 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Sept 1, 2020 9:46:05 GMT -6
Kasuna [66] It was, at long last, moving day. It had taken more than Nerius had expected to get the hardware for a proper garden installed on his property. Fencing, the new greenhouse, irrigation, there had been quite a lot of construction for him to have done before it was ready for plant critters. He'd hired a contractor for this, plants he knew how to take care of, but he'd rather someone how knew what they were doing set up the actual hardware. Nerius could only sigh when he reached the old community area plot that he'd obtained in the past. It looked even worse after seeing his nice new garden, and he was sure his critters would be happier in the new one as well. One of his critters was already watching him, the lotine had been sunning herself on a rock when he'd arrived. She'd shot into the water at the sound of a person approaching, but she'd peeked back up, only her flower and eyes above water. (Nerius: 1/20) (Kasuna: Lv: 4, 21/25 | Lyl: 3, 11/15)
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Post by Nerius on Sept 1, 2020 10:03:10 GMT -6
[67]
Nerius hadn't noticed her yet, though Kasuna was watching him with a sort of wary interest, she was trying to hide, and though he had done a lot of work to try to tidy up the garden, it was still an raggedy mess. Overgrown in some patches, dead in others, he probably could make it into something nice, but he hadn't wanted to invest that much time and effort into a plot so inconveniently far away.
And really, it was the creatures he'd bought, the garden had just sort of come with. Now it was a matter of moving all those critters, but in order to do that, he had to find and catch them first. It would have been easier if he had help, but his TROD was currently missing an arm, and while still capable of feeding pets, wrangling and carrying them was a bit beyond its capabilities at the moment.
(Nerius: 2/20) (Kasuna: Lv: 4, 22/25 | Lyl: 3, 12/15)
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Post by Nerius on Sept 1, 2020 10:23:49 GMT -6
[68]
At least there wasn't anything terribly large or ill tempered. Okay, Jumanji had an attitude, but he was used to dealing with the ornery whiptail. He'd brought a bunch of carriers to transport the critters in, none of the plant creatures he had were too large, at least. He had brought a list to make sure he didn't miss anything as well, there were a total of 21 creatures for him to round up, though the four bellaroxi were arguably pocketpets.
He still had his work cut out of him, especially considering he didn't know where most of the critters were. The bellaroxi were actually the only exception, they were so small that the previous owner had kept them in a distinct container. Kasuna was still watching, and froze, staying perfectly still as Nerius walked past the pond. She need not have bothered, he was too busy trying not to trip over the underbrush to investigate the pond that closely.
(Nerius: 3/20) (Kasuna: Lv: 4, 23/25 | Lyl: 3, 13/15)
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Post by Nerius on Sept 1, 2020 10:43:50 GMT -6
[69]
The bellaroxi 'enclosure' was.. sad. It was a large, old tub, with sides too slick for the little critters to climb out of. There were a couple of wilted potted plants, a water dish, and an overturned planter for them to hide in, at least, but it wasn't exactly top tier accommodations. They'd have a much nicer setup in the new greenhouse, a separate area much larger than the tub, with a much larger variety of healthy plants. Not that they'd probably appropriate getting there, the bellaroxi weren't used to him at all, and to top it off, they were venomous.
At least the stingers were small, and the garden gloves he brought should have been enough to protect his hands. A splash from the pond caught Nerius' attention as he was putting on his gloves, he didn't see any creatures, but suspected in was the lotine. She was probably going to be the biggest nuisance to move.
(Nerius: 4/20) (Kasuna: Lv: 4, 24/25 | Lyl: 3, 14/15)
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