Harvest time – WIPpet Wednesday

~ Elaine Jeremiah

Harvest

Hi all. I felt frustrated today because yesterday I spent ages on my computer, writing and updating my blog, but it didn’t occur to me to prepare my post for today’s WIPpet Wednesday. Hence I have less time, or at least I feel like I do. Anyway, unlike last week today’s selection for my WIPpet Wednesday contribution was easy to find. I don’t think I’ve shared it with you before.

Apologies if you recognise it but I just don’t have the energy to trawl through my previous posts. I’m still knackered from yesterday morning’s exercise class. It’s called body pump and – well you basically pump your body for an hour with different weights, often using a barbell. You get the idea. It’s very intensive, but it’s good for me. And I’m actually starting to enjoy it now. 🙂

Anyway back to today’s post. I’ve chosen 5 lines from chapter 6 – seeing that ties in nicely with today’s date. At this point in The Inheritance, Emma has left for London and Kate is still on the farm in Cornwall working hard. She’s brooding about herself and her father and what will become of them in the future…

It was six pm and Kate was still hard at work. Harvest time was one of the busiest periods she and her father had on the farm. She was busy lugging bales of hay from the wagon attached to the tractor into the barn. Her father often told her not to carry too much, that she’d hurt her back, but Kate ignored him. She liked to feel weary at the end of the day; it sent her straight to sleep at night and meant she wasn’t lying awake worrying about her future and her father.

If you would like to take part in WIPpet Wednesday, simply post on your blog an excerpt from your current WIP which correlates somehow with the date, so it being the 5th June today I chose 5 lines from chapter 6. You can be flexible. Once you’ve done that, add your name to this linky. Many thanks as always to K.L. Schwengel for hosting.

Published by Elaine Jeremiah

I live with my husband and dog in the UK. I'm the author of four novels, my latest being a Jane Austen fan fiction time travel romance, 'Love Without Time'.

36 thoughts on “Harvest time – WIPpet Wednesday”

    1. Yes, my extracts do tend to get a bit muddled because I just pick and choose randomly to correlate with the date, so not surprised you didn’t realise there was a farm. It’s quite important too. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

      1. We had hay mostly and a really good sized veggi garden, but our really close family friends had a dairy farm and the neighbors had a tobacco farm. I miss it. City life isn’t the same

        Like

      2. I can definitely sympathise there. I live in a big city. Although I’ve never lived in the country, I’ve lived a lot nearer to it than I do now. I have to say though it only bothers me when I stop and think about it. Then I’m kind of wistful that I don’t see more of the countryside.

        Like

    1. Thanks. I tend to be weary at the end of the day, but not because of farm work. I guess most people are though. I often wish there were more hours in the day and then I could get so much more done.

      Like

      Reply

  4. Don’t worry, you haven’t posted this one before. 🙂 Kate is the not-prodigal sister, right? (Sorry. I forget names from week to week.) Now I want to know more about her side of the story. Why is she worried about the future. And is her father sick? Or working too hard? Hmm…

    Like

    Reply

    1. Oh so glad I haven’t. Yes, you got it, Kate is the non-Prodigal sister. She’s got a lot on her plate like her sister has later in the story, but for different reasons. And that’s all I’m saying!

      Like

      Reply

  5. Having grown up on a farm (mostly veggies, no actual haying, but the lifting is still there), I can relate.

    I’m a bit puzzled by the last sentence. The way you finish with “…and her father.” makes me wonder if something terrible happened to Kate once at his hands. (Yeah, I read things into stories a bit too much.)

    Like

    Reply

  6. I grew up on a dairy farm and totally know about lugging hay bales around. (No wonder my poor back is in the state it is now, poor Kate better watch that in the long run). But I knew exactly how she felt. If you’re trying to distract yourself from a problem throwing haybales is a good way to do it. It wears you out, is scratchy and they bounce too – often into places you don’t want them to go – and when you’re tired and frustrated the problem is still there… (hmmm), but at least your tired body will take your mind off them.

    Nice passage – I’m keen to read more of her side of the story.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Good to hear your thoughts Raewyn. When writing this I was going by instinct really, not having grown up on a farm. Glad I haven’t done too badly at describing a little of what it’s like. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  7. This extract has made me reminisce about harvest time on my grandparents’ farm in Norfolk when I was a kid. Working hard outdoors all day does make you weary; makes me sometimes wish I did a more active job than sitting in front of a computer all day!

    Like

    Reply

    1. I didn’t realise your grandparents owned a farm – that sounds wonderful. 🙂 It is nice I think to feel physically tired because you’ve been working outdoors in the fresh air all day. It’s a healthy feeling.

      Like

      Reply

      1. I have lovely memories of time at my grandparents. In fact where they live (my parents were left my grandparents’ farmhouse) is the setting for the Norfolk part of The Butterfly Storm – the view from the house at least.

        Like

  8. I consider chores to be my daily exercise regimen — lugging hay, water buckets, feed pails. Yeah, there’s a certain kind of weary you get with fresh air and hard work that you just don’t get any other way.

    Like

    Reply

      1. Yep. Well, I guess it’s classified as a hobby farm – we raise sheep and working Australian Shepherds.

        Like

      2. Just looked up Australian Shepherds – cute dogs! My husband and I have a very mad golden retriever. Your farm sounds great. Two questions: is it in the middle of nowhere and if you have kids as well as running a farm etc. where do you get your superhuman strength from which enables you to write as well??!!

        Like

  9. I definitely relate to the wanting to feel weary in the evenings.

    I grew up on a property but not an actual farm and sometimes wondered what it would have been like to live that sort of lifestyle, but I probably would have hated it, to be honest. The city I live in is often referred to as a “big country town” because there’s a two or three degress of separation thing going on despite a population of 350000+… It’s just a good size for me, don’t think I could go back to anything smaller.

    Like

    Reply
  10. Pingback: WIPpet Wednesday: Soulwounded | Trueborn Jottings

  11. I own a bunny, so hay is something I smell every single day! I used to not like it, and I’m pretty sure it gives me allergies (very mild, though) but now it’s a smell near and dear to me.

    Like

    Reply

  12. I love what her desire to be weary at the end of the day says about her character. Great excerpt. 🙂
    Also, I’m doing something different for my WIPpet next week. I’m going to let you vote at this post http://inkandpapyrusblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/wippet-choice/ for which previous WIPpet you’d like me to continue. I should have put this at the bottom of this Wednesday’s post but I forgot so sorry for clogging up your comments. 🙂 Feel free to edit this bit out 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  13. Pingback: My own domain name!! | elaine jeremiah

Please share your thoughts...