flickr photo credits: (1) bionicteaching (2) bionicteaching (3) Intrepidteacher (4) bionicteaching (5) bionicteaching
Five Card Story: Mary fixes the farm
a Five Card Flickr story by Elizabeth P, english class created Mar 28 2024, 03:39:18 pm. Create a new one!
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Five am sharp, Ritchie the Rooster does his morning call. He never misses a beat which is unfortunate for Mary, who now has to rise with the sun on this dreadfully dewy morning. After getting ready for the day, she heads down the creaky steps that look two centuries too old, then heads straight to the coffee machine while still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. While listening to the dripping of coffee into the pot, Mary thinks back on how she felt when receiving the news that her father, the previous owner of her farm, had passed away. She never thought she would come back to this small quiet town and surely thought one of her five siblings would’ve wanted the family business. Turns out nobody wanted this and when she arrived at the farm she truly understood why not a single person in her family showed any interest in this run down, barren farm. Mary had to figure out what to do because she’s been receiving letters about past due bills and the farm possibly being condemned. Mary pushes these thoughts to the back of her head and focuses on what the morning entails. She takes a sip of her coffee and pours the rest into a travel mug then heads out towards the barn. As soon as Mary steps out of the house she is reminded of the hard work she has ahead of her. The pastures, once lush and green, now lay brown and depressing. Her father had to sell most of their animals to keep the place, which Mary was unhappy to find out after the funeral. She heads through the barn with its peeling paint exposing the original wood and smiles at her cow, Beatrice. “Good morning old lady, hope you slept better than I did.” Mary said with a sheepish smile. Beatrice gave Mary a nudge with her head and let out a moo. Mary had been stressed due to the lack of funds the farm was making and the letters that were pouring through her mail slot in the door. Letters about past due bills, vendors wanting to drop the farm and the possibility of the farm being condemned. After feeding all the animals, Mary rushed back into the house and straight to her fathers old desk, she had an idea. Mary pulled out some paper and a pencil then got to work on a proposal. Her farm may not be producing the way it used to but there are other ways for her to utilize what she has. Mary makes copies of the letter with all of her ideas on how to save the farm then hands them out to her small community. While doing this she bumps into a highschool friend, Janet, and they talk about the potential the farm has. Mary and Janet decide that they can form a partnership and get the farm up and running, while also using it as a safe haven for animals. Many businesses and neighbors want to be involved in the renovations of the farm, they believe it'll bring in business for the whole community. Everybody stepped up for Mary, bringing resources by the truck load. Mary and Janet worked long days, the summer heat was giving them no breaks. It wasn't fun fertilizing the fields, the stench of the manure lingered for what felt like forever. The hardware store donated supplies to fix the fences and repaint the barn. The community donated whatever they could: their time, benches, paint brushes, lessons on gardening, even just lending a friendly ear. After months of hard work the farm is finally ready to open up to the public. The pastures are full of life and the barn has a new coat of firetruck red. Mary and Janet have already taken in a few animals that needed a safe place to live. Mary's favorite is the pig, Patricia, she’s a real character. They planned events for fundraising and even had a food truck for the people who came. Turns out that Mary and Janets idea was such a great one that Mary was able to catch up on all the past due bills within a few months of reopening the farm.
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flickr photo credits: (1) bionicteaching (2) bionicteaching (3) Intrepidteacher (4) bionicteaching (5) bionicteaching