Quote:
Originally Posted by
ashfig 
Cora laughed. He seemed so care-free about things, and Cora's already good mood brightened. She was so thankful she didn't have to do all of this alone, even though the task at hand sounded very...fun.
As he set her bucket down, Cora smiled and grabbed a small shovel. What she lacked in size she hopefully made up for in enthusiasm. "It's nice to meet you, too, Ethan," she said brightly. Ethan. That was a nice name. Cora had met someone named Ethan at the playground when she was little, before her mom stopped letting her go there.
To Cora's surprise, he agreed to work with her. Yes, everyone was definitely a lot nicer this year. "Sounds like a good idea," she responded with a smile, since Ethan would need his bucket, too. As Ethan went to grab his bucket, Cora got started scooping fertilizer into basil plants' soil. Poor plants, Cora thought. She realized helping plants was a lot like the help she was giving to the animals in the barn with Professor Newlin. She really liked to help.
Ethan returned with his bucket of manure and a couple hand-rakes. He often worked the fertilizer into the soil with gloved hands but the rakes would make it easier especially since there was more work to be done when they were finished with that part. Noticing that Cora had already begun her work, Ethan chose a potted basil near hers and set his bucket down. The fifth year laid one of the hand-rakes on the shelf next to Cora's plant and said,
"Here, this might help work the fertilizer into the soil." He took a handful of his manure and sprinkled it around the base of the plant. Using the hand-rake, he worked the dung about 3 cm into the soil as he spoke.
"The nutrients seem to get to the roots best if you mix it into the soil a bit," he explained.
"And then another layer on top," he added, half to himself and half to Cora, not sure if she already knew this. Ethan patted a little more dung on top of the mixed layer, then moved on to the next plant. Just how many were they supposed to care for again?