RSVP Blog

Most places no matter how small have a pub, just walk in to an outback tavern during the weekend evening to find some people to chat with. Also check for regional events such as shows & fairs, field days, fetes etc. When living in the country, most social events will be based out larger regional towns rather than the smaller localities. Or if you are really desperate to meet outback men, try placing an ad on a noticeboard somewhere in town or the pub, it will get noticed.

Posted by: gentlehearted82 at September 27, 2008 8:54 AM

I recently drove out to Dalby, Chinchilla, Miles, Mitchell, read the Western Star to see what was going on in these country towns......there was nothing other than cattle auctions, no social stuff at all. An annual B&S ball isn't really a social life is it?. Sitting on a railing all day at an Auction, is that the way to find a farmer...you tell me where they congregate!!!!!

Posted by: isislily at September 25, 2008 11:00 PM

Posted by: gentlehearted82 at September 20, 2008 8:48 PM - Depends on what your looking for I suppose. The 'B&S" part could also be loosely translated into 'Booze and Sex' LoL. I don't really know what they are like these days, but years ago it was a case of get there Friday night, last man standing Sunday night. What happens is largely a roll of the dice. They might have toned down a bit nowadays, but they used to be pretty wild old shows.

Has anyone been to one lately? Perhaps you could add updated input?

Posted by: heart2heart57 at September 21, 2008 11:54 AM

I am from Ballarat, just an hour down the road from Melbourne, and I still have trouble finding any ladies that are willing to date someone "that far away", regardless of me being in Melbourne everyday for work in transport.

Although I grew up in country NSW, I never got round to going to a B&S ball, are they worth it or are they just a country version of a city club (ie booze fest etc)

Posted by: gentlehearted82 at September 20, 2008 8:48 PM

Do B&S Balls still exist? I'd love the opportunity to go to one, can anyone let me know? And yes, I'd be more than willing to travel out of the "big smoke".
I remember as a kid going out to my cousin's property in Goodooga (near Walgatt) and the local service station had no petrol, phone calls had to be made via a "operator", tv consisted of only ABC and even the pub had run out of beer!!
Those days are now long gone, so living the country life couldn't be too hard could it?

Posted by: lotsafun72 at September 18, 2008 4:27 PM

ps that wasnt MY ex! He wouldnt be so foolish :)

Posted by: willow29 at September 4, 2008 10:33 PM

or overhearing a conversation "She's such a beauty, hard working, great teeth, good with the kids, can go all day. She's a ripper!..." and realise he's talking about the kelpie.....

Posted by: willow29 at September 4, 2008 10:32 PM

loveshugs1974 - you cracked me up - all true!!!
I have lived in the country my whole life still do'ish, went to a couple of B&S's but I obviously didn't drink enough I don't think to have those particular experiences!
I think being a girl in the country was a bit hard as the guys are lovely but not matter what it's really hard competing with their Ute's!

Posted by: littleep at September 4, 2008 9:59 PM

Hi all - I grew up in the country & I've been to a few B&S balls in my time ... One thing I can tell you is that it's not too likely that you'd meet Mr Right at a B&S. If you did, you'd be the exception to the rule.
Generally speaking, B&S's are all about drinking copious amounts of beer & rum with your mates, finding a quick shag for the night in your swag then doing donuts in the ute on the way out in the morning ... Unless you stick around for the morning after party, in which case there's lost more drinking, etc.
I used to go when I was 18 & I'd say max. age was about 25. Anyone older than that would likely be viewed as a chaperone lol. This is my opinion based on my experience, so if you went & you did meet someone who was keen to talk to you all night instead of getting blind at THE biggest party of the year with his mates & getting his money's worth out of the tux he rented (or bought from Vinnie�s), then as I said you'd be the exception. The girls wear Blundstones with their dresses to these things - They get very messy lol.
If you want to meet country guys my suggestions would be to go to a concert. E.g. James Blundell & Adam Brand had a concert at Crown in Melbourne a few weeks ago & there were heaps of country boys there, something like that would be ideal because they were all scrubbed up & looked gorgeous. Afterwards I'm sure they would have been milling around looking for something to do & some female company. Also, I went to the Taste of Melbourne & met a few guys from the country who were there displaying their wares.
I love country men, they look you in the eye with a frank & honest manner & when they smile it shows in their eyes too. Best of luck with your search ladies - I love country boys, but I'm stuck in the city now.

Posted by: loveshugs1974 at September 3, 2008 8:02 AM

New to this - so bare with me.
If this is Farmer wants a wife or Farmett wants a husband - should we be asking about maybe B & S Balls? Instead of D & D Balls? Sorry just thought I would ask?
I googled B&S and found a whole other universe! My next question would be is there an age cut off for the B&S do you think??? I wonder?!?!?!

Posted by: littleep at September 3, 2008 12:23 AM

Posted by: missright33 at August 24, 2008 9:26 AM - Like you, I lived for 7 years in a country town in the Adelaide Hills, and I'd go back there tomorrow if I could keep my job. Re the D&D Balls (sounds a bit risque when I put it like that, LoL) - you've got the Internet, so just Google "D&D Ball" (Aus) and you should at least find an entry point...

Posted by: heart2heart57 at August 24, 2008 3:45 PM

I believe love is important than anything else, my job in Melb, city nightlife. If I found my dream man in the country & fell in love, I would move from the city in a heart beat.

Where do I find out about D & D & single country men ?

Posted by: missright33 at August 24, 2008 9:26 AM

Posted by: horsesfirst at August 14, 2008 4:41 PM - I went to a D&D run by the Salvo's down in Melbourne once a year, and I think they still do. But why come down here? The bash's they have out in the Country beat our do's hands down, so I hear. Real people, having a real good times. Will keep an eye on the Gig-Guides etc and post when I see something, though I don't know if I'll find things in your area. Nice pics by the way :)

Posted by: heart2heart57 at August 20, 2008 11:27 PM

I know if Mr Right came along and he happened to live on the other side of the world, I would do everything I could to be by his side. So if my Mr Right is a farmer, and will love my kids like his own, possibly wanting more, then Hello, my name is ......

Posted by: shyperthgirl at August 15, 2008 8:48 PM

I agree Tazzel.. there are a lot of females in country towns looking for dates !

Where do we find out about D&Ds ?

Posted by: horsesfirst at August 14, 2008 4:41 PM

willow29 at August 13, 2008 11:51 AM
grego7 at August 13, 2008 12:21 PM

It is based upon a true story.....

The true story, a guy in gold old USA sued winnebago sucesfully and it is indeed now in their user manual not to do just that!

What did he do... set the cruise and then went back to make a coffee in the kitchen. Result Large Crash.

Posted by: creativestuart at August 13, 2008 1:06 PM

Posted by: willow29 at August 13, 2008 11:51 AM

Willow, please please tell me that is not a true story.

Found an interessting quote yesterday which appears appropriate:

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

rgds grego

Posted by: grego7 at August 13, 2008 12:21 PM

Back to campers... here's something I got in my inbox today:

I was in a car dealership a while ago, when a large motor home was towed into the garage. The front of the vehicle was in dire need of repair and the whole thing generally looked like an extra in 'Twister.' I asked the manager what had happened. He told me that the driver had set the 'cruise control' and then went in the back to make a sandwich.

Posted by: willow29 at August 13, 2008 11:51 AM

amourmoi08 at August 11, 2008 9:17 AM
Nice Post...... Have a lovely day!!

Posted by: creativestuart at August 11, 2008 9:50 AM

Loves does not know a career other than the one it is seeking to spend a life with and grow so old that you happily have dementia together and meet all over again for the first time each morning as you shuffle along in pallative care for breakfast.
Comfort zone - what is that and do they really exist?
Extraordinary is a safe word for doing amazing things everday and sharing it with someone else.
You can make your own coffee while wearing your Gucci in the middle of the sticks with the one of your choice.
Why can't I wear my italian designer shoes while tiding up the tent that we just rolled around it having a laugh and flushing out them rabbits?
Livestock is in the city the only difference is the ones in the country and out in the sticks look you in the eyes where as you may fall over and never be seen amongst the city livestock. Now I am off to find Mr Wonderful - little bugger is out there somewhere looking for me too so best be off. Have a great day all - LA Amour xx

Posted by: amourmoi08 at August 11, 2008 9:17 AM

I agree Waternymph, we don't get good falls of snow here all that often, so when it does snow it's a bit like Christmas for many people. I can see that snow though for many months of the year would certainly make life challenging to say the least.

Posted by: graceandcharm at August 10, 2008 8:12 PM

Graceandcharm,
Snow can be lovely when it doesnt happen often but if you had to spend a year ..as I did.. in Goose Bay Labrador with 9 months of snow up to the eaves of the house (on the side where it didnt get shoveled or ploughed) and only 1 month each left for spring summer and autumn it loses it's joy. Being my first experience of snow ,, and being young and fit and finding another Aussie girl on base .. I did enjoy it as much as possible. We used snowmobiles, walked the dogs and got outdoors as much as we could to avoid cabin fever.
I spent 8 yrs in Switzerland too so 8 lots of white winters there too. After having to deal with slippery roads icy footpaths and more falls and injuries than I had growing up in the country and climbing trees I must say I'm happier back in the milder weather of Oz again :-)

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 10, 2008 7:41 PM

Well, there's got to be some advantages to living in this cold country town (Orange, NSW). At present it is just bucketing down heavy snowflakes........haven't seen it this heavy in years. The sight of snow falling is always a special sight I'll never tire of. Last week when the snow fell at night alot of people (me and my kids included) came "out to play" in the snow. The whole town seemed to come "alive" that night. Great memories for the kids, my son even saying he had "the best day of his life". Well, they do say the best things in life are free !

Posted by: graceandcharm at August 10, 2008 10:24 AM

Waternymph, they probably know my folks then. Mum and Dad were both ambulance vollies and also worked for the National Trust. I used to own the Cook O' Burra cafe.

Posted by: willow29 at August 8, 2008 7:14 PM

Willow I"m sure you looked a picture in your crinoline ... but maybe should have added long johns and wool sox for winter!
Just reminding myself that I really have been negligent and should right a letter to my girlfriend up there. Her family are long term residents there too.

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 8, 2008 6:11 PM

Posted by: tazzel at August 7, 2008 6:35 PM

There is a distinct shortage of single girls where I am, whereas there is a lot more in the cities I guess so we are looking where they are.

Infact I think, If I could find ne a girl who was already a country girl would be the perfect choice, but around here I can't find any at all!

Posted by: creativestuart at August 8, 2008 12:03 PM

Waternymph, the experience I had at Kelly's was aLend Lease team building exercise. Everyone had a great time.

Which pub did you stay at? One of them is haunted - some bloke fell asleep with a lit cigarette that slow burned the mattress. The fumes killed him. It wasnt until the firies threw the mattress out of the window that it actually caught alight. Didn't you just want to hear that? hehe

My folks still live in Burra. I was a Museum guide in the Malowyn Lowarth - complete with crinolene skirts, bloomers and corsets. We had to have a "meal " over an open fire every day, regardless of the temperature and some of those costumes were stifling. In winter it was so cold that when the visitors left, I used to grab a chair, hitch up my skirts and put my feet in the hearth to warm my legs.

Posted by: willow29 at August 7, 2008 8:30 PM

Why is it that all farmers seeking dates are looking to the city folk?
Why isnt there a tv show or similar in relation to single outback females wanting dates?
It is just as hard for a female to find a date in a country town as their male counterparts.

Posted by: tazzel at August 7, 2008 6:35 PM

Willow having been around a few years longer than you .. I'm guessing that the Kell'ys Riding school in Alice you went to was possibly one of his sons who were just a tad more refined than Dad was .. thanks to their Mum's good input! One of the boys had a great voice and it was a treat to coax him to sing as we rode, especially coming in at sunset!
I'm curious to know when you were in Burra as I have a girlfriend up there .. sings with a local band. I went up for one of their Monster Mine events and a few other times when she was singing with the band, ususally opting to stay overnight at one of the Pubs as a bed at Kath's is often hard to find LOL(love her dearly tho)

OG I still think these exploits of yours should all be saved to disc and put in a book!

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 7, 2008 6:04 PM

WN47,
Ahh the days of youth. Perhaps the meanest of the mean horses I had anything to do with was the ones we used to ride when shooting Buffalo's. They were just as mean and dangerous as the Buffalo's. I won't go into detail how we incapacitated the Buff's but it beat coming back and having to skin a flyblown bloated Buff.

In the morning if you did not walk up with a waddy you had Buckleys of getting them saddled, even after you had roped them they still tried to get into the middle of the mob, and the rest would just wait to get a kick at you. I still have a beautiful lead weighted leather plaited crop from those days. The pigrooting was "de rigeur" till you bounced one on them between the ears with the crop. That signaled that the frivolities were over for the day and they usually settled down, but were they savvy when the chase was on, and a good old hand meant that you could skin the buff without assistance, they knew how far to pull and when to pull the hooks to turn the beast.
The biggest herd we ever got amongst was 380 hides, we didn't take the ones obviously in calf or the yearlings, so it was a big herd. The hunt was over 3 very hard and dangerous days, with a couple of nasty injuries ensueing. It taught me a lot about how tough Aussie men could be and why they are feared as Soldiers.
Nowdays if the same hunts took place the handwringers and media would be all over you.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 7, 2008 2:07 PM

Riding schools! You can get some really great ones and some really shonky ones. I remember Kelly's riding school in AS, Waternymph!

I didnt learn to ride until I was 31. When people found out that the group of us ladies learnt at "Kevins" they proclaimed that we were very brave - brave indeed, I broke my neck on one of his horses.

Later, in Burra, I took my sister and her kids riding at the local trail riding place. He had all these lovely clydies lined up and a magnificent black quarterhorse. I had already heard this horse was a b****d so I thought the owner was going to ride it. But he gave it to me. Apparently my own horse, Buddy (the bloody bucking biting bolting b*****d) had a reputation (wonder why?) and the bloke said "if you can ride Buddy, you can ride this. My sister, who learnt to ride when she was a teen was dead jealous but he wouldnt let us swap. Fortunately the horse went well for me.

Posted by: willow29 at August 7, 2008 1:38 PM

OG I can relate to your riding school episode from years back when I lived in Alice Springs .. but lucky for me I was a lot younger and fitter then and I really needed to be.
Kelly's Riding school was made up of some rough looking brumbies.. some barely broken, and the kind of horse you got on any day, depended on if Kelly liked you or if his boys felt like having a laugh at a novice' expense. I soon wised up to the trick of the boys slapping your horse on the butt as you went thru a gate they so kindly held open for you! Especially after I had a short bolt into the yard and a quick stop at the fence with me on the horses neck!
Kelly's favourite thing was helping girls into the saddle, with slippery hands of course. A couple of memorable tumbles.. One where the horse .. seemed to fall asleep as we dawdled along together in a group .. fell to it's knees and thanks to my inatention I went flying over it's head skidding along the ground and coming up with scraped chin scrapped belly, knees out of my pants and generally stiff and sore. Trying to get back on with shaking legs after was no mean fete but I refused Kelly's slippery handed assistance!
Second tumble.. from a beautiful big tall stallion whom Kelly decided I was now capable of handling.. except that he neglected to tell me that a couple of the mares in the pack were "on heat"! My stallion hopped, skipped, side stepped, bucked .. and eventually deciced to quit and lay down!
Kelly hollered ."Get off, get off quick"... and I was trying hard, but even my long legs when spread accross the flanks of this huge horse .. had difficulty finding the ground .. but I got off .. and moved away just in time to see him roll over and refuse to budge despite Kelly turning the air blue and kicking him. One of the boys shared their saddle with me and we left him to make his way home alone by the mob!

No way I'd get on a horse now of course although on a recent bus trip to Trobuk Sheep Station we were greeted by a man on a horse who informed us that one of their recent visitors . a 90yr old lady, insisted on being hoisted up into the saddle as she hadn't sat a horse in a long while. I know when to quit LOL!

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 7, 2008 12:19 PM

Charles .If only I was 20 yrs younger.LOL

I hope you find someone who is as hard working as you are and appreciates you as you are. I think you are smart enough not to be looking for just a "Spark" as so many of the guys are in here.!!! Such a spark tends to fizzle out under pressure of reality!

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 6, 2008 11:30 AM

Charles,
Thanks for the post, I know what you mean about the middle and top end fat. I watched the so called butchers in the supermarket get their meat supply out of boxes the other day, already broken and I wonder why I cannot get a certain proper cut, or why the cost is so great. They do not even have to break a beast anymore, and straight into the waste bin with the packageing, then straight into another type of packaging. It was so good to go up to my local "Butcher" and watch him break up a lamb, save me the floating rib from the pork to make the proper spare rib in New Orleans sauce.

49 years ago we had a few years of drought in the central west, things were tough on the land, but as I traveled further west the country got better. The western farmers had lived with dry farming most of their lives, it was the norm for them. The really distinguishing thing out west was the level of the underside of every tree, as if they had been trimmed, as I found out to the level that the tallest animal could reach to crop from it. I have done the organic farming thing, it was an eye opener, not particularly about the produce, more into the rationale of earth management, their methods are borrowed from all around the world, not only does it rely less on rain but the use of what does fall and the retention and preservation of it.
Some of the things the Isralies and Middle East people do are amazing. They literaly turn desert into garden, and are doing it with out super or the like and not much water, nothing that has grow or lived is ever wasted.
By the way I have a friend in China migrating later in the year, he is one of the top 5 software men, he will be looking for work, mightbe worth looking at. Now tell me your men are good enough to repair a Lowery D325 organ. lol.
I learned to ride a horse like a bareback circus performer as a kid, no brains no fear.
My daughter always was doubtfull of my stories on the farm, so set up a Sunday ride with a local riding school, I found out later she asked for the most stroppy animal for me. The first look at it and I knew what was on, the ears back, head skewed, back leg cocked ready for the first chance to kick, just the general attitude of it. So I was not surprised when I put my foot in the stirrup and started to mount it had a go at bitting my leg, a sharp kick to its lip made it think something was wrong, that allowed me to get a really good short rein and a tight seat in the saddle. The attempt at pig rooting was short lived, if I had have not been prepared it would have been a proper buck jumping affair. It was a tight ride all day, but at each rest break I slipped it a couple of cubes of sugar. We sort of got along in a respectful way, I curried it down at the end of the day and it liked that, I think it was its first one, at least I did not try to bite me. Had a yarn to the owner of the school, he said he was a bit worried at first as he was the only one that had riden it and it had given him a hard time as a rule. Not a word said to the daughter, but a big change in attitude to Dad's whoppers, I certainly impressed all her girlfriends. Bloody glad I was out of town for the next week, I was so stiff and sore, you do not get on a horse after years and ride all day without suffering.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 5, 2008 12:43 AM

Comment about the meat prices at the Butches during the drought ... if the Govt. really wanted to help the farmers out during the drought - all they needed do is shoot the middle man. Talk about double dipping. they collude, lie and cheat, they don't pay the farmers, then make up stories that good produce is hard to find and mark it up at the other end as well. I had fat lambs for sale, but because you've 'got to sell' 'they' don't have to pay. Our costs of production double during the drought - because we have to buy feed, and of course it's at least double in price. No wonder that some guys can't take it any longer. Don't worry I don't get mad I get even. I grow my own feed these days, as I refuse to pay $500/ton for wheat, I buy my hay 'out-of-the-paddock' and pay the farmer, soon I'll find a way to sell my fat stock to anyone other than a 'buyer' for the big two you know who. ha - take a breath boy.
OK - a bit more from last night where I lost my work. Management. It was suggested earlier that I must have a farm without any animal intensity. Quite the opposite, and here's a bit of the plan. Firstly, I needed to do my best to drought proof the place. This entailed 5 new dams, and while the water levels where low, I had all the other dams cleaned out. This was done over 3 years. Second, pasture improvement - this included a program of Liming and good Super history. Third, get the fences right - not just patch up jobs. Fourth, cull out the old and un-productive animals. Fifth - Dad did it tough over the years - he had four kids to bring up - so I've got 35 years of infrastructure to get back into place. We didn't have any silos or hay sheds - so that happened along the way. It used to take me all day, I mean all day to feed the stock on the weekend. (I only feed once a week, but I feed them well. 2 things, firstly because I'm under stocked I'm only subsidising their feed - it was never a full drought ration, and second - feeding them well means that the shy feeders will always get feed.) Now with the silo and trailer behind the ATV, and forks on the tractor - I get the feeding done in two hours.
Thanks for the tips about D&D, I'll check it out and I'm getting quite a few 'kisses' here. Not complaining - but it's going to take someone special to keep up. I have a plan - and I see the light at the end of the tunnel, no it's not a train coming the other way. I don't plan on staying on in Sydney forever - the business up here is doing very well and is, if you haven't already guessed paying for the improvements down on the farm. It's all part of the plan moving forward. I do like the balance, I get to use my brain in Sydney - where I'm the I.T. manager / Software Programmer / Database bla bla and part owner of a large electronics repair business. We have over 100 staff and are BUSY! I've been with the business since we started 22 years ago - so I've grown with it all the way. Unlike the farm, I can let this one go. I do have other interests, like they say Work hard play hard. I trained Karate and Brazillian Juijitsu for years, now I fly and still get to go snowboarding a little. I'm going to tech 4 nights a week doing my commercial aviation theory. I have my ultra-light license, and am not far off finishing my G.A. license. I really don't have a particular goal here, but do have two planes that are on-line at a flying school. I don't get to use them that often, as they are in use on the weekend, but do fly to the farm a bit and have a runway out there. I'm not a real Horse person, but would like to learn to ride properly - not like a comment that was once made, "you ride like the Cowboys in the movies" - well how else was I meant to learn? Well I've taken up more than my share of space - so here's happy posting.
PS - thanks for the copy paste.

Posted by: charles007 at August 4, 2008 10:21 PM

OG, give me a few days & I will find out if it is still there & what model it is, if its what you want I will drop you a line .
I have plenty stamps & the way its looking I will not be using them fast :)))
You know I have been thinking There seem to be a few of us looking at hitting the road .
Mybe RSVP can start a new blog.......The grey nomads or not so grey nomads or in my case just bald nomad :)))).
I think we may help each other out abit with info, advice & how to set things up & just trying get our road trips up & going :)))

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 4, 2008 9:50 PM

Drifter I will have to buy some stamps, give me a few days and I will stamp you. Its not a Dart is it?

Marcus,
I used to sell the Hi Ace campers, the petrol model did not give good fuel consumption, about 1 litre less a 100 klms than the latest Diesel used in the Winne. Mind you the camper was the ants pants in its day, so was the T model, evolution and creation have finally come together if you think about it LOL. I'll let you run with that one.
Perth I agree with you, if I had the money give me 5th avenue, and that is what the winnie is. plus that with our little trailer car for the soft roads, huh! No running around looking for a toilet or shower, making the bunk up each night, the luxury of a proper bed, room to move. Heck it even has room for a pooch, I've moved on from roughing it if I had that type of money. Then seeing I have not I can still manage with roughing it.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 4, 2008 9:00 PM

OG I am slow at getting my own story together along with my poetry collected over the years but so much experience seems to make good telling(according to many friends) that it ought to make good reading.

Have been to a D&D in Hobart once.GFs and I decided to give it a go .. we were so totally mismatched with our partners and as soon as was polite, beat a hasty retreat for the casino and so did a lot of the D&Ds .. and laughed about it after.
My best dancing days memories were in my teens working at a shop in a Country town going to "Barn Dances" with cousins and friends!
Charles I do understand with your schedule it must be nigh impossible to meet a lady so perhaps "Farmer wants a wife" might be the place for you?

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 4, 2008 8:11 PM

Posted by: poochesinperth at August 3, 2008 11:23 PM
Winnebago's are conspicuous consumption and a liability if you go near soft roads.
A 30 grand Toyota HiAce camper has done my folks for years and many trips up to Darwin through the Center and back down the east coast. If it were me driving I would have a little registered dirt bike on the back for the jaunts. Bank the 100 grand at 10% and buy a Camper van.
Cheers Marcus

Posted by: laughsandtalks at August 4, 2008 3:55 PM

OG, Sorry That type of towing setup is legal in NSW,The one I was thinking you were talking about was the A frame was attached to the front of car, the steering is locked into place & its towed on all 4 wheels.

If you are interested in Goggomobile let me know I think I might know were you can get one

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 4, 2008 2:36 PM

Hi Perth, @ 11.23 pm
The biggest Winne with a deisel motor is about the same fuel useage as a big V8 sedan. Let me say that you have an excellent tastes in Winnies, that is a lot cheaper than the ones here, is it new?

Drifter, was not aware of that, the one I looked at was hoisted on the front and towed on the rear wheels, the rig was registered and pre delivery NSW. Yes I have had a look at one of them too, with the side extension bit, yes if you had a little 3 pot suzi, my preferrence for the second unit would be a Goggomobile, if you could possibly find one. I had one in the past, It would go where man or beast could go, 60 miles to the gallon on BP Zoom, probably the most fun car I have ever owned, used to go from Parkes to Newcastle every second weekend and would do 60 miles per hour (in winter), nothing but nothing would beat it going down Kurrajong.
Cheers OG

Charles I bet you noticed that the butchers and supermartket prices did not go down in price with the glut of stock for slaughter, its criminal what they get away with.

Posted by: oldergent at August 4, 2008 12:01 PM

Charles007@ 3.58 am
Lynath says, compose, select all, copy, post comment. If it fails on this site(as often happens, or always on the longer finer efforts) all you have to do is come back and paste, but go through the same procedure. In my early times I could do this up to 5 times to get it posted.
I for one am interested, my mistake it is animal intensive, but do you have husbandry during the times you are not at the farm?
WN47.
Never thought of a book, don't write that well, just put down what comes into my head when the memory is jogged. Have watched a couple of D&D's, so I suppose Charles has. I bet he has also seen the aftermath, I have had to peep his profile and you can see the country in his eyes. Makes you wonder why he is not swamped, but he has explained that in a previous post. We live in strange times.
Cheers OG.

Posted by: oldergent at August 4, 2008 9:27 AM

OG, I think you will find A frames are not legal in some States, NSW being one.
Living up here I get to see alot of rigs & setup, One I spotted Yesterday was really good & fairly cheap.
Its 25 foot converted goose-neck horse trailer, pulled by an F250 running on gas,
It was nicely fitted out inside, the best thing about it was the back dropped down & A little suziki four wheel drive rolled out.
I was talking to the bloke who owned it & he was saying that it was cheap to setup & run.

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 4, 2008 9:12 AM

Great story OG, Hope it is going into your book too! I hope you are going to get at your book more seriously than I have done with mine so far!
Charles welcome .. hope you find what you seek on RSVP .. and why not try a few of the D&D Balls or at very least one of those country style get togethes next time you are on the farm for the weekend. Check for a local notice board on the way to the farm ??

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 4, 2008 8:52 AM

I'm still getting used to the blog. I work in I.T. so you'd think I know better. Well I just wrote a novel and lost my work - so this is a way cut down version. (log in 1st before posting!)
To answer the question - "I can only presume it (the farm) is not animal intensive.?"
Well actually, on 1,600 acres I run 1,500 sheep - half whethers, then three breeding loops, Pure fine wool merino, 1st X and 2nd X ewes. The 1,500 is down from 3,000 due to the drought. Actually I kept most of numbers during the drought, it was cheaper to feed them than to give them away - then when the prices jumped I sold a pile then. Don't worry, I still had to sell during the drought - the bottom price being 20cents a head. I also run 150 Black Angus Breeders and followers. The rest of the novel went on to say how I've got the management and improvements done, and how there's nothing like a drought to get you organised. There's also nothing like a drought to scare the city girls away - "you do this why? - you feed them and they die on you anyway - or no one will pay you for them!" Thanks for the support!, No guesses how that one turned out :) Happy to write more if anyone would like to hear more.
Cheers Charles007

Posted by: charles007 at August 4, 2008 3:58 AM

Wow, you would need a big engine to drive a winne and pull a trailer with a little car. The one I like is like a bus and beautiful inside, it's priced at $129,000, beautiful outside as well.

Posted by: iaminperth at August 3, 2008 11:23 PM

Charles 007@11.14pm 2/8.
Thankfully the country still has people like you. It is very apparent where your heart lies, and that you have the reality to do the opposite. Surely there must be women out there with enough sense to realise that it is all that life is about,for two people to be in harmony with themselves and the world around them. Then decide that it (and you) are for them. You did not say what type of farm it was, so I can only presume it is not animal intensive, or that you have staff during the week .

Welcome to you silversea, well said, same to you willow. I did get your meaning about, "Commisar Rex" all 8 of them lol.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 3, 2008 8:09 PM

Sorry Perth, I did reply but it didnt get posted. By "not real" I meant that I know Inspector Rex isnt real, even though I used him as an example. Bit obscure, sorry!

Hi Charles and Silversea - welcome!

Great story OG!

Posted by: willow29 at August 3, 2008 4:35 PM

Perth
Things have changed about animals and pubs.
I ran a pub for a mate once that wanted a months holiday. Had no end of trouble in the first week with a know it all and finished up barring him.
Two days later the smart arse turned up with a horse and 3 cattle dogs, wanting accomodation for him and the animals. Under the law at the time I could not refuse him, nor could I stop him entering the bars.

So that night I copped all sorts of rubbish from him, he went to bed well satisfied and as drunk as a Lord. Next morning being a Saturday the bar at opening was packed, when Mr Smart Arse came down to pay the bill, the tariff was One Pound two and sixpence ($2.25) which was all I was allowed to charge. So it said standard tariff for you and Fifty Quid for the animals, There was no set fee for the animals. Well he sounded like a yard of weaners waiting to be castrated, Squealed his head off and refused to pay, so I impounded the Horse (he had borrowed the ainimals) and dogs. Much to the delight of the patrons he demanded the cops be called, the first time in his life he actually had requested their presence. The speed of their responce indicated the alacrity they wished to be involved. The grins on them could not be wiped off the faces, nor by this time the now fully packed bar, as one of the wits said "better than the movies and you can have a beer at the same time". He insisted on telling his side of it first with rising blood pressure and increasing hangover symptoms, I would not serve him a beer till he had paid his account which infuriated him further. When I got my point over to the cops and through his objections and profanity. The point was that he was charged the legal rate, but because I had to remove 2 cars from the garages, buy hay and waterering facilities for the horses and dogs food for the dogs, plus secure them from escaping, the cops agreed with me that it was a fair price,(mind you it was a bit over a fortnights wages at the time). So then he switched his abuse to the cops, lost it completely with the laughter and heckling from the crowd, swung one at me, I ducked and he clouted big Allan the cop.

Bad move he was frog marched out to the cop car, to the absolute delight of all, couldn't resist going over and telling him if he didn't pay and have the animals removed by lunch time he would be charged another 50 quid. Before lunch the bloke that had lent him the animals came in and paid the monies, so 40 quid got slapped on the bar, free drinks for the crowd,after we locked the bars off, that took about a half hour to get through then we reopened to the biggest days takings for yonks. As usual, the after hours drinks with the few mates and cops, was a ball. He apparently went off in the cells with all the usual threats of friends in high places, ranted and raved and eventually went to sleep till his mate came and bailed him, assault on a Police Officer, I declined to press charges, I had had my fun. He did face court and was fined, from what I found out later (he left town soon after) he never paid his mate back the money he owed.
Youv'e got to love life in a country town, in the Burbs only the patrons would have known the goings on, in the country the whole town was chuckling for a week.
So my month as a publican was a success and an experience, they deserve the money they make.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 3, 2008 11:50 AM

Seeing as my 'designer shoes' are a pair of MACK boots and the only cafe I frequent on a regular basis is the Uni cafe when I'm there for lectures, I wouldn't have any problem with swapping them for life on a farm. I think that as with all relationships honesty about needs and wants, flexibility in fitting in with the demands of work/study/family and above all a sense of humour are prerequisites. If real love develops and real communication is part of that love, then no obstacle should be too great.

Posted by: silversea1 at August 3, 2008 11:30 AM

Is it possible to do both? I was brought up in the country - but took employment and training in the city straight out school. That was 25 years ago. I'd always come home over the years to help Dad on the farm. 8 years ago, I bought the family farm and now run it on my own. However, I still have a full-time job in Sydney in I.T. and it's full on. I drive to the farm (4hours) friday night and work the farm all weekend and drive back Sunday night. I don't need to convince anyone hear why we do the farm thing - you may well ask why I do the Sydney thing? Well that pays for everything - especially since it forgot to rain the minute I bought the farm. The farm keeps me fit, and the fresh air takes the stress out of the city B.S. However, it has kept me single. There's not a female (Breeder) in the district that's legal, or not already married etc or third time around. Let alone the chance to meet any of them. The city girls - well they like to come and visit, it's usually just a matter of time until the dust and dirt becomes too much. Yeah, I watch the Farm wants a wife a bit. At work they all ask why I'm not on the show. Well that's because it's a TV show - and it's all show. Really, what's the statistics on success? Probably better than the rest of us - ha ha.

Posted by: charles007 at August 2, 2008 11:14 PM

Perth @ 4.29 pm.
No perth the A frame is the attachment that you tow the small car with at the back of the winny. it let you park the monster and tour in the small car. The best of both worlds. Yes the one I looked at had all those and more. But remember I live in the rip off capitol of Australia (NSW) where everything is overpriced compared to the other states. Yes our Kookas and Magpies fight for the privelege here, we made the mistake of having them take a hot one once, never again, it obviously was in agony.

Stupid, slobbery, Boxers were my dog.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 2, 2008 8:22 PM

OG so you too had a battle with the Rhode Island Red .. was my sister that shoved me in with him.
Drifter .. I was the middle kid between 2 less healthy ones so was out the door as soon as I could walk and roamed no further than Bay Rd at Moonta Bay as that was the boundary .. but that still left a lot of miles for a little kid to cover. Had my favourite spots tho ... flat on my back in a patch of soursobs watching the little white clouds scudding accross a blue sky .. or in a patch of pines near Bay road .. where all I could hear was the whisper of the wind thru the pine needles.
We moved to Ardrossan when I was 6 . and then it was the beach that drew me ... and cliffs to climb .. or just hanging by my legs from the Vine trellis when not playing with the goats. Great growing up in the country!!

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 2, 2008 7:11 PM

Used to have a mini Fox Terrier(aka Tenterfields) and he was such a character and very inclined to protect me and my 2 kids .. thought he was 6 ft tall and bullet proof .. and could scale a 6 ft fence after seeing next door's cat do it.. till we got him fixed .. slowed him down a bit.
I watch Inspektor Rex every Thursday evening , that's how I keep my German language skills from getting too rusty.

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 2, 2008 7:00 PM

Shepherds love toys, absolutely love them. I saw an episode of Inspector Rex where he stole a toy from a shop and they had to take it back. My pup stole a toy coming out of the vet and we had to take it back but everyone felt so sorry for her and she piled on the droopy poopy face that she was given it for free. Unbelievable, what a spoilt dog.

Posted by: iaminperth at August 2, 2008 6:35 PM

Sorry Willow, Not with you - what's not real ? was that something I wrote? I love Jack Russells, the football hooligans of the dog world. I could never own one as I wouldn't be able to keep up with it but I love the temperament. A friend of mine has three and they are the funniest little dogs I have ever come across, non stop fun. When I go over to my friends house, all three have to sit on my lap at the same time and there are arms and legs everywhere, but they don't care. Every now and then one has a snarl at the other and I say oi and then there is lots of tail wagging and sorries to the other dog. Beautiful little things but I wouldn't have enough energy these days to do them justice.

Posted by: iaminperth at August 2, 2008 6:32 PM

Willow, Arrow will be the death of me, next door has pit bull type dogs, last week one got in my yard, all I hear is barking, so I come out to find out whats going on.......heres rex backing this dog up into the corner & standing between his legs is arrow giving this dog the what for & all I could see is blood & arrow being eaten alive..........but the dog backed off :)))))))

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 6:30 PM

ps Tickety-boo is an honourary "Friend" in our conservation group. He runs free and helps with tree planting, sign posting etc. There's even a sign with his paw print on it!

Posted by: willow29 at August 2, 2008 6:14 PM

Outbackdrifter - how funny are Jack Russells and their lionesque personalities! My JR x blue heeler (Flea) didnt come because she was 1) too aggressive and 2) daddy's girl. She loved sitting at his feet under the computer desk. Nowadays she's become a farm dog again. Its been great for her - lost a lot of weight and become "one of the gang".
Perth - Shepherds are great -just got to see Inspector Rex to see how smart they are! (what do you mean its not real?). I love the Belgian Shepherds too.

Posted by: willow29 at August 2, 2008 6:13 PM

I know Willow, he was great. We sat out the back in the barbecue area or whatever it is but very nice and he said I must tie the dog which I did. Everyone came over to us. I had a drink and he brought a nice bowl of water, although come to think of it my dog had the bowl of water and then I went and picked up my drink. Then I ordered a meal which was huge and that is when he brought out all the meat with gravy for the dog. People kept coming over to look for some reason or other and my big pup kept trying to give them pieces of meat. I think a lot of people have the wrong idea about german shepherds as really the only time you see them is when theyare working for the police. In Europe they are care dogs/blind togs and now have taken over as the snow dogs as their scent is so much more superior and also they are stronger apparently. They wear a jacket with basic medical supplies and, of course, the brandy and also a marker beacon. Amazing animals, I have owned five this far.

Posted by: iaminperth at August 2, 2008 5:55 PM

Willow, I travel with two dog........Rex my huge German shorted haired Pointer & Arrow the 10 foot tall & bullet proof Jack Russell terrier, you right about finding some were that will take us, that why we camp on the the side of the road most times

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 5:36 PM

Perth - how kind was that publican! One of my dogs, Tickety-boo comes most places with me. We went all around Victorian and SA together looking for a new horse.

It was very hard to find caravan parks to stay in that allowed dogs. I wasn't as keen on spending a night in the bush as I used to in the NT.

Posted by: willow29 at August 2, 2008 4:43 PM

Oh poor big chook. All our chooks and ducks died off old age. They all had names and were pretty tame. We had so many eggs at one time I did a run around the neighbourhood doorknocking to see who wanted them. We also had about 200 or so ducks who used to come when they were called. Once a year our whole property was covered in mushrooms and we used to invite people to come with a bucket to collect them. Most of our friends used to turn up with a good steak and a bottle of wine so it was all good ! We had an injured kooka who eventually got better and I let him go but when we had a barbecue he would always join in and pinch the food. We bought a little barbecue and put it a little away from us and cooked sausages on it and then we would watch him sneak them away. All good fun and he thought he was a first class robber.

Posted by: iaminperth at August 2, 2008 4:35 PM

OG, Don't call my puppy names. She is a 38kg german shepherd and she is not at all submissive, in fact can be quite bold at times. She just trusted everyone around and thought it was all a bit of a laugh I think. She is a house dog/car dog/go away on holiday with me dog so she's very used to the dramas and having people around her. I looked at some Winnes here in Perth and they were nowhere near l/4 ml. The one I was looking at was a beautiful unit around about $125,000. Plasma TV, satellite connection for internet and beautifully furnished and it wasn't at all A frame, are you sure it was a Winne. There is a dealer here in WA who has the agency and he has many in his yard.

Posted by: iaminperth at August 2, 2008 4:29 PM

OG, Did you ever see "Northen Safari" or " Australia Safari" at the local RSL............... Now that what I want to do & will do, my last big trip :)

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 4:23 PM

OG, once again you have made me smile, you & I have hit the that point when it is time see more of this great land, with you its Winny.....for me its rebuilding my old S3 landrover :)))),

By the way you & anyone else I meet here are more then welcome to share my fire & what every tucker I have going

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 4:16 PM

Drifter,
seeing Perth has opened up my dream again about having a Winny, if it ever comes true, you are well and truly welcome to visit and eat, along with all the other nice people one meets here.
Perth I looked at one a couple of months ago, it had the little Merc attached to the A frame on the back of it, top of the wazza. If I had a loose 1/4 million I would be one my way now. They tell me you can buy an ex-rental for about 1/2 the price from a mob in Brisbane. Soooo if my next project does not work out I may just sell up and scat. Even if the next one works out I may still sell and get one when I get back. Lifes too short to sit around doing nothing.

Marcus that crossing sounds a good idea, Drifter have they got that modern in your neck of the woods yet? If I make it I will bring the camp pie, seen it in the supermarket the other day. Not only loved it fried but the bread cooked in the fat run off, pure taste heaven for a young fella, then again I was partial to fried bread in dripping too, as long as it was hot, if it got cool it was a bit claggy and lingered on the palate for a while,lol.

Wnw7,
We had a Rhode Island red rooster, boss of every thing he surveyed, my grand father threw me in the yard to get the eggs one day,( I think the old bugger was tired of getting attacked himself) saying it was a kids job, It eventually went the way of the pot, but it was trench warfare each day. Then they got an even bigger rooster a White Leghorn, by this time I was world wise and had made my self a bow and arrow, to weak to hurt him but he hated having the arrows bounce off him, but he never failed to try and catch you off guard. Then I was given a BB gun for a birthday, guess who was boss then, I could sit outside the pen at range and pot shot him, (if no one was about) just had to carry the gun in to get the eggs, I swear the stamping of the legs was just in frustration over my superior weaponry. Then Mum got a job offer in Sydney so no more collecting eggs.

But you hane to see to believe the size of the Tocal roosters that Inghams used to breed the chickens for KFC, absolute monsters.

Perth it must be a bitch, could not see a dog being that docile, then on their back is a sign of submission and docility. Had dogs in the Territory, but the King Browns used to get them, still they saved me more than once.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 2, 2008 3:15 PM

Outback - leghorn roaster, is that a typo, or was he always going to be a roaster, lol

Iaminperth, thats no typo, that how he ended up after he had a go a dad one to many time :))). best roast chicken I ever had !!!

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 3:00 PM

Outback - leghorn roaster, is that a typo, or was he always going to be a roaster, lol

Posted by: iaminperth at August 2, 2008 2:38 PM

Waternymph, I think you & I had about the same upbring, being an only child for the first 9 years of my life & living on the land.
My best mate was a sheep dog, geese & the white leghorn roaster we had were just mean & had me spooked most of the time.

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 1:30 PM

L&T, that sound like a good idea, the 2 weeks leading up to birdsville races the traffic between the pubs can get busy.
But up we are lucky to get sealed roads in town.

its only dirt roads leading into town

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 1:08 PM

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 8:59 AM
Drifter... I loved all our animals, talked to the chooks even, when I went to collect the eggs, named each nanny that we milked and their kids that mostly went to slaughter. If you live out in the country a bit on the outskirts of town the animals are often closer friends than the kids we went to school with.
Never got to be friends with the geese or the Rhode Island Red Roosters tho.
I had a friendship of sorts with our old Billy Goat Sam that was founded on mutual respect. He might have been taller than me when we got him but as I grew past him I learnt not to let him call my bluff .. tho he'd try. Had my Mum and sister scared .. and they would not come out of the house if he escaped into the houseyard. He was excellent at opening the gate now and then just when he was in the mood to . Still he was big enough to rear up and knock even my Dad down once .. and Dad was over 6ft.
Miss the animals , the fresh air and growing my own stuff!

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 2, 2008 1:03 PM

outbackdrifter at August 1, 2008 8:39 PM
Ararat has a pedestrian crossing directly between two of her pubs.

Posted by: laughsandtalks at August 2, 2008 12:36 PM

One time I was driving to the Margaret River to spend the weekend and pooch was fast asleep on the back seat on her back legs everywhere and I had to break suddenly. She sort of popped from the back seat and landed upside down wedged between the space between the front and back seats. Took three people forever to get her out and we had to move all the seats. She just lay there and didn't help anyone enjoying all the attention I suspect so now I have her in a full harness dog seatbelt where she can still lay down but finds it hard on her back. Oh the things you do for your pooches. We stopped in this wonderful country pub for lunch and the owner said I could take her in the back. I had a fabulous lunch and he brought my big pup a large bowl of meat off cuts which he had barbecued and smothered it in warm gravy. So, now my lovely dog is a confirmed pub dog. She had so many pats and cuddles from the locals and people introducing their children to her, what a trip for a very friendly loving german shepherd.

Posted by: iaminperth at August 2, 2008 11:38 AM

Hey OG. Friends of mine have just purchased a Winebago. They dithered between four wheel drive and caravan but both have their drawbacks and decided to settle for the Win. They can't do as much off road as the separate car and caravan setup and they have to drive the win to the shops but the comfort and space is magnificent. Beautiful kitchen set up, hot showers, even built in front loader washing machine and dishwasher. I was very surprised at the price considering it is such a magnificent vehicle. They have both worked all their lives and now have sold their house, invested most of the proceeds and are joining the grey nomads. First trip is from Perth to Darwin via everything magnificent along the way with no time restraints. From Darwin to Sydney to see her children and then from Sydney to Melbourne to see his. From there, it's a dunno, more like wherever the sun is shining I think, suspect it may be up to Port Douglas or somewhere like that. I like the sound of it and am leaning towards myself, just following the sun and meeting a lot of likeminded people along the way. P.S. my pooch travels extremely well also.

Posted by: iaminperth at August 2, 2008 11:01 AM

Willow, I have lived here for 13 years now & I never get sick of watching the sunsets & sunrises here.

this place has some amazing sights & they rate right up there !!! :))))))

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 9:09 AM

OG, let me know when you are camping up this way, I think I will invite myself to dinner :),

Every time I stayed at my grandmother place as a kid, we use to have camp pie fried for breakfast & loved it

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 9:05 AM

Waternymph, it was the same at our place growing up but with us it was the pet lambs, its very hard to eat roast dinner when you bottle feed them for months before

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 2, 2008 8:59 AM

Don't know about slow roasted kid with milk & vine leaves .. I think my Mum's recipe for roast goat was probably more basic and traditional.
I went down to Aunt's place on the days Dad was slaughtering and had to learn to disasociate a missing playmate from the goat pen with what got served as dinner!

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 2, 2008 2:22 AM

Drifter,
Glad they have both survived, the town I was born in had 17 pubs at the time, I went back (54 years) after the wife died and it was down to one.
The Kid
I liked it with olive oil, lemon juice and dry rubbed with the Souvlaki herbs, then baked in the Dutch oven for hours, fresh damper and black sweet tea, with whatever vegies we had sliced and added an hour or two before eating. It also made a beautiful gravy to soak up with the damper.
One of my gripes during the war, I could not get the camp pie, it all went overseas to the forces, who at my disgust after the war to hear the troops despised the stuff.

I wonder if the Daroogalbi meat works are still operating, anyone know?

Willow, you know the magic!
Cheers OG.

Posted by: oldergent at August 1, 2008 11:37 PM

OG,
You are so right about what you are saying................Its time to go back to deal with the problems of the now !!!!.

There are two " pubs in town.....The family & the Tibooburra Hotels.

As for Recipes Greek Kid cooked in milk & vine leaves, cooked real slow in camp oven is hard to beat & my Fav :)))

BULLY BEEF now we are going back & really showing our age !! :)))

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 1, 2008 8:52 PM

Tibooburra has more than one pub? :)
Spent a weekend prospecting out there. Full moon by a little dam and the feral goats all came for a sunset drink, followed by the roos. Just magic sitting there with a mug of billy tea in the moonlight.

Posted by: willow29 at August 1, 2008 7:31 PM

Willow yes there are two pubs in town The family Hotel & Tibooburra Hotel ( Or the Two Story as it is known by the locals ) & they are about 40 metres apart ( cross the road )

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 1, 2008 8:39 PM

Drifter,
Seems to me we are living in the age of mediocrity. I watched a programme on the delinquents who had to undergo a trial in the american wilderness. I would like to see the same out here with out the sweetners those kids had. It would do a lot, even for our indigenous ones to put them on the right track. I have sat eating anyone of those meals with as much if not more enjoyment than any 4 hat.

Tell me how many pubs are left in town? one of my favourites was Maidments at Menindee, Portagas was as popular as beer back then, even slept in the Bourke and Wills room. The local baker had one of the best slogans I have seen for any baker to this day, his shop front adorned with the slogan
"Our bread will make the Butterfly"
never forgot that one.
So good buddy come back with some more news from outback.
Oh, slow baked Kid, just the thought makes me drool. I used to go to Daroogalbi goat canning works (between Parkes and Forbes) and con some cans out of them. Better than bully beef.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 1, 2008 7:54 PM

Tibooburra has more than one pub? :)
Spent a weekend prospecting out there. Full moon by a little dam and the feral goats all came for a sunset drink, followed by the roos. Just magic sitting there with a mug of billy tea in the moonlight.

Posted by: willow29 at August 1, 2008 7:31 PM

Now that the Murray is drying up maybe I need my own version of Sea Change. Have tablecloths will travel ... any place but into the city .. the quieter the better!

waternymph, I think you could right, I truely feel that as mighty river, this country dies as well :((, but I don�t think moving to the city is an anwser, standing tall & holding fast to were we live is the way to go

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 1, 2008 7:05 PM

Drifter,
Very true post, it is very hard for someone who has never truly experienced the isolation of the bush, I never feel lonely out there, but it is hard to escape the isolation and all it entails. Strange about the "not a local" Dad and I used to get through there on work about once every month or two back in the 50's and always lit up the pubs. But time changes all things. Not wrong about some of the marriages, the partner departing is usually always the migrant in.

When we were camped ( in the mid to late 50's) on the Darling on the Tolarno for 12 months we could always live like kings on the cod, and other river foods, they tell me the Menindee lakes scheme that came later has buggered the river no end.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 1, 2008 3:26 PM

Thanks OG you put a smile on my face, I think you & I grow the same way, its a shame its a thing of the past now, I think the next Gen would learn alot from it, as for liting up the pubs ( Tibooburra the only place you can do a pub crawl & really crawl between the pubs ;) )that still go now but not as much as the past, now with the drinking & pub laws in force.
As for living like kings, you can still do that but you have to work harder at it, Cod, Yellowbelly, yabbies, feral goat, wild pig & rabbit as well as the local beef & mutton are all still great tucker & cooked the right way are a meal fit for a king :))

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 1, 2008 7:00 PM

Now that the Murray is drying up maybe I need my own version of Sea Change. Have tablecloths will travel ... any place but into the city .. the quieter the better!

Posted by: waternymph47 at August 1, 2008 5:21 PM

Drifter,
Very true post, it is very hard for someone who has never truly experienced the isolation of the bush, I never feel lonely out there, but it is hard to escape the isolation and all it entails. Strange about the "not a local" Dad and I used to get through there on work about once every month or two back in the 50's and always lit up the pubs. But time changes all things. Not wrong about some of the marriages, the partner departing is usually always the migrant in.

When we were camped ( in the mid to late 50's) on the Darling on the Tolarno for 12 months we could always live like kings on the cod, and other river foods, they tell me the Menindee lakes scheme that came later has buggered the river no end.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at August 1, 2008 3:26 PM

OG, you are right about what the base meaning was when I was talking about tablecloths & BigW but is deeper then that.
I have lived here for 13 years ( & yes not a local yet ) & I seen many people come & go, All saying when they came that they were up for it & loves living here but in the end the isolation get the better of them & they leave.

Now don´t get me wrong I´m not saying not to make the move down the dirt track but think long on it before you do.

I have seen to many marriages & relationships fall apart becourse of the isolation & I also see what is left befind with the partner who stayed, it is alot harder to get over all that out here

Posted by: outbackdrifter at August 1, 2008 1:08 PM

Wn@ 6.22 pm.
great idea, then I think the idea behind our comment was the difference between the city and the country, represented by the dressing of the tables. One of my jobs as a kid was the (proper) setting of the table, even for breakfast, never changed to this day. I did not mind having the formica table top in the cafes. Paid for the linen in the city.
Pity about the fizzling out on your idea, certainly would have bought the tourist in.

ERAL@ 4.55pm 30/7.
So sad and true, thus the country again is sacfrificed.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 31, 2008 8:05 PM

I have a collection of nice table cloths and I'd happily put one on the table and serve you a nice home cooked dinner on a nice plate on it. I always tell my dinner guests that the table cloths are there to collect the slops and dribbles and the candles are there to save on electricity.. and coincidentally if they are scented.. to keep the mozzies at bay. Who says you have to live rough just because you live out in the country? I'd still want to make the meal something special no matter where it was served. Had as an idea for a business venture . serving elegant dinners under a tree on the banks of the Murray .. friend with a boat would have ferried guests to this .. but he fizzled out!

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 31, 2008 6:22 PM

Are you kidding ...whats to convince or consider ....outback night skies can't be beaten..and I know I've just moved from the big city of Cairns to the tiny town of Barcaldine..oh yes there is not much romance in my life ...but the people are friendly and I am sure that romance will find its way to me eventually. LOL.

Posted by: zzrlady at July 30, 2008 9:20 PM

Drifter, Is the comet still running?
Cheers OG.

Still waiting for the that & the Russians or the American to send a space station or satellite our way :)))))))

Posted by: outbackdrifter at July 30, 2008 8:48 PM

Drifter, Is the comet still running?
Cheers OG.

Posted by: oldergent at July 30, 2008 8:09 PM

Drifter,
Give me the country cafe over the white linen every day, most of the white linen is judged on how expensive it is, who is sitting at the next table. Take a Polaroid of the meal eat it, most times about as appertising and filling as the Polaroid. I used to cook the old mixed grill occasionally in the restaurant, but had trouble with getting the price for the meal so stopped.
Cheers OG
OG I understand what you are getting at :))), I love were I live & will never move to the city again !!!!, All I was trying to say was come out here with your eyes wide open & really know what is at the end of the dirt track :))).
PS I have cooked a few mixed grills & served a few beers myself

Posted by: outbackdrifter at July 30, 2008 7:25 PM

Drifter,
Give me the country cafe over the white linen every day, most of the white linen is judged on how expensive it is, who is sitting at the next table. Take a Polaroid of the meal eat it, most times about as appertising and filling as the Polaroid. I used to cook the old mixed grill occasionally in the restaurant, but had trouble with getting the price for the meal so stopped.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 30, 2008 5:52 PM

Well it's hotter 'n blazes and all the long faces
there'll be no oasis for a dry local grazier
there'll be no refreshment for a thirsty jackaroo
from Melbourne to Adelaide on the overlander
with newfangled buffet cars and faster locomotives
the train stopped in Serviceton less and less often
There's nothing sadder than a town with no cheer
Voc Rail decided the canteen was no longer necessary there
no spirits, no bilgewater and 80 dry locals
and the high noon sun beats a hundred and four
there's a hummingbird trapped in a closed down shoe store

This tiny Victorian rhubarb
kept the watering hole open for sixty five years
now it's boilin' in a miserable March 21 st
wrapped the hills in a blanket of Patterson's curse
the train smokes down the xylophone
there'll be no stopping here
all ya can be is thirsty in a town with no cheer
no Bourbon, no Branchwater
though the townspeople here
fought her Vic Rail decree tooth and nail
now it's boilin' in a miserable March 21 st
wrapped the hills in a blanket of Patterson's curse
the train smokes down the xylophone
there'll be no stopping here
all ya can be is thirsty in a town with no cheer

Posted by: eatsrootsandleaves at July 30, 2008 4:55 PM

Amber @ 5.35pm.
I have found that not much goes on in some peoples heads, men and women, mainly that they have someone but themselves to blame for their shortcomings, or failures.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 29, 2008 7:32 PM

You're right OG, July 28 @ 11:42 PM , they do get over whatever it was that upset them, and then can't understand why you still feel "uncomfortable" and feel like you can't trust them!
After I left my ex, I thought he'd move back there as he made such an issue of me "forcing" him to move (I didn't, I just told him I felt I could no longer live in that town and needed to move away; he opted to come with me but then blamed me for it, even encouraging our oldest son to accuse me of being a "manipulative bitch"!) but he didn't move back, he stayed in the (slightly larger) small town we moved to!
Who knows what really goes on in another person's head?

Posted by: amberlight58 at July 29, 2008 5:35 PM

Hi everyone,
I'm a 36 single girl from Sydney. I've been single now for about 5 years and I'm over the nightclub scene and don't venture into the city too much so I find it hard to meeting any nice single guys. I would love the opportunity to move out of the city so if there are any nice country boys who would be interested in getting to know me, please send me an email to lotsafun72. With me, what you see is what you get, I'm not a princess and I'm not afraid of hard work. I have a lot of love to give and I'm a very kind and affectionate person.

Posted by: lotsafun72 at July 29, 2008 11:08 AM

Amber @ 9.04 am.
Unfortunately that is true too, small town people (well the ones I lived in) can be like that, but they generally get over the huff's sooner or later. But I have found that people do differ a bit from state to state and area to area. I still live in a reasonably small country town, and most people have a nodding aquaintance, suits me that way.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 28, 2008 11:42 PM

Hi to all the good looking farmers or want to be farmers/ hobbie farmers/ want to own a few acres farmers...there must be blokes out there that would love to have a tree change, buy a few acres in my area to play on with some good country company.Lots of nice propertys for sale near where I live.
Come on all you single blokes,,, move to the country,and relax....

Posted by: ladylovesfarmlife at July 28, 2008 8:27 PM

Posted by: manda1968 at July 26, 2008 5:49 PM

Manda, It is a pity that you live in Sydney. There's a country bloke down here near Ballan who could be a great match.He has been on the blogs a bit so you might regonise him.
rgds grego

Posted by: grego7 at July 28, 2008 12:38 PM

Hi ariesgirl1,
Maybe because you've lived in larger towns you have found things differently, but I've lived in small country towns for most of my life. No false up-tight people?
Believe me, in a small town there are lots of false up-tight people (not much to do) and small country towns often have a certain "criteria" that they prefer people to meet to be successfully accepted by the locals.
Just try being someone who moves into the town but doesn't quite fit the criteria!
Okay if you're a doctor, nurse, police officer, stock agent, etc.
But if you're unemployed or not quite up to their standard you can be shunned by the "decent" people in the town! I've seen it happen many times in the town I lived in for over 20 years!
As far as not being false, small country towns are just the place where people smile at your face while secretly "knifing you in the back"
Happened to my ex in a big way in the local rural fire service (it certainly changed him; remained angry and remains so ever since, not that he saw it or ever had to live with it! It was the kids and I who suffered) and it was the beginning of the end for our marriage.
The feeling I could no longer trust anyone was the main reason I wanted to leave the town. However, despite similar experiences happening to him in the past, my ex still wanted to stay and wasn't happy about me "forcing" him to leave and move 29 kms down the road!
The other thing about small country towns, is what they don't know about someone they will often make up!
Despite this, most people are great, it's just the "big fish in a small pond" minority who think they own the town, that make it difficult for others.
I live in a bigger country town now, with a much broader mix of people, which is much easier, still feels country but bigger means less nastiness.

Posted by: amberlight58 at July 28, 2008 9:04 AM

Hi everyone, you know, I think it is like winning the lottery expecting to find that electric mix unless you are lucky enought to win lotto. I have had 3 weddings and a funeral and I know with the funeral guy it was different and once you have had it you know what it is and nothing will make it happen but if you are open hearted and get out of the mind.....move your energy to you heart centre.....the mind is where the fear of past present and future exists...it will happen and more importantly it will happen with you....when you love yourself you love everyone and only joy will exist when you connect heart centred with your dates.....their just like you so connect form the heart centre......not with fear.

Posted by: jewelsau at July 28, 2008 5:44 AM

You are either a city or country girl. I like the city, but having lived 12 years in Albany down south in WA, then over 2 years in Hedland in the Pilbara, bring on a cute farmer, The city was in my past life and country, with fresh air, no traffic jams and crowds, minus false up tight people, etc. etc. Nice to visit but city life is not for me.

Posted by: ariesgirl1 at July 28, 2008 12:45 AM

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 27, 2008 7:28 PM

If Woolies is 700km away, how far away is a Myers, Bras n Things or a decent restaurant - the ones with tablecloths and other-than-house wine?

About the same waterlily58, You are dead right what you say.............& it is the first thing that hits anyone head on when they moves out here.

Posted by: outbackdrifter at July 27, 2008 9:03 PM

Oh! I do hope the young, 22yr old country female caught peeking at my profile is only sussing out the person behind the blogs?

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 27, 2008 7:30 PM

Posted by: outbackdrifter at July 26, 2008 11:41 PM

If Woolies is 700km away, how far away is a Myers, Bras n Things or a decent restaurant - the ones with tablecloths and other-than-house wine?

This is something that many citites don't stop to think about when taking off to the country - there's nowhere to run away to, you have to mend and make do, no takeaways after a long day, truckloads of groceries are bought in bulk and heaven forbid if you forget anything 'cos you can't just pop out and pick it up.

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 27, 2008 7:28 PM

I first married when I was 18 as my fiance's Parents wanted their oldest son(24) married and running their second farm larger farm while they resided closer to town on the much smaller acerage. MIL was tired of cooking for shearers etc & wanted to hand over the reigns.. and my Dad(Mum died when I was 14) wanted at least one of his 2 daughters married off and he knew it was never going to be my older sister(she's still single at 64!)

I met hubby while I was working as a waitress/housemaid in a small SA country town and being that rare commodity there(young, single, attractive & decent) we became an item.

Once we were married, my husband's Father often arrived on the doorstep at crack of dawn wanting his son to join him on the Farm activities for the day. I usually fed Father-in-law breakfast while hubby got his head together and got dressed. I sort of suspected that FIL was not getting breakfast cooked for him that early at home too!
Hubby began escaping and not sleeping in our bed.. mostly a mate's place or in the car (or wherever).. so I was left with more than my fair share of daily chores, with only 2 sheep dogs and several cats for company,tending to the vegie patch,seeing to the chooks, collecting the eggs and getting them cleaned & packed for market as well as driving out once a day to the dams and water troughs to see the sheep were ok. I taught myself to drive on the farm while I was at it.Had an interesting experience in how to unbog a car from sand and several near misses getting it back in the shed unscathed.
Meanwhile I also took on care of my Dad for a while as he had Parkinsons disease but I couldnt keep him in the house and he ended up with sun stroke so we had to put him in Hospital. Dr reccomended he be put in a Nursing Home but his sister wouldnt hear of it so she (my Aunt) took on his care till he eventually got too much for her too!
I pretty much ran the farm single handed for a couple of years , then after 2 weeks in hospital .. with a miscarriage and then appendectomy(with very few visits from hubby or his family) I came home to a filthy house. He didnt clean.. and Mum-in law was too busy off to her Bowls & CWA to offer to do anything!

When I went back to Dr for a checkup a week later .. Dr ordered me to take a holiday or get back into Hospital. Husband and his family opted for cheaper option and sent me to stay with my sister in Alice Springs, NT, where I had 2-3 weeks to rest & work out I was too young to be living like I was, working my butt off alone and likely to end up adding to it with a parcel of kids around my ankles as well .. so I went back home .. told him it was over .. and packed to leave for good.
He took it so hard, that as usual, he got straight on the phone to his Mum then left for the pub.. MIL did her best to talk me out of leaving(the slave from escaping) ... then in the end he drove me to the bus station and waved goodbye!
The divorce went thru uncontested a few years later and of course I was too foolish to think of puting my hand out for any financial gain .. I'm still that way .. which is how I end up broke and on pension at 60 and a bit!
I went back to Alice Springs to my sister .. and for a few years I had the chance to find out what it is like to be young free and single and on a good wage, working first for Alice Springs Taxis with the occasional extra shift in Lizzies Coffee shop and then on to work for JDSRF "The Space Base"!
Alice was still a relatively New Frontier back then and so I still felt I was out in the country and did things like going horse riding or weekends on stations so yep atill a country girl!

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 27, 2008 12:34 PM

I don't do designer shoes or Cafe funk... I'm more a gumboots and home baked carrot cake down the back paddock type of girl anyway ... Oh ... as long as my blue heeler can come along for the ride that is !

I guess if the land is in your heart and soul it would be an easy step for any girl to take, and if its not there no amount of persuading will sway her designer shoe sole... you wouldn't want to anyway... it would all end in tears down that future dirt track!

Posted by: sommerrain at July 27, 2008 12:26 AM

The truth is out here is hard on women, it take rare type lady to really cope with all, the isolation & the goldfish bowls called small country towns are no fun at times.
To give you an idea what I am talking about, I live in Tibooburra NSW & to go shopping at BigW its 700 km round trip & to live here is have everyone town know your bussiness 24/7.& with the drought on top of all that life in country Australia at times stop having much meaning at all.
What I am saying it takes a special type of person to not only live here but to enjoy living here

Posted by: outbackdrifter at July 26, 2008 11:41 PM

In my experience, and that of my fellow city girlfriends, the usual opinion of farmers and country guys in general is of a positive note. You guys have a reputation of old fashioned values which is hard to find in the city now! Personally, I'd love to meet a country guy, just a bit difficult to do so when you live in Sydney!

Posted by: manda1968 at July 26, 2008 5:49 PM

Manda68, it's hard even when you're a country girl actually living in the country to meet a country guy ! Let's hope good things come to those who wait.

Posted by: graceandcharm at July 26, 2008 8:04 PM

manda 1968 @ 5.49 pm.
No it is not hard for farmers to find a wife from the city \, the hard part is to find the right wife who will stick it out with them for all the bad times nature can hand out, and then not to let the good times go to their heads when they come too. Maybe if you headed right out to the country on a long weekend or two to the same town you would soon find any amount of genuine men who would want to get to know you. A word of warning though, with care and decorum, they are still worried of what the locals think, any mistake and you will soon know the chill of the locals.
Cheers OG
ps can't remember you posting before, if not welcome.

Posted by: oldergent at July 26, 2008 7:39 PM

Is it really so hard for a farmer to find a wife? The dippy TV show is good for a laugh, but can anyone on here tell me if it's actually true?
In my experience, and that of my fellow city girlfriends, the usual opinion of farmers and country guys in general is of a positive note. You guys have a reputation of old fashioned values which is hard to find in the city now! Personally, I'd love to meet a country guy, just a bit difficult to do so when you live in Sydney!

Posted by: manda1968 at July 26, 2008 5:49 PM

Greg and 74: Thanks. I have a computer file called Memiors, and whenever I'm blogging or emailing anything relevant, I copy and paste the relevant paragraphs to it at the time, with a descriptive title and the date. Only takes a couple of minutes each time, and they're all there, waiting for me to retire to start editing them into the book.

I chose what to write for this blog because my memories are of much greater privations than a girl would now expect, if she married someone on the land.

Posted by: timewarp1 at July 24, 2008 11:21 PM

I agree with Grego, TW .. you do have the makings of a book there. So do I really .. I just need to focus a bit more and gather up my scattered scribblings, add them to those I already have on disc .. and get on with it!!

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 24, 2008 11:32 AM

Posted by: timewarp1 at July 23, 2008 9:24 PM

TW, a very lovely post. Have you ever thought of putting your reminiscences into a book or short story. Or even a verbal recording.

So much family history gets lost because it is not recorded.
rgds grego

Posted by: grego7 at July 24, 2008 11:06 AM

Hi all. Just had my first look at this blog and it took me back. I was raised in what was then sheep country, a hundred miles west of Goondiwindi, till dad died when I was 16 and mum took us to Brisbane where she came from.
We had 32,000 acres (50 square miles) and the house was 25 miles from town. Nearly all of that road was deep black soil, with two unbridged creeks along the way.
Dad went to town for the day on business about once a month - a bit over an hour's drive along 2 meandering parallel wheeltracks - in dry weather.
After heavy rain, if you had to go because of a medical emergency, it was 12 to 16 hours with 2 men pushing the car along, half the time. Usually needed 3 or 4 neighbours' cars, with the earlier ones bogged in turn along the way, immobile till the ground dried out after 3 or 4 days of dry weather, and they could be dug out and reclaimed.
One time when I was coming home from Toowoomba for a boarding-school vacation aged about 13, it was so wet that Dad and a stockman came for me leading 2 other horses - the third for me, and the 4th with saddle bags, to take the contents of my suitcase. That was stored empty in the back of the cafe, till we came back by car 2 weeks later, to put me back on the train.
It took us 2 days to get home through the scloop scloop mud - a 4-day round trip for the men. I felt honoured that they went to so much trouble, just so I could come home that holidays.
Before I went to boarding school at 11, mum and we 3 boys went into town about 3 times a year, visited some neighbour or other for Sunday afternoon tea about once a month, and to some riverbank about twice a year for a district picnic, from 4pm to midnight.
The rest of the time we were at home, visited once a week in dry weather by the mailman, who also brought groceries, tins of petrol and bags of grain for the horses.
My younger brother Sam could still remember at 40 the number plates of all the cars who'd called in when they came past when he was aged 8 to 12 - totalling about 20 from memory.
The generation before were more isolated. Dad's mother got one shipment of groceries a year by bullock dray from 200 miles away - a ton each of flour and sugar, a chest of tea, and so on. It took a couple of months to come from the railhead.
And her first couple of children were born on the station, with only the help of a midwife from the local aboriginal tribe.

Posted by: timewarp1 at July 23, 2008 9:24 PM

Got to enjoy a day in the country today on a Seniors Bus trip to Trobuk Station. Demonstrations of whip cracking, sheep shearing, boomerang throwing, sheepdogs in action ... morning tea of Damper and Billy tea prepared over an open fire served with butter and Golden Syrup ... and Lunch served in a big converted barn.
The guys put it all together with genuine Aussie humor and even the Japanese tourists got a laugh .. perhaps from the way their guide translated it for them .. and they(the tourists) literaly all had a crack at whip cracking.
I'd say it's a great way for these down to earth farmers to keep the sheep farm going in good and bad times and still have an income ... good on them !

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 23, 2008 5:51 PM

OG - what a clever pig!
If a horse wants to connect, it generally will!

Thelynathdiary - that's hilarious - though the "shake bags" (Old English Game roosters) have been known to kick a wooden crate open and an OEG hen has been known to kill a fox to protect her chicks (true!!).

Waternymph; Love those goats! I like geese too but my uncle got locked in the goose shed as a child and they pecked out ALL of his hair!! How scary would that be to a kid?

Posted by: willow29 at July 22, 2008 5:02 PM

OG I did have my photo up till a week or so ago .. hence TW commenting about the "Best set of legs" or words to that affect.Decided there was more to my profile than the legs so it's now password protected.

We never had pigs I'm happy to say. We did have a grumpy old Billy Goat who could open the gate and get into Mum's garden and I'd come from school to find Mum cowering in the house and I was ordered to get that vile beast back in the yard .. which I did with ease as Dad had taught me how to call Sam's bluff even when I was small enough for him to tower over me. He was huge tho and Ive seen Sam knock my 6'3 Dad flat on his back when he reared up at him once. Our Nannygoats were all gentle and the kids playful though.
I did stay well clear of the geese tho as the old Gander was on the nasty side when protecting his girls. We also used to have a Rhode Island Red rooster who was vicious. My sister and I were sent to collect the eggs so she would shove me in the chook pen with the promise to watch my back. Once when I handed her the eggs she shoved me back in and closed the gate
and I'm trying to undo the latch from the inside with the rooster pecking at my little legs from behind and sis outside of gate laughing her head off.

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 22, 2008 4:34 PM

I knew I could never marry a farmer when I arrived unannounced at a farm where I had spent many, many happy times and parked by the water tank only to find no one around.

Checking to see if those scarey blue heelers(they don't call them that for nothing) were not in sight ,I emerged from my VW Beetle and flicking back my long Farah Fawcett style hair I adjusted my flairs and marched on my 4" high platform shoes towards the homestead.

I opened the gate and started along the path when all of a sudden this thing...a giant monster..was squawking and flapping at me....charging at me. ,,, After screaming and dropping my new clutch bag I took off down the path and slammed the gate but the monster flew over it....I fell off my platform shoe but still ran to the car and took off in a cloud of dust......didn't have to even push start the VW.....

Later a phone call ....."We knew someone had been here by the tyre skid marks, what d'ya mean the bantam rooster chased you? That little thing? HAHAHAHAH! (and repeat every Christmas and family reunion)

I 've seen "The Birds"...don't trust any of 'em..

Posted by: thelynathdiary at July 22, 2008 2:30 PM

Amber@ 11.35am.
It was the highlight of my girl cousins young lives when we found out the old white sow would let me ride on her back,(mine too), so they did not have to get up as early, mine because there were no more frosty feet, didn't mean that they weren't nearly frozen anyway, it started out with much fun grunting and tail coiling, then the old girl seemed to think she was being taken advantage off. She had a passion for dried corn on the cob and because I had been sneaking a bit to her, ( a hiding if uncle caught me) she had the idea I was a pigs best friend, but she wanted the corn and not have to go after the cows. I solved the problem next morning by stuffing some in my pocket and taking off across the paddocks to the cows with her in squealing in pursuit. When we got there I gave her a half cob, got on her back and bought the cows in, she got the other half back at the bails. Next morning, straight on the back and out for the cows, but she did check if I had the corn first, your right about how intellegent they are, of all the animals I think they are the smartest, naturally. We had a boar that used to hunt snakes and eat them, he used to get them striking, side on and then grab them and eat them. But the bloody thing would have a go at you too, picked on uncle in a bad mood one day, he was as tough as blazes, but tasty, we hadn't had fresh meat for a long time and the brine barrel was getting a bit low and pongy, I think it was the only time we all loved him. When we had to sell them we droved them on horse back, that was a highlight trying to keep them together, us kids loved it, the horses hated it, more than one weaner got a kick from the horses, you would swear they had a pleased look when they conected with a hoof.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 22, 2008 2:23 PM

Yes Willow,
Pigs can be cute and really intelligent. Especially the piglets, they are so cute and love to be scratched and patted.
There were a couple of sows who were just gorgeous, they trusted you to come near their little ones. And would just about fall over with happiness when you scratched them behind the ear!
Yes, I'm afraid I wasn't really cut out for farming, I hated sending the pigs and piglets off to market!

Except for the old sow who hated me, she slipped and injured her back and couldn't walk.
Sometimes they'd get better, but this one didn't, even when she couldn't walk she could slide on her bottom really quickly up to the gate to have a go at me! Really scary!
We eventually had to sell her (a "chopper" pig they called her) my mother resisted (as she was "her favourite pig!") even though I knew her fate, I was still really relieved to see her go!

Posted by: amberlight58 at July 22, 2008 12:17 PM

Amber- I can't understand why either!
Some of those pigs can be pretty nasty, but did you see the piggies on the "F-word"? How cute! I would never make an animal farmer - they'd all end up as pets :)

Posted by: willow29 at July 22, 2008 11:52 AM

My parents always fancied being farmers, so when I was 17, they went looking for a few acres around 50 kms north of Adelaide and ended up buying 480 acres including pigs and cows!
They had no idea, (it was one of those mid-life crisis dreams I think) but at the age of 17 I found my self knee-deep in mud and pig poo. Ended up going bare-foot most of the time, because the mud was so bad it just "sucked" my gum boots off!
Must have looked (and smelled) a site for any visitors!

I was quite terrified of the pigs and I rmember one old sow who had it in for me everytime she saw me coming with the feed bucket! I would throw it into the trough and run for my life!
No "intensive piggery" back then, just cement and sleeper styes, with a cement floor and a drain running through the middle.
The mice used to breed by the hundreds and would pop-up under everything that you moved. Ugh!
I was the "pig girl" and my sister milked the friesian cow which my mother thought would save us money on buying milk which my brother drank by the gallon.
Of course, my brother went off milk as soon as he saw where it actually came from!

My parents ended up going"broke" a common occurence for them! So they then subdivided the land into smaller blocks (went down a treat with the locals!) and moved even further north of Adelaide to a place on few acres 15 kms out of town with an outside long-drop!
We at least had an inside flushing toilet on "the farm".

My sister had a boyfriend at 15, as she was still at school.
At 17 guys didn't seem to find me too attractive. Can't understand why!

Posted by: amberlight58 at July 22, 2008 11:35 AM

Yeah waterlilly, my city cousins did that once, uncle roared laughing, cousins never knew Aunty could run so fast. Uncle and cousins never knew how fussy she was about the house. She bragged for years it was the cleanest the house ever was. Just love these memories. Keep them coming.
Cheers OG.

Posted by: oldergent at July 21, 2008 9:37 PM

Waternympth.
would love your photo.
The way we would get the legless spiders was with a pair of tweezers even the big ones, we used to love watching how they would still try to get to one and another legless. (Seen the same with humans when I got to the city).
Grace and charm@ 6.20 pm
That "vest" you removed from the dog, was probably made of leather and the studs were made of Rifle primers ( the things that are use to ignite the bullets) we used to press them (very carefull) into the leather guards of the dogs necks and chests, and used them to reload our rounds about the campfire at night. I can well imagine from your description that you made, if it was one of these collars, as to the noise and force of the "fireworks".
I have always found, at the same time in life, the country most exciting and conversely, the most peacefull and insight of all existences . Pity anyone who did not experience it, at least in part.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 21, 2008 9:10 PM

Posted by: graceandcharm at July 21, 2008 6:20 PM
Certainly a bit of home-grown entertainment. I'd have killed him - with bub so close and all!
My brothers once decided to play 'milking', just like M&D in the dairy. They rounded up their own cattle - the new poddy calves waiting for their mothers to return from milking - and herded them all into the house! There was shite from one end of the place to the other!

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 21, 2008 8:11 PM

And here's my....... "it could only happen in the country story". To this day I still shudder a little thinking about it.
Stray pig - hunting dog wanders onto property and up to our house. My ex wonders what to do with him as we have goats on the property and ex is gunless at the moment. Ex decides to tie dog up and remove the large metal -studded vest from dog. We used to burn what rubbish we could on the property, so ex places metal studded dog vest in our homemade upright loungeroom heater (everything was home-made out there).
Minutes later something akin to the the sound of "gunfire" in rapid and deafening succession in our loungeroom as the dog vest heats up and literally explodes. We look at each other thinking "what the.......?". The 8kg lid of the home-made heater then flies off and over to the other side of the loungeroom and allows flames like you've never seen before lick the ceiling of the loungeroom.
Wife (me) grabs baby who is innocently sitting in a nearby cot in the loungeroom and heads for the hills !! She returns sometime later to the tune of "gee, you panic" !
We later learn that the dimensions of the homemade heater were wrong.....and ex learns never to put something like that in the heater again. Wife feels 10 years older as a result of that incident. :(
See.......life in the country IS exciting ! :)

Posted by: graceandcharm at July 21, 2008 6:20 PM

LOL I love this country upbringing reminiscing OG. I was thinking Lemon juice used to bring out scorches... but then I remembered we used to write secret notes in lemon juice and reveal them with the heat of an iron or the stove ...(trying not to catch it on fire and really be in strife).

Ergenia I was told my older sister used to take Mum's metal measuring jug from the kitchen and a sharp knife and return both... complete with a collection of spiders squirming (including Red Backs) in it minus their legs. Her rational I guess.. no legs they cant come after you. How she never got bitten is amazing .. tho one got dad in the loo at the Blacksmith workshop run by Dad and my Uncle. He was so ill for days and I remember my aunt(his sister) coming to change and wash him daily as Mum was away in Adelaide at Cripple Children's Hospital with my little sister(polio) at the time. Aunty would also prepare a main meal of the day for us while she was there and other than that Dad's care was left to me at age 9 as my 12 yr old sister wouldnt go near him.
Aunty had her own family of 6 kids to feed and take care of, tho my older cousins at least milked the cows and helped out at home by then.
I too got my arm in the wringer more than once and hitting the release bar was nearly as dangerous.
Waterlily I loved your Loo story too. I can well imagine the sight of the would be Farmers wife's face once he explained the toilet arrangements. You're right OG .. this is the best blog yet!!!

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 21, 2008 5:16 PM

OG, I love the image of the shirts standing up by themselves, much like now, when they're left on the line in a frost!

We used sunlight soap to wash the lacework (my gran is from Belgium) but after having 8 kids, Mum decided that they were too fussy to keep.

When I danced, I used starch for the petticoats and they stood up like a row of tents on the patio.

Posted by: willow29 at July 21, 2008 4:40 PM

Waternympth47@12.25pm.
Sure did bring back more than one memory, more homemade soap, than sunlight, that was saved for the "delicates" . I haven't thought of Reckitts Blue for so long, my family did not starch so fussy, the whole thing got done, and ironed with the old pair of flat irons heated on the wood stove (even in heat waves). we did get a spirit iron, but Nana kept blowing it up so grand dad threw the "bloody newfangled bastard out". Thats how I learned to iron, by the sizzle on the finger. It was fascinating to see a mans shirt standing upright by itself.after being ironed, I can't remember the remedy for getting rid of the slight scortch marks, but if you did a heavy one, start running. I have seen the heavy ones covered with tennis shoe whitener, and the hilarity when it started to crumble and look like dandruff falling. This is a good blog so many memories coming back and not a really serious snarl from anyone, People of the county and people who like the country, as it should be.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 21, 2008 4:05 PM

Not a fan of reality TV at its worst, I must admit that I'm a fan of Farmer wants a wife. What a bunch of great Aussie blokes.

Waternymph47 that was a lovely rhyme and brought back memories when I was 4yo and getting my arm stuck in the wringer as I helped mum feed through the towels. Also of running the wooden spoon up and down the wash board making music

I also experienced the outside loo with the long pull chain. I used to sit in there and play with the daddy long leg spiders until one day mum found me covered in spiders (her recount but it was more like 5-8 spiders) and she screams full pitch and yanks me out brushing me down. Since that day I have had a fear of spiders and a fear of my mums high pitched scream!

Posted by: egernia at July 21, 2008 3:55 PM

Ahh the old mangle - my ex mother in law used to put one end of my dresses in the mangle, turn it on and hold the other end to stretch it. She thought my dresses were much too short.

In Mildura, you get the best of both worlds, Mildura city is only minutes away, with great cafes, restaurants, arts centres and shopping. If I had harvested the sultanas this year, I would have lost $30k. Im in the process of pulling them out but luckily I have a "normal" job so its not the huge financial hardship that it is for others.

Posted by: willow29 at July 21, 2008 2:45 PM

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 20, 2008 12:19 PM
I remember when Mum FINALLY managed to convince my dad to put in septic. After many arguments about where the new flushing loo could go, like in the bathroom or laundry (inside the house), HE decided that it would be easier to move the old thunderbox closer to the house and put the new loo in it, with a cute lttle flagstone path and a fence around it - STILL outside, still full of our unwelcome little visitors and still often a cold and wet walk to the amenities! It sits there still, as his private asylum. About 10 years ago, Mum fiinally convinced him to put in one of the environmentally friendly septic systems, and finally got her inside loo, and a shower and bathtub that drained out to the tanks, instead of drums for recycling the water for the vegies!

I got a good laugh to see one of our farmers-wanting-a-wife explain to his girls that the inside loo was for 'ones' and the thunderbox in the paddock was for 'twos'. The look on the girls' faces was priceless!

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 21, 2008 1:58 PM

Posted by: brilliantblue at July 20, 2008 10:36 PM

As mentioned last night, brilliantblue, you win!

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 21, 2008 1:30 PM

Brenda Bryant, wrote this for Olive Riley and it can be found on Olive's web page. Brought back memories for me and I'm sure it will for OG too..........

FOR OLIVE RILEY
The World's Oldest Blogger

Sometimes, I hear the young complain of all they have to do.
But I am sure that their complaints should really be quite few.
Take Washing Day, for instance, all they do is press a knob,
And then machines go whirling round and quickly do the job.

They throw in powder, maybe bleach, and softener as well,
And dirty clothes are whirled about, then spun around, pell-mell.
And then, to follow up, I hear, they set the dryer spinning,
They've hardly raised a finger to the end from the beginning.

But things were very different in the days of long ago,
When Olive Riley's mother washed her clothes as white as snow.
And Olive well-remembers that, when it was Washing Day,
Daughters had to do their bit; there was no time for play.

First Olive looked for firewood, which was sometimes hard to find,
She had to hunt for broken twigs or sticks of any kind.
Sometimes she found a fruit-box that was thrown down on the floor.
She chopped it with a tomahawk, though it made her fingers sore.

After filling up the copper, her Mum would light the fire,
And the water would start heating, as the flames grew ever higher.
Then she threw in some soap chips, followed by Reckitt's Blue,
(That was a clever little bag that made things look like new.)

Next she got the Sunlight Soap to scrub at all the stains,
And, sometimes, if she scrubbed too hard, there were blisters for her pains.
The corrugated board was rough, her hands were roughened too,
Ruined by years of scrubbing, but what else was there to do?

Then, she threw in the dirty clothes, and gave them all a stir.
The steam rose up in clouds and very nearly smothered her.
She was splashed by boiling water, and the bubbles stung her eyes.
And a line of snowy washing was to be her only prize!

Yet, now, would come the starching, of the collar and the cuff,
And, however hard she starched them, it was never quite enough.
For Father must look perfect when in his Sunday Best,
He mustn't look inferior, measured against the rest.

At last, the clothes were clean and rinsed and the fire had lost its heat.
Mother was quite exhausted, after so long on her feet.
But the hardest job was yet to come, an energetic trick,
For she had to get the clothes out with a hefty copper-stick!

Imagine sheets all water-logged and weighing half a ton!
Her back was nearly broken by the time that job was done.
A soggy mass lay, wetly, in a tub, somewhere nearby.
The washing was as clean as clean, but not the least bit dry.

Now Olive had a job to do, though she was scarcely grown,
For Mother couldn't mangle all the washing on her own.
Between the wooden rollers Mother fed the dripping clothes,
While Olive turned the handle, standing on tippy-toes.

The mangle squeezed the water, it came quickly pouring out,
But the washing was still wet and heavy, that I do not doubt.
But Olive and her Mother had to drag it to the trees,
Where a line was stretched, so washing could be dried off in the breeze.

When all was safely pegged, they stood and eyed the white perfection.
But a flock of noisy magpies swooped and swirled in their direction!
They aimed for Mother's washing, causing splish and splash and stain!
'Oh well' said Olive's mother, we must do it all again!' http://rinklyrimes.blogspot.com/

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 21, 2008 12:25 PM

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 20, 2008 7:33 PM

All I'm saying is just because I live in the city does not mean I have not done any psychical work....just different to your experience! No need to be so sarcastic, I was talking purely about childhood experiences in comparsion to someone elses's idea of growing up in the city!

Have you built brick retaining walls and rendered them, paved, built garden beds, carted stone blocks from building site, removed carpet of entire house, sanded and sealed floorboards,painted entire house inside and out, tiled bathroom, removed interior walls and everything else involved in renovating a house 6 times over on your own! No! you have no idea about my life and as such shouldn't be making comparsions with your life!

Not once did I say living and working on a farm was easy but I do get quite stroppy at this inverted snobbery shown by a you that somehow city folks have no idea about hard psychical work!

Posted by: brilliantblue at July 20, 2008 10:36 PM

Posted by: brilliantblue at July 20, 2008 1:13 PM

Um, er, yes, brilliantblue, you win. I can see from this post that you obviously have vast experience in the type of remote area living that we have been discussing.

My own experience is much humbled in comparison to yours...Simply must remember to tell the ex, during our next business meeting, to install a rainproof cubby and a kayak for our next sweeping flood - forget bringing the horses to higher ground, dumping in extra feed, erecting temporary stables and corals...OMG!!!

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 20, 2008 7:33 PM

Waternymph,
I remember Nana getting bitten when sitting on the long drop dunny, Grand dads remedy pull the stem off his pipe and put the liquid nicotine on the bite, she never miss a beat. After that it was the rope wrapped aroung the bit of broomstick a little kero match it, wipe it around the inside of the seat and then doused in the dirt tin. In those days nothing was ever wasted or over used, well maybe a few swear words when things did not go the way you wanted. Yes the city friends very much did like to be in the country, but where always glad to get back to the city to wash their cars
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 20, 2008 5:46 PM

Posted by: tallerthantom at July 20, 2008 12:18 PM

We might be well to do citites people but doesn't mean we were all brought up in a backyard!

We lived on the edge of a reserve that went for miles....this became our backyard from a very early age.....we played in bush, built rainproof cubby houses and walked for miles through the bush....unbelievable how we never got lost!
We would ride my horse down to small river with kayak after it had rained! We had 6ft goana that climbed up the tree right outside our house, the cat used to bring redbelly black snakes back and place them outside our back door, we had a foxes that would come on our back patio at night and a pet possum that we fed for years and could handle and renmove baby from pouch without being clawed to death, redbacks in tha garage and funnelwebs in the pool!

Posted by: brilliantblue at July 20, 2008 1:13 PM

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 20, 2008 10:45 AM

Waterlily...I'm not debating that living on a farm would not be damn hard work....I personally wouldn't do it....I was just stating that for city people its nice to feel that peace and winding down that only an escape to the country can do!

Posted by: brilliantblue at July 20, 2008 12:56 PM

OG I still have a chuckle each time I think of you as an 8 yr old warming your toes in the cow pats LOL. Goat droppings would not have been as useful! Mum was the daughter of a shoemaker so there was no going barefoot for us and a cupboard stood near the back door where the school shoes went into polished at end of day, and slippers had to be worn in house and exchanged for old outdoor shoes if we went outside. I lived outdoors from the moment I could toddle.
As for "Pull the chain only when you hear the frogs croaking..." We had the old 'Longdrop" toilet for years and many a close brush in there with sleepy lizards, the occasional snake or redback spiders. Only in later yearsafter Dad's own near death experience with a red back bite, did he build a flushing toilet on one end of the veranda next to the laundry. Even doing laundry was mostly a bucket job to fill troughs and the wonderous new Simpson with it's child eating mangle! and of course all that water went out on the garden after use .. including the final rinse water that we kids got bathed in, hotted up with some water from the copper!

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 20, 2008 12:19 PM

Actually waterlilly I don't think BB would have any perception of farm life as such. More like a well to do cityites country retreat.All very nice ,relaxing and charming without ever knowing the stresses of weather,poor prices isolation etc

Posted by: tallerthantom at July 20, 2008 12:18 PM

Farmers jokes:
Posted by: waterlily58 at July 20, 2008 11:26 AM

"It must have rained last night, the windscreen's clean"...
I never washed my car in my whole time out there......no point, waste of time. It would be "caked" in dust as soon as I hit town. People used to joke I could grow a pot-plant on the ledge of dust that had collected at the back of my car.

"Fill the washing machine only when your clothes can walk there themselves"...Washing machine.....what washing machine ? The generator blew that one up in smoke, quite literally. I think I cried that day, just another thing that "hit the dust". I washed our clothes in town for almost a year whilst waiting to be connected to conventional power. I've never looked at electricity quite the same since, nor ever taken it for granted.

How I wish I kept a diary of those days. I'm living in town now, life is sooooo much easier by comparison.

Posted by: graceandcharm at July 20, 2008 12:08 PM

I have spent my whole life (51 years) on our family farm. In fact apart from 5 years away at study, have lived in only four different houses, all on the farm. Now work off-farm, one of my sons is running the place, but I still live there.

It has been hard at times, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Friends used to head off for annual holidays, which we rarely managed, but my feeling was, there was nothing I needed to get away from. I have always said we needed at least 10 acres per kid. (means we could have had 40 kids) When there was a fight, just send em off in opposite directions. If they managed to cross paths after that, it was their own fault. Summers spent swimming in the river, winters playing in the mud, and bonfires.

The commitment to the farm probably kept ex and I together longer than we should have. Still partners in the business, with all the difficulties that that entails. Guilt (misplaced) at the sacrifices made over the years for what was my family farm. (But it is a legacy for OUR kids)

Getting into it without knowing what you are up for would be very difficult. I couldn't expect a city woman, or even a townie, to take on the lifestyle here, even only 20 mins from a major regional centre. But finding a 'match' from the local population is also hard. In 18 months I went out with 2 women, and no reciprocated magic with either. And then where????

So I expanded my view of the world, and have met a wonderful lady (CC, for city chick) from Melb, where I spend a fair bit of time for work. Long term, who knows? But we are having fun with the present, and in one sense, the present is all there ever is.

Posted by: sunriselad at July 20, 2008 11:57 AM

Posted by: graceandcharm at July 19, 2008 5:02 PM

Farmers jokes:
If you can see a neighbour's house you are in the suburbs...

You can yell at me all you like, woman, no one will hear you...

Anything under 500 acres is not a farm, it's a hobby...

It must have rained last night, the windscreen's clean...

Pull the chain only when you hear the frogs croaking...

Fill the washing machine only when your clothes can walk there themselves...

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 20, 2008 11:26 AM

Posted by: brilliantblue at July 19, 2008 5:59 PM
Brilliantblue, this is the type of perception about farm life that we have been discussing. For many city people, who have visited farms or stations briefly, the idea of 'farm life' is restricted to the brief weekend or holiday, enjoying the peace and open spaces, with all the hard work done by others.

What myself and others have been trying to point out is that in 'real life' there is no caretaker to run your farm - its you 24/7. The work at times is not exactly what you would call pleasant or easy. The hours long etc, as exemplified by amberlight, who hit the reality of modern farming fairly on the head - There are way too many who flock to the 'country' looking for a sea change or a rich farmer, after the romance of the bush, and do not fully contemplate what real life out there is all about.

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 20, 2008 10:45 AM

I guess you could call me a Townie - now. I moved to town after leaving the property which in ways I regret but in others I don't. The joys of living in a small country town is that people interact with you (it maybe called gossip but interaction is so much nicer ;).
However, I would swap it in a heartbeat for starry skies and bonfires, dark nights without streetlights, and the space to be.

Posted by: melbee2 at July 20, 2008 10:42 AM

Amber, thank you, you put it so succintly and accuratley @5.40 pm.
Strange, but one of my mates who had seen so many of our mates marry the city girls went and married a "pro." The city girls went one by one and the "pro" gave him 3 sons and a daughter, ran the farm after his death and was a pillar of the community.I never forget his remark when I questioned him about his choice. "she knows so many men, so no sweet talking Don, is going to sway her away". She finished up crutching as good as any amateur, did most of it that she could by herself and the kids, and had the neighbours for the other.

Unluckily they got bad financial advice and the banks swallowed the farm. Like so many of the others at the time, to the shame of this country.

Kurli, I was never in the land but of the land, in early life worked around it, servicing the farmers, had mates who were owners and farmers. Spose you could term me a Townie. That is why I still live in a country town.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 20, 2008 12:35 AM

A bit of both worlds is best!

When my boys were younger we would escape to a farm that was run by a caretaker but owned by my family on the weekends in winter!

My boys and myself loved the peace and quite, the fireplace and lack of phone or tv!
We would go for hours on walks through the pine forests....even found an old chinese gold mine on the property and waking up to a kangaroo outside your window but the most amazing sight is the looking up into the night sky when in the country!

Would head back to Sydney feeling really relaxed after the weekend!

Posted by: brilliantblue at July 19, 2008 5:59 PM

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 19, 2008 11:51 AM

Also Waterlily, farmer's wives these days really work hard and are lucky to be able to have the time to enjoy rural life.

I work with farmer's wives who spend 8 hours nursing and then go home to help bring the sheep in for crutching, help load hay bales onto the back of a truck or help sort pigs out to send to market!
Farmer's wives nowadays have to work off farm, to provide a living income while waiting for the wool to be sold or the grain reaped and the cheque banked.

Nowadays the wives are farmers too.
Those girls who think that marrying a farmer would be "so romantic" need to have a serious reality check.
Some girls really love it, but you need to know what you are getting yourself into!

I spent a number of years living in north-western Victoria in my late teens and early twenties. I really enjoyed it. Back then, there were organisations like Rural Youth which made it much easier for farmers to find wives who really understood what farming life was all about.
Sadly as services have been more centralised by State Governments and business there are less services and jobs available locally.
More and more young people now move to the city, and don't want to come back to farms, and generational change has meant some farms are no longer viable.
Try making an income off a property that once only had to support maybe one or two families and now has the burden of "paying out" their brothers and sisters share of the farm, while still supporting Mum and Dad?

Not an easy life, never really was and is now becoming even harder. I can only imagine the effects as our climate changes even further.
To their credit, most of the younger farmers are keen to learn and change (believe me some have had to watch and wait for years as they despaired at their parents' unwillingness to learn more sustainable practices!) and will do their best to manage future changes in the best way possible.

"The Farmer Wants a Wife" is interesting but not too many farmers would want a wife who doesn't understand country life and might eventaully want to tick off with half of the family farm!
I know the Women's Weekly had some find a farmer a wife scheme, which was partially successful.
I know of a couple of farmers close to where I live, who married women through this. One I know of, has been spectacularly successful, 3 children and really going strong. The lady concerned came from outback Queensland.
I know of one other who came from the city and although they are still together there have been real problems.

Perhaps RSVP could hold some "events" in more isolated rural areas,
to get rural guys and potential country girls together!

Posted by: amberlight58 at July 19, 2008 5:40 PM

OG @3.51pm:
Always being conscious of the depression,and droughts,we (DH& I) always felt that while we had LAND we could survive "anything".........(anything except old age and terminal cancer)
Townies versus farming....eventually got sorted out..............but oh god I wish I was still on the land!

Posted by: kurli at July 19, 2008 5:25 PM

The isolation and the quiet, open spaces are certainly something that you need to be
used to or fully prepared for. Posted by: waterlily58 at July 19, 2008 3:55 PM

Exactly. I remember the day my young kids and I moved to our 680 acre property (my ex was already living there in order to build the house around him). I'd been used to living in some civilisation by then and my first experience was that the silence was indeed "deafening". We were "at the end of the lane" and could not see any neighbours at all. It felt like I was on an island. My ex used to work at night, so there I was on my "island" with my kids, with the odd wild pig about ! In time I got used to that and actually enjoyed that unique "quiet". Certainly was a character-building time for me, shaped very much who I am today.

Posted by: graceandcharm at July 19, 2008 5:02 PM

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 19, 2008 2:13 PM
and
Posted by: kurli at July 19, 2008 1:03 PM

The isolation and the quiet, open spaces are certainly something that you need to be used to or fully prepared for. It's not so much the people-contact that you miss, it can be just the fact that you are out there, miles and miles from anywhere. I've seen people go stir crazy, like some of the city girls who come out to be nannies or house-keepers on large, isolated stations and try to snare themselves a rich farmer!

Our family property is literally hours away from the nearest town. It still has hit and miss telecommunication services - forget the mobile and internet only when the wind and the rain doesn't interfere with the signal. Hours away from doctors, hospitals -having to put a sick person in the car and start driving like the clappers to meet an ambulance or fly in a chopper for an injury. When in flood, you are totally cut off from the rest of the world.

I miss my 'home' and love being able to go back whenever I can. I still own a property of my own - the ex runs it - but it is a lot closer to a bit of civilisation, there is actually an RSL Club, a KMart and a hospital, and Evans Head can be done in a day trip, for the odd day off.

Moving to Brisbane was a decision I made for the boys - one to do an apprenticeship and the other to prepare for Uni. Also to get away from a bit of the old small town, small-mindedness, gossip-mongers and interfering old biddies who find divorce amid their hallowed ranks a source of great disdain - you know, a divorced woman has to be a bit 'loose'. When my boys have moved on and are settled into their own lives, I'll probably move back, if nothing more permanent comes life's way here for me - it's the life I was born into, what I am used to.

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 19, 2008 3:55 PM

For ever to be now know as Madam Garbor eh Lynath

Waternymph, Kurli,waterlily, all country girls in spirit, despite the different outlooks and experiences.

But I have found there are two types (basically) of country people. The Townspeople and the Farm people, interlinked and interdependant on each other, as the ladies have pointed out different aspects and outlooks but still very much county. There were the good times and good seasons, now it seems that the sympathy and understanding of the hardships faced with the change in the weather are lost on the city people, (ok I will accept a passing lip service occasionally)
but never lose track of where your food comesfrom. Get hungry and you will learn quickly. It is not all that far away that the prices will escalate beyond reason.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 19, 2008 3:51 PM

Someone's a "Green Acres" fan!

Posted by: brilliantblue at July 19, 2008 3:24 PM

"New York
is where I'd rather stay
I get allergic smelling hay
I just adore a penthouse view
Darling, I love you,
but give me Park Avenue. "

Posted by: thelynathdiary at July 19, 2008 2:53 PM

Waterlily I understand what you re saying, despite the fact that I only grew up on a small holding with goats, geese and chooks. Dad also worked and Mum did occasional cleaning jobs to make ends meet. .. I always had to walk miles to and from school .. no bus .. tho I was allowed to ride a bike eventually.
But despite all the long hours and hard work and worries there was always time for a cup of tea and yes maybe a break at sunset on the veranda for a breather.
As for isolation and lonliness .. Ive done enough volunteer work with elderly to know that you can experience that even when you have neighbours close by. I think growing up with often no close neighbours prepared me for solitude so that I can find pleasure in that blissful quiet with nothing but the sounds of nature.

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 19, 2008 2:13 PM

For 37 of 46 years I lived in the country....only moving to the 'burbs in Feb 07.
One of the hardest decisions I've had to make........would be back like a shot if I could.Tank water;fixing fences broken by cattle;good fresh fruit and veges and the occasional killer for the freezer,swapping produce with wonderful neighbours;fighting grass fires.Never a dull moment.......and my internet buddies if I needed the outside world.
Dreams on..........

Posted by: kurli at July 19, 2008 1:03 PM

As others have mentioned, Farmer Wants a Wife exemplifies the number of available singles in the country - although I can't work out why they are out looking for city gals as country wives. Then, I can't work out why country gals are running around a tv screen in wedding dresses desperately trying to snare a farmer - oh, aside from them being 'wealthy' farmers....

Country life is something that you very much need to be cut out for, it's a way of life, not just a day dream or hankering for a sea change in your life, or, as someone mentioned, "a big yard for the kids to run around in" or 50 acres to build ahouse on and enjoy the views..Too many city dwellers fail to appreciate just how much is involved in running a working property - it's far more than a big verandah, a vegie patch, collecting the eggs and listening the to slience.

I grew up on a large beef/dairy farm in northern NSW. We lived in town with my grandparents through the week too attend school, without the 2.5-3 hours round trip travel each day. The same distance and time to get to the shops and there is no cinema or restaurant, just a couple of day cafes or pubs, and even more driving if you want to do some decent shopping.

There are no sick days, mental health days, or even weekends off, no late starts or early finishes and certainly not much of the romantic champagn picnics and kisses by the creek, and very little time to take a leisurely ride off into the sunset or sit on the veranda listening to the serenity. You have the milking, the trucks, deliveries, dairies, health and safety standards, drenching, birthing of animals, building of fire walls, fence repairs, erosion prevention, droughts and floods, dust, wind, poor harvests, preventing roos and pigs destroying crops and livestock, lousy prices and incredible lonliness and isolation when you can go for days and days and only see each other - and they are just the basics to farm life!

There is little wonder that so many city dwellers take off to the country to fulfill a dream, thinking that all they will do is cook bread, collect eggs and sit in their ol' rockin' chair, only to hightail it back to the city when their hunky farmer is not paying them enough attention, or first batch of big bills roll in and there is no income to pay them!

Posted by: waterlily58 at July 19, 2008 11:51 AM

8 years of age, the dawn just breaking, bare footed in an inch of frost bringing the cows in for the milking (by hand) racing my girl cousins for the latest cow droppings to stand in, such a beautiful warmth, the laughter and giggling of the girls when we washed out feet from the shed tank. A settled farm of years, the cows knowing the pecking order and woe betide one who tried to step up a notch, (probably why I settled into the blogs LOL). Then the 3 of us on a horse riding the 9 miles to a one room school, then back home for the afternoon milking. Now try and take that from me or someone who knows, the city could never do it. Well maybe for a bit of schooling, but off out of there like a shot asap.
Seems to be a lot of kindred spirits on this one.
Cheers OG

Posted by: oldergent at July 19, 2008 10:37 AM

Interesting blog. Me? I think the best of both worlds.. Do the ratrace (hey it keeps the brain young, keeps you on your toes interacting with people on a daily basis and beats the isolation) but then have the clean air, nature, sights and sounds, the animals and the great rural community as a lifestyle.
Also make you appreciate the rural living and what it entails a lot more and it doesnt become taken for granted...

Thats my view anyway...

You can take the boy out of the bush, but you cant take the bush out of the boy!! well thats how we say it in South Africa where I am from..:)

Posted by: farmboysydney at July 19, 2008 7:58 AM

How about it gentlemen, would you leave the city to live on rural property?

Posted by: willow29 at July 18, 2008 5:12 PM
In an instant willow ...in an instant

Posted by: tallerthantom at July 19, 2008 1:01 AM

I would love to find a real farmer i do love my designer shoes but not as much as my Thomas cooks, i have spent the adult partmof my 47 years looking for a long yard!with a good house paddock complete with killers a good quiet horse to ride and a wide varrandah to watch the sun set! i would trade my town life in a split second if i truely believed such a fairy tale existed

Posted by: annie83 at July 18, 2008 11:18 PM

I would love to meet my countryman soulmate. I am a city born but country inspired, love the animals, hard work and the friendship and closeness being in the country brings to a relationship

Posted by: dogmada at July 18, 2008 10:04 PM

I lived on 60ha in Qld and now live on a postage stamp in WA. I miss all my animals, although have a wonderful dog and 2 cats here. The thing I miss is the countryside and the freedom. Collecting fresh eggs each morning and growing veges. I like planting and growing and I enjoy the openness and having animals follow me around. I do miss the country desperately at times, just the smell is enticing for me. However, my postage stamp is nice and extremely close to Perth City so I am still happy, just a different kind of happiness.

Posted by: iaminperth at July 18, 2008 8:18 PM

Well I am not a farmer but I have moved back to the rural lifestyle I love.

The internet allows me to have the best of both worlds, a job and the lifestyle.

There certainly is more to life than all the husstle and rush of city life.

I have just come in from throwing a ball around with my doggies.

Posted by: creativestuart at July 18, 2008 6:57 PM

I'd never swap the city for the country...all that fresh air can't be good for you.

Posted by: istj54 at July 18, 2008 6:26 PM

I enjoy watching "The Farmer Wants A Wife" but agree searching just among city girls to be a bit odd but I guess makes for interesting tv viewing !
I grew up on the land myself and for the large part of my life have lived outside major cities. I'd happily date a "man from the land". There's something refreshing about a man who can truely appreciate nature ( it's pleasure and it's pain), is down to earth, rugged, generally self-reliant and a "jack of all trades", and likes the simple things in life.
My ex husband was a "country boy" through and through, and although it didn't work out I could never say life with him was dull. He was forever ready, maybe too ready, to push the boundaries of country life (we built a stone house from scratch, lived without conventional power for almost a year with young kids). He'd be like a fish out of water in the city.
I think if you were brought up in the country, that imprint is always there, you'll always have a longing for it in some way or another. I'll always have a great fondness for that majestic pine forest on my parent's property, the dam in front of their house where a huge mob of kangaroos lie sleepily in the sun, the screech of the black cockatoos before the rain, the deathly silence at night, and great conversations on cold nights in front of their log fire.

"You can take the boy/girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy/girl". How true is that ?!

Posted by: graceandcharm at July 18, 2008 6:23 PM

hi i debbie i live at nambucca heads and i looking for a sexy man lol. i am 40 and got 3 kids they need a big farm to run around in lol .tell you more later .

Posted by: debbie98 at July 18, 2008 5:21 PM

Ellida: What about "to live with her..."? Not all farmers are blokes! How about it gentlemen, would you leave the city to live on rural property?

Posted by: willow29 at July 18, 2008 5:12 PM

I grew up in the country and my years of city dwelling and working there, have ususally sent me back to the country again or at least out of the city and beyond suburbia for a breath of fresh.
My designer(?) shoes and suits I used to wear to work in the city seldom see light of day .. some still in the boxes from my last move out of the city. Sure I like a nice meal a glass of wine or a Cappucino but these days I could have all that on my own front porch at day's end and would love to, with a companion to share the sunset.

I moved to Central Coast NSW to be nearer my daughter not for the cosmopolitan lifestyle and still regret leaving behind the calm quiet bliss of living on the Fleurieu Peninsual.
I notice most of the 'Farmer Takes a Wife' series are designed for young men on the land who want a young wife (breeder?) ... but why they are searching among city girls is beyond my comprehension and surely due for a large percentage of failures?
If there were older men looking for a companion in the country I'd happily start the getting to know you process with one as I'd at least know what I was in for .. not just imagining some story book fantasy of how idylic country life might be.

Posted by: waternymph47 at July 18, 2008 4:37 PM

Where i come from, there is great distance between cities but a lot of people.
Big city people tend to only think of themselves and their city life and work.

I pity these people who have no time to experience the real world.

Posted by: bomberboomer at July 18, 2008 4:35 PM

Yes absolutely I would do this in a heartbeat! Living that close to nature would thrill and delight me.

Posted by: velia at July 18, 2008 4:14 PM