I went out to Burnside today (the Garard’s farm) as they were shearing. I needed a few pictures for the book trailer and for the website so people can see what I’m talking about when they read my next book. I found out today that there are three Burnside’s in WA (hence the PIN (for Pingaring) under the farm name on the bale). If your farm name is one of them, tell us where about in WA you are?
I was hoping to take photo’s of the hero of my book, a blond muscly 28 year old shearer…but alas…he was nowhere to be seen. (Maybe he was off sick!?!) Actually I think he’s left and gone to work on the mines!! Anywhoo I got plenty of other shots and was even in time for Di’s morning smoko! What a treat! Sitting on a bale with a cuppa made by my mate Dennis with a range of food fit for a king. It was nice to get out of the house (and away from the computer) and go visiting. I didn’t hang around as they had a spare drench gun and were looking for volunteers lol. This afternoon is set aside for book writing and setting up a few things for the website. Time to get cracking.
Winter – oh the joys of frosty mornings. On this particular morning I was on my way to my friends house to pick up my kids and the fog was really thick AND it was 10.30am!! Yes, the farmers would have been twiddling their fingers waiting for it to lift so they could go spraying. I know my dad was at home waiting…probably enjoying the warmth before he went out into the cold to play with water.
This picture is of my friends house from their driveway and you can just make out it out. The camera never seems to pick up just how thick it is.
I nearly ran over the shire crew on my way there. They had two graders parked up on the road. They appeared out of nowhere in the fog. I bet they thought twice about standing on the road to talk in a fog, especially with me behind the wheel!! As i left near lunch time i could still see areas of fog. Well at least it wasn’t a frost. I’m hoping they stay away. Its been a bad enough start to the year, no one needs their crops wiped out from the frost as well.
Yay, it’s seeding time again. Where the mornings are crisp and the freshly turned earth smells amazing.
I had a call from a local farmer saying he was about to rip up the back paddock behind our house, why? Because my hubby likes to hit his golf balls out there and it was full of them and he didn’t want to bury them all (Such thoughtful folk out here!)
Being a good wife, I went out and began to collect them up as the farmer begun his first lap! It was hard going as the paddock had just been sprayed and the little white blobs of foam marker looked like white golf balls. So as I’m walking around like a fella who’s had too much scotch, collecting up balls with the pickup doovalackie, I waved to the passing farmer in his tractor who I’m sure was laughing.
My goodness were there some balls to collect….the farmer had finished his lap before I had them all picked up!!! Surely I gained some brownie points with the husband for that!
Anyway, as I left the paddock on this cool overcast day, with my full bag of balls, I paused over the turned dirt and breathed deeply. I even sat down and played with the dirt like one of my kids. Freshly turned dirt is one of my top smells along with rain, wildflowers and eucalyptus in the air, fresh baked bread, babies…..etc etc.
If you ever get out into the country, go and kick up some soil a day after it’s rained – when it’s still moist- and see what you think of the scent.
Meet Polly the little lamb. We are babysitting Polly for three days for my friend Renae. It’s amazing that Polly is still alive especially when you hear her story. Polly was born whilst her mum was still trying to give birth to Polly’s twin, a fox had decided to nibble away on her. When Renae had found her the fox had chewed off some of her ear and left a huge hole around her jaw. Apparently it was really bad, seeing bone etc…I wont go into yuckie details.
As her twin and mum had both died they took her home and didn’t think she’d last the night out. But she did – against all odds. She got an infection and struggled to walk and they kept thinking she wouldn’t make it but each morning there she was, battling on. To look at Polly now you’d never know.
Her face has healed well and also her ear…minus a chunk at the back of it.
But she’s the cutest lamb, and the kids love feeding her.
We keep her in the fruit tree enclosure to protect her from the nearby main road. But when we let her out she comes straight to me like I’m her mum and follows me. She also loves the dogs, as she’s grown up with them. Although this freaks out our dog! Gidget keeps backing away with a panicked look, while Polly keeps trying to snuggle close. Sadly she will be going home on Sunday (I’m sure the novelty would have worn off by then for the kids).
Well the winter vegies are in and growing well. Thanks to my daughter who took the picture for me…(school holidays = bored kids= urgh) I only have a small vegie patch but it still grows plenty. Nothing like having your own grown vegies, especailly as the prices for fruit and veg in the country are horrible. My boy loves picking fresh grown carrots and munching on them…I just wish he could wait until they get bigger than his finger. They never make it to the plate..at least he’s eating them and not the rabbits. We’ve got spring onions, broc, cauli, cabbage, beetroot, carrots, tomatoes, a few kinds of lettuce, celery and capsicums.
With the cool weather, the gardens are starting to come alive again and not look so dry and burnt – and its less watering I have to do, more time I can spend writing.
Got this pic of the storm over the A type bin across the road from our house. Wish I was at the top of the bin, I could have got some great pictures (along with getting fried mind you!).
I’m in a bit of a sad place at the moment. You see, we just lost some valuable community members (one has already gone and one is soon to go). These girls will leave such a huge hole in our community for they were actively involved. Nameless volunteering and running fundraising events and more importantly the roles they took in our Progress Association for the health of our town and community. It’s the dedication of people like these who come forward out of their already busy and hectic lives to help better our way of life out here. There are few as it is, but these two did amazing things in our town. I will miss them, so will our community, but they are moving forward in their lives and I’m sure they will take a piece of Pingaring with them.
But to add to this sadness was the news of a family selling their farm. It makes my heart heavy to hear this as these families have been here for generations, they are a part of the community. Half of what makes Pingaring so special is the characters that live here and have done so for years.
It’s upsetting on many levels because it means the town shrinks yet again, as the chances of a new family moving in are slim. And it’s not just this one farmer, you hear whispers as other farmers are doing it tough. They may not have said it aloud, but I bet selling has floated through their thoughts more than once. It would be easier to sell, to not struggle anymore. You can work your butt off on your farm, all for nothing as Mother Nature can rear her ugly head and bring bad year after year and then the low prices to contend with alongside the ever rising costs!! Why, you would wonder, do they hang on so long? Is it the connection with the land, the thought that it has been in the family for generations. Like myself, Pingaring is home and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I would never leave unless the decision was made for me and we had no choice. I guess it gets to that point with many farmers. What else can they do, farming has been their whole life, but sometimes it’s the bank account telling you what you don’t want to hear.
As we try not to think of what this means, (will we lose our bus run, will our committees close down with lack of volunteers, what’s it going to be like in a few years if this keeps happening?) we will all rally again under our ‘tree’ to meet with friends and family. To laugh and share and to forge ahead, after all we are aussie battlers.
Note to all….I will be the last one to turn out the lights in Pingaring! My feet have grown into the earth here and you will need more than a bulldozer to shift me from my home even if it means living here alone with the tumbleweeds. LOL
I must thank this particular shearing crew for allowing me to take photo’s of them hard at work (and for the stories I heard after work…such a laugh). You may read about them in the next book.
I loved Jason’s shed. It’s not like the new boring ones I’ve seen, but rather rustic and how shearing should be (to me anyway). The back aides are hung from an old tree branch and plank of wood. There is years and years of oil build up in the wood and it looks used. That’s what sheds looked like when I was growing up!
Here are our mothers with their 11 chicks! See if you can count them all. So cute and fluffy.
I took the remaining eggs away from them (so they would get out of their box and look after the ones they had) and put them inside on the oil heater.
Bugger me, bung on midnight I was woken up with this chirping echoing through the house. Sure enough, one had hatched!
I admired it for a second before shutting the door so I could get back to sleep. I am taking a couple in to my daughter’s school tomorrow for her news … hopefully they will survive the excitement! (That’s if I can get them away from one of the mums (the darker one.)
She’s real protective; funny considering she only hopped on the eggs a few days before they hatched. It was the white chook who did all the work from start to end.
This is our fruit tree enclosure and its full of life and budding fruit. Our grape vines are loaded (hopefully the chooks wont get them this year) and the peaches are growing madly as you can see below.
They are the first pick, followed by the nectarines usually.
Its exciting to watch as the trees flower and then each day being amazed as the fruit grows. I can’t wait to fill myself with ripe fruit fresh from the tree!
