Cottage Maids in the Autumn Garden

Here I am noodling about, not really sure how my maids should look. They look a little bit like sideshow performers here. First they looked too plain, now they look too happy! I will have to work on them some more. What are they about? What might they be doing there?
 You can see how The Cottage Maids turned out at My Good Babushka. Painting, Chainmaille, and Needlework