Harvest Moon 64/Winter (Year 1)

Welcome to your first winter! You've survived three hectic seasons, and now things will start to slow down a bit. With no crops to water, grass to chop, or music boxes to dig up, you're going to find a lot more time on your hands, especially here at the beginning and near the very end, but there are some interesting things to come...

Winter 1st
Mr. Green will show up today with his promised herd of cows from another barn, and will tell you to make sure they are fed. You don't really need to feed them, just to brush and talk to them. After dealing with the cows, save up your chicken eggs and whatever you saved in the refrigerator or cabinet from Fall for gifts. Head toward Moon Mountain, and you'll see that there is nothing growing here in winter and that the small pond near the tent is frozen. Smash the rock there with a fully charged swing from the Golden Hammer to score a power berry. If you don't have the golden hammer yet, take time tonight to bash the table in your living room a few times before going to bed. Chances are that after clearing all the rocks off your farm (you did do that, didn't you?) you are only twenty or thirty swings away from a golden hammer.

There's nothing else up in the mountains except stumps, so unless you need wood for the greenhouse, there's no reason to head back this way. Instead, give your eggs out to the guys, Ann, and now Ellen -Elli's grandmother. We'll want to be good enough friends with her by next summer so that the proper events take place. When you're done playing Santa Claus, head down to the dock on the beach and fish. With any luck, you'll snag the power berry there before darkness falls. Even if you don't, pocket the fish you catch and sell them in the morning.

Winter 2nd-7th
These first few days of winter will drag by rather slowly until you get a greenhouse going. If you're short on wood, run through Moon Mountain and clear out the stumps. There is a congregation of three in one place near the bridge that you just finished building last season. Otherwise, just sit tight and fish off the dock hoping to snag that power berry. Otherwise sell the fish or run off to the bar and give them away. You'll notice that there's a new face at the bar- the girl whose cows you are keeping in your barn. Don't worry about giving her anything, though, she'll be out of the picture soon enough. If Cliff is there, make sure to give him an egg to get a recipe that you can only get during winter.

When you get the greenhouse, get a couple plots of potatoes going. We need Ann to be at a pink heart by the end of the year, and she loves potatoes and corn! Make sure to give her the wool from your sheep whenever it decides to grow back. Plant a patch of strawberries as well, but other than that, it's up to you. Just make sure not to make so much that you tire yourself out before the day even starts.

Winter 8th
Have you ever noticed that out-of-place looking door in the wall of the cave in Moon Mountain? Well you will soon become well acquainted with it, because it's the best source of sellable items this part of the season. Finish all your morning chores and gifting as quickly as possible, make sure you have your hoe, then head up to the cave in Moon Mountain. If it's not snowing, talk to the carpenter beside the door to enter the mine. Once there, you will be stuck until 5:00pm. Until then, get digging! If you fill up your rucksack, feel free to toss the iron ores on the ground if you're holding a more valuable item in order to get back to digging. In addition to items, you might stumble upon a hole that will take you to the next level down. Always opt to go down the hole, because you will find more valuable items further down, including a power berry and a chicken weather vane that Rick can fix up for you.

When you're finally kicked out of the mine, chop the stumps and sell the iron ores. If you get a Moonlight Stone or Rare Metal, save one and give it to Rick the next day, though not both in the same day. If you have a Blue Stone, save on to give to Saibara.

If it's not sunny, you'll just have to spend the day fishing at the beach again.

Winter 9th
The Thanksgiving Day Festival is tomorrow, and Kent might stop by this morning to remind you about it. Elli may also stop by asking if she can have all six of your eggs. You can either make her pay or not, it doesn't really matter. Ann should be well into a green heart at this point. If you're good enough to have a greenhouse and potatoes going, you still have a gift for Ann today with all the eggs spoken for, but otherwise she'll have to settle for cow's milk. Speaking of, we'll want another cow soon, so as soon as money from the greenhouse starts coming in, use it to get another cow. The rest of the day is like the previous one, visiting the mine in the morning and chopping the stumps afterward.

Winter 10th
Don't worry about the strange rumbling that happens in the morning- that will come into play later. At any rate, it doesn't affect your farm at all. Though today is the Thanksgiving Festival, it's not much different from a normal day except that all the girls with green hearts or above- which is getting close to all of them by now- will give you a cake when you talk to them. Continue on the same schedule as the 8th and 9th.

Winter 11th
Today, the carpenters will stop by the farm to tell you about a sauna they plan to build around the hot springs that formed following the previous night's earthquake. They ask you for help again, and for 1000G per day, there's no reason not to.

Winter 12th-16th
These days will work similar to the ones during Fall when the bridge was being built. Finish all of your farm work and gift giving in the morning, then either fish or ride your horse around until around 2:00pm. As long as you get to the mountains before 3:00pm, you'll get paid the full 1000G. If you feel at all like Ann is getting close to a pink heart, head back to the farm straight away after work to see if she's standing outside your house waiting for you. If you don't do this, then there's a chance that she'll show up first thing 6:00am the next morning. Since this is an automatic day-ending event, it means you will waste a day, not to mention your animals getting sick. On top of that, you will have just saved with her standing outside and there's nothing you can do about it.

As for the afternoon work, make sure you don't miss the 16th, because it is your only chance to get the hot springs photo. You won't get to visit the mine during these days, so focus instead on getting gifts out to the people in town. Make sure not to ignore Popuri and Ellen, as they are quickly becoming more important characters in your story. If you've been brushing it and talking to it every day, your cow should be upgrading to medium milk one of these days, which should be a pleasant surprise.

Winter 17th-18th
The mine's back open, so we're back to the schedule of chores and gifts in the morning, the mine in the afternoon, and chopping stumps at night. On the 18th, Mr. Green will pop by to ask you if you want to enter your dog in tomorrow's Dog Race, which is basically the same as the Horse Race, except with dogs. The carpenter shop opens back up on the 18th as well, so if you haven't bought a greenhouse yet (you should have enough funds by now, especially after the hot springs job) go ahead and do that. If you want to wait until after the Dog Race on the 19th so you can earn medals, that's fine too. Ann should be close to a pink heart now if she isn't already. If she still is at a yellow heart, start growing potatoes and corn, and don't forget to give wool to her when you get it!

Winter 19th
Today is the Dog Race Festival! It's pretty much the same as the Horse Race festivals, except that there are different prizes in exchange for medals and you have absolutely no way to affect the outcome of the race you're in. Today we find out how much you love your little doggy. If you've been feeding him every day, bringing him in when it rains, picking him up, and calling him, your little ball of fur has a good chance of winning. Unlike the horse races, the chance of your dog succeeding depends solely on how much love you have shown it plus some random variables. If your dog doesn't win, though, it's really not a big deal. Remember, this festival doesn't wait for you, so make sure to get there before 10:00am so you don't miss the first race. The prizes here don't really do much except look pretty, so save at least 500 so you can afford a sustaining carrot next spring if you don't already have one. If you already have the sustaining carrot, then do whatever you want with the medals, just be aware that the "cool house" refers to your dog's house, not yours.

Winter 20th-23rd
You should have a greenhouse up and running by now, and Ann should be at a pink heart. If you haven't gotten it already, with any luck, she'll show up on the farm on some sunny day and lead you out to the Goddess Pond for her photo. If not, then you're going to have to focus each day on seeking her out, getting her a gift, and getting back to your farm before 5:00pm. When you do get the photo, you can leave her alone and focus on Popuri (who should be a green heart or so by now) and Ellen. If Popuri is still a bit behind, it's not too much of a problem. Spring is coming, and it will bring with it plenty of flowers and the return of the good old music boxes.

Now that Ann is taken care of, we're going to get a new set of people to give gifts to. If you've been regularly giving gifts to Ellen, you should already be going through the village everyday. Plant a plot of tomatoes and two plots of potatoes in the greenhouse for giving away. When they come in, in addition to giving gifts to Ellen and Popuri in the village, also run into the church in the morning and give gifts to Kent, Stu, May, give a tomato to the pastor. Run down to the Flower Shop and give another tomato to Lillia, and give a potato to the mayor when you see him there. They're all in one place, so it shouldn't take too much time out of your day.

When you get the money and lumber, purchase a bathroom from the carpenters, which comes complete with a bathtub that will restore your energy. Buy the carpet and a blue flower from Rick, which we will store in the chest for use in a few weeks. In the greenhouse, get a couple plots of tomatoes, corn, and strawberries going, and money will soon stop being an issue. It's not like we have to pay rent and taxes or anything.

Winter 24th
The Starry Night Festival is tonight. It doesn't affect any of the shops, however, so keep on like it's a normal day. At around 6:00pm, start making your way to either Ann (if she's not at a pink heart yet) or Popuri, who should be at a green heart or better by now. Ann is hanging out in the church and Popuri is sitting at the very top of Moon Mountain- you'll have to run all the way to the top to find her. For the first time in a while, we get an automatic sleep.

Winter 25th-26th
If your birthday is in winter, you should be getting a visit this morning, but otherwise, these are normal days. Aside from Popuri and Ellen, there's not much else on the priority list, so if you haven't gotten the power berry from fishing at the beach, by gifting the Goddess Pond and asking for strength, or from hammering the rock by the frozen pond, now's the time to do it. If you gave a blue rock to Siabara, he will have a blue pot for sale, so stop by and purchase that and the ocarina. Keep chopping stumps and get a staircase if you can afford it. At this point, it doesn't really matter what order you get the rest of the extensions in, though the staircase can help save on chicken feed in spring. The days might be getting repetitive and boring around this point, but hang in there- spring is just around the corner, and, with it, a whole new list of things to do.

Winter 27th
The mayor will stop by today to remind you about the Spirit Festival. If you're decent friends with the Potion Master, he will stop by to ask if you want to play in his band at the festival. Hopefully you have the ocarina, or you will be stuck on cowbell duty. At any rate, today is otherwise the same as the others in just about every other respect, just make sure to get to the Town Square before 7:00pm. If you head straight there after the mine closes, you should be fine. Play your musical masterpiece if you were invited, then let the system send you to bed.

Winter 28th-29th
There's not much going on these days, just keep giving gifts, paying particular attention to Popuri and Ellen, and either mine or fish the rest of the day away. Don't worry, winter will soon pass.

Winter 30th
You've finally made it to the last day of Winter! Finish up all your work in the morning, then head to either the church or the bar- it doesn't really matter. Afterward, one of the girls will ask you to watch the first sunrise, bringing with it the end of a long, dreary winter.