Going back to work after the holiday trip was admittedly a bit of a bummer but it hasn't been all bad. Last week I got to do a lot of work with the sheep and helped to mark lambs for the first time. This is when they castrate the males, give all the vaccines, tag the ears, and put a ring on the tail so it falls off. I got to do the tails and the vaccine for cold sores which I’m just hoping I didn’t screw up (the instructions were quite brief). I was working with Brian and Crabby, the other farmhand, and at a rate of about 100 lambs an hour over we did somewhere between 750-800 lambs over the course of two mornings. To do this the lambs are put on their backs in a cradle and rotated around to each of us before they’re dumped out at the last spot. They are not nearly as graceful as cats and generally land with a thud. They also tend to panic upon being freed as they search for their flock and as the person right next to the release point I was frequently run into by frantic lambs. Keeps you on your toes.
The second day we were marking lambs was also Australia Day (similar to the 4th of July) so we had the afternoon off and I attended my first barbecue. It was mostly people I had met on NYE which was really nice. We did all the typical barbecue activities and I’m glad I went. On my way home I got word that Brian was in town at the pub so of course I had to stop in and say hello and we played a round of darts before heading off. Unfortunately Australia Day fell on a Thursday so we all had to be in to work the next day.
School has also started back up here after summer break which means the two boys are out of the house all day every day and I’m sorry to say but this has brought me much joy. My days are much less hectic and when I clean the house it actually stays clean for more than ten minutes. This also has allowed a bit more freedom in our schedule during the day and Elle finally had time to start teaching me how to drive a manual vehicle. I know the basics and am now allowed to just take the little truck out for a drive whenever it’s free. I definitely need quite a bit more practice before I’m roadworthy but it’s not going as poorly as I was expecting.
My most recent adventure has been attending corporate bowls, which is just social lawn bowls - and it’s definitely more social than bowls. I was lucky and got to play on a team with Brian’s nephew George and Youngy, who I’ve also met a number of times. Collectively we were not very good and got whooped by a couple of old guys, but I had a great time. My game improved as we went and in the last round I had a surprisingly fantastic shot that won us the round, but it was far too little too late as we had only won one other out of the 9 rounds. George’s team needs a sub again this week so we’ll see if we can pull out a win (or at least not such an embarrassing loss).
Last night we had a small barbecue with some friends to celebrate my birthday early and grilled some lamb cuts that were just acquired the day before - there are certainly benefits to living and working on a sheep farm.
Lastly, today I was lucky enough to be able to watch the second half of the Superbowl this morning. I wasn’t sure I’d get to since I had to work, but I spent most of the day polishing a ute in the workshop. I can’t say it was one of my favorite jobs, pretty boring, but it does look rather spectacular now (dad - don’t get any ideas).
