Colors and Farmhouses

     Green, Red, Gold, & Cream
    She trudges through the green grass that swallows her boots as she goes to the barn. When she walks, emerald color grasshoppers dart around to avoid her wake. The time is 4:00, the time she must greet the horizon and start the day. Her eyes see golden dandelions among weeds, and she hopes to find a four- leaf clover for luck, all through the day. Meanwhile, a fall breeze rustles through the trees, knocking summer leaves off for new fall ones.
    The red barn doors decorated with white edges open as she drifts inside. She lifts the metallic pail and wipes the morning dew off her rust color plaid shirt. Running a hand through her strawberry blonde hair, she walks to where the cows are, grabs the cherry wood stool, and begins her job of milking, After the last cow is done, she returns the secondhand stool and looks at her raw hands, tired from the job they just performed. The first rays of the sun glint through a crack in the barn door that needs to be fixed.
    Back outside, golden flecks of light spill out from behind the indigo clouds of morning. Out past the barn, her father is on a John Deere tractor, cutting down stalks of wheat as they blow in the wind. She carefully makes her way through the grass again, watching for a yellow rock that caused spilt milk last week. Her eyes follow to the glow of the kitchen, a sure sign that the rest of the family is up. She hurries her stride, hoping to make it back in good time.
    She walks up the steps and bangs the back of her hand on the cream colored farmhouse door. She hears footsteps and sees her mother’s face appear in the window, trying to open the door for her daughter. She grabs the milk from her daughter and pours it into a glass container marked No. 3, stained from its previous uses. The daughter washes her hands, then dries them on the dish towel. Her mother stirs cream into the coffee, and puts it before her.
Now the day has begun.