February 12, 2011
We’re on day three of farm work in the bush! We’re two hours from the closest town. Tonight they served us a traditional Australian meal of Lamb Roast, roasted vegetables, Pavlova for dessert, and a delicious Australian red wine. The farm is a certified organic cattle farm. During the recent storms in Brisbane, the river flooded and the entire property was a lake for six weeks. The family moved back a week before we got here. Fences are down, grass and garden is dead, and house was inundated with bugs, dirt, and an invasion of mice. We came at just the right time! The kids have been in the pastures every day with Rodger (dad), doing all sorts of farm work and I have been helping mom with kids and getting the house back in order. I consider it post partum doula work. The kids are (almost) two, and three and a half and mom is still adjusting to motherhood and farm life, after a career as a Family Practitioner. Life on a farm isn’t as glamorous as some make it out to be, for sure. You are completely at the mercy of Mother Nature! Two years ago they suffered from a draught, last spring they were stuck in the house for three weeks from the river flooding overnight and they couldn’t get out, and now it happened again for six weeks.
They are very grateful to have us here. I am very grateful to be here! When I see the interaction between Rodger and the kids, and hear the stories each evening of what he shared with them, and what they helped with for the day, I feel like it’s the best education ever! It’s more than an education; it’s an inspiration for them. They are working with a man that loves what he does and is as interested in them and what they want as they are in him.
It is beautiful here! Australia has as many birds as South America and there is always a flock singing their songs. The Magpie is definitely my favorite; their song sounds like a flute. Something I have noticed about a lot of the birds is that they are very people friendly, even though there’s no one out here to be feeding them. When they’re on the hunt, you can walk very close by and they don’t flinch. There are also tons of insects! At night it’s loud with crickets, frogs, and what have you. On the night that we drove in (2 hours drive!), it was around 9:00 and we hit a few places where there were cows sleeping in the road! Lol! They would be slightly startled by the car, get up, and then stand there and stare at us. It was hilarious! There was a bull that was directly in front of the hood having a standoff with the car. It took a while to get around them; then the calves were in the road and ran in front of us trying to get away, rather than running off the road!
The kids are seeing kangaroos on a regular basis out on the farm. They are very fun to watch. They use their hands/paws on their front little legs to hold onto plants when they eat them. There are savannah monitors all around the property and the birds love to tantalize them. Eliot has tried his hand at catching one but hasn’t been quick enough. He’s getting his fill of riding an ATV once again! He’s also working as long and hard as the others and not complaining; that’s a good sign for sure!
Here at the farm, they have guest quarters in a separate little “cottage” (sort of). There are two rooms and a bathroom. One room is a bedroom for Sadie and I. The other room has a small kitchen, table, and bunk beds and a trundle. The boys sleep there. We have a deck, outside table, and camp stove for cooking on. It’s as close to camping as I’ll get while here. I wanted to camp but don’t have the equipment.
So, it’s off to work every day at 8:00, home around 5:30, dinner, and then play cards until bedtime around 10:00. There are breaks for “morning tea” and lunch. Kids are fitting in reading also, and swimming down at the river.
We will take a break when we leave here, spend a few days at the beach, then off to another farm!