Time Trundles Onward

So just a little insight into life on the farm after a couple of months.

The work I was doing was incredibly varied. Still getting up at 7.30 but sometimes not actually doing anything other than switching the pump off and feeding the horses until after 10am, not because I didn’t want to but because I never knew what I was supposed to be doing on any particular day. I did wish I had the stability of a big industry type farm, where I would always know what needed doing and always have something to do. I’m sure Wallendbeen would have been fine, if I’d had the bottle calves that I’d been told would be my job. I would have at least had something consistent to do for part of the day and that would have been my job!

As it is I was doing something completely different every day, whether it be stripping vehicles to clean, fixing machinery, fencing, sheep work, cleaning sheds, mowing lawns, fixing water pipes, or working on the tractor. A lot of these things weren’t too bad, and having the variety was good. The worst days were the ones there was nothing significant to give priority to, or it was raining so the important jobs couldn’t be done. Those days were horrible. I’d find myself pottering around, doing this and that, trying to find enough to do to fill the day and ending up feeling completely unfulfilled and as though nothing had been achieved.

Then there were the days when there was just so much to do, like a full day working with sheep or out in the tractor. Those days were brilliant. So good to feel like you really got something done. No time to wander if you’re actually enjoying what you do on other days, just enjoying a full day of work, just doing it. And even not finishing until 7pm could be great too.

Downtime at Wallendbeen was strange though, mainly because there was so little to do. Evenings my routine became: shower, read, have tea, maybe watch TV or read a bit more, go to bed. Early in my time there days off would be just doing my laundry, anything else I needed to do for me and retreating into corners of the garden, out of the way so I didn’t feel guilty for not doing work. Later on laundry and cleaning the kitchen became part of something I just did in day to day work and by the end of March weekends were spent in Young, a town about 40km away where I had finally made some friends!