Farm Experience: Tuesday, 30th November, 2004

"I take my words back. It is a little scary to be here, and also bloody freezing cold. Well, actually it's not really THAT cold, but I'm embarassed to be wearing more layers than the country folk, who are mainly clad in T-shirt and shorts. And I am really, really freaked out by the insects here. It doesn't feel good at all to be sleeping directly under a mass of spider webs and knowing that I can't do anything about it at all, since it isn't my house! Before I went to sleep yesterday night, I must have killed at least 4 strange-looking bugs in crawling around on the bed, and many more flying around my head. I saw a cockcroach on the carpet which looked dead, but then this morning when I tried finding it again, I couldn't see it anywhere. Apparently I ought to be stepped on it to be doubly sure it's dead. Oh well.

This is the type of house that, if you are observant, you will spot many things you do not wish to see at all. There is dirt in every corner. For someone who used to be able to not rest well in the same room as a live cockcroach, staying here is kind of a nightmare. By now, I have gotten used to the constant bugs flying around me, but I suspect I haven't seen the worst. The winds are still currently strong and the weather is not as hot as what it would be like in normal summer... yet. The bathroom also makes me feel a little queasy, as I took my first shower today. The corners of the shower area are littered with strange-looking "objects", obviously uncleared for a long time. Am I being too picky here? I should be glad for any sort of shower facilities. Unfortunately I guess I have grown up in an environment where I take cleaniness for granted. BUT! I will definitely adapt myself to whatever place I'm in, no matter how dirty or insect-infested. I know that there's actually a lack of water on the farm, so I try my best to escape from the shower as soon as I'm done, for more than that one reason now.

Today Len brought me to meet the neighbours and see everything there is to see on his farm, as well as Ian's cattle farm not far away. I guess this is because tomorrow he will be starting his shearing work and we wouldn't have the time to do what we did today till the weekends, or until his shearing job is done. The first neighbour we met was a guy named Mark, who was in the midst of harvesting his barley crops. I was quite surprised when they told me to get onto the massive harvesting machinery, called the combine harvester, which cuts through the crops and separates the grain from the chaffs. It was so efficient that I was rather awed by the sophistication of the mechanical device. We went around a couple of rounds while I asked Mark a whole lot of stupid questions only a city kid would ask. Like... I didn't even know barley was used to make beer. I've got so much to learn.

Over at Ian's farm, I sat at the back of the ute with Len and Chloe while Ian drove us around his paddocks. His Murry Grey cows are in fantastic condition compared to the ones we have on the Murdoch farm - so fat and docile. I really like those cows. I wish Chloe hadn't sat at the back of the ute with us though. She brought her picture book along and kept trying to show me the pictures. I ended up trying to balance my attention between her and the farm which I was supposed to see.

For the rest of the day, I felt like an exhibit as I followed Len around to meet more neighbours. I know he means well, for he told me that he interpreted the main purpose for our farm attachments was to learn to develop communication skills with strangers. Everyone I met asks me the same questions such that it gets really repetitive and boring after a while. "So what kind of vet are going to be - large or small animal?" "How long are you going to be here?" "How many more years do you have left?" etc. I really ought to think up of ingenious answers to these same questions which I bet I will continue to hear, so that I can amuse myself.

But I've got to admit, the country folk are all friendly, nice people. Or perhaps it's just that Len knows how to pick his good neighbours! There was this family that we visited, the Craigs. We ended up spending quite a bit of time over at their place as Len regaled them with tales of his Adelaide trip and did some catching up on local news. They had three sons. The eldest, Scott, had moved out long ago and started his own farm elsewhere. When we met, he invited me over to Romilly Hills tomorrow where he will be helping out with embryo transfer work for the last day. Romilly Hills was the first farm I went to half a year ago, only 10km away from the Len's farm. Actually I wasn't sure if I had wanted to see Keeta and Brian (the owners of Romilly's whom I stayed with) again, but then Len told me that I could take time off the next day, so I thought I should give it a go. After all, I'm not sure if I would ever get the opportunity to see embryo transfer work ever again, if I don't go into that field. The second son of the Craigs, Cameron, also started his own farm nearby. I am starting to realise that I have had a misconception regarding passing of farms down generations. They have too much pride to do that. Instead, the children either buy land from elsewhere or off their father's property, to start their own farms. You've really got to admire them for their independence. No inheritance of land and property whatsoever.

At night, Len and Gail went out for dinner, so I was left at home with Belinda again. By this time, I was getting quite interested in the ballroom dancing club that they're in charge of (and hoping that perhaps they might take some time to dance while I'm there), so I asked Belinda all about it. She then gets the wrong idea that I'm interested in their family history, and so, dug out this 3-hour long family video for me to watch! I didn't finish it, but watched most of it, but urgh! that was some wrong move. It would have been interesting if I were part of that family, but obviously I wouldn't recognise anybody. I admit though, that it is a great idea to record as much as possible of your family on video as some moments are just timeless. Unfortunately, I'm just too lazy to whip out my camera at times even. So I came to the conclusion that I need to find someone who would be interested in doing so.. hee!

My arms are aching now. This afternoon, Len decided to rake up his garden that was overgrown with weeds so that he could plant his summer beans and vegetables, and I felt obliged to do some work. We ended up raking weeks with garden hoes for more than an hour. I was thinking, if I had spent the same amount of time and effort on my own garden back at Stellfox Close, the garden would be spick and span by now. The amount of weeds he allowed to accumulate is horrible. It must have been at least a year since he last tidied it up. I really like the idea of growing your own vegetables. The thought went through my mind before, when me and Samantha were choosing the flowers for planting in the garden. It was probably for the best that I never tried embarking on the grow-veg project. They would simply have died, just like the flowers, over summer anyway. Anyway, Len's farm struck me as a pretty self-sufficient one. They plant their own vegetables (beans, pumpkins, etc) for consumption and rear their own chickens for eggs and meat. I hear that they eat a whole chicken every Sunday but they kill a whole lot at one go to put in the freezer. In addition, Len's father just lives further down the road within walking distance from their house, and supplies them with even more varieties of home-grown vegetables. I think it's really amazing to be able to survive on food you help nurture and grow."