WEEK NINE

And so, my first full week on the farm started...

Monday was the day when 80 old people were due to come and taste some cheese and have some tea and biccies - so we started the day with baking, and sorting out enough cups and provisions for the imminent arrival of them all!! My hosts son came and did some baking, and created a stack of beautiful biscuits - some Anzacs and some poppyseed and orange ones too - no idea what there were but they were tasty, and that's all that matters really! And so, after setting up a little table with all the goodies on it, the first coach load of them arrived, and, as expected with old people, they were all bursting for the loo, and very concerned about their cholesterol and cheese. Not the best start, but the refreshments went down very well, and I may have swiped a couple of biscuits to keep me energy up, and to test them!! So, the rest of the afternoon was spent tidying up after the first lot, and waiting for the second coach full, which was only about an hour and a half late! That's what you get when you have to try and organise a whole collection of elderly people. 

The next couple of days were spent wrapping cheeses and doing housework ready for the guests in the B&B, who turned out to be relatively young, and very chatty, which was lovely to have someone close to my age to talk to - novel! On Wednesday we had another dinner at the 'lovely' pub in Numurkah and this time I was treated to a bowl of noodles which was so heavily seasoned with soy sauce by the end of it I had drunk about a pint of water, and still needed more. Not the best veggie meal I have ever eaten anyway, but far from the worst too. And that night it was arranged that their son would come over, and we would start carting hay - which meant I would start driving a tractor. Oh shit! Part of me was really excited to get my teeth stuck into something new, but the rest of me was crapping it that I would be in charge of a tractor and trailer. 

And, so, next morning, before the tractor driving I washed the car to get rid of all the bugs - one of the bad things about having a yellow car, everything shows up, to the point I ended up attacking it with a toothbrush - the most thorough car-washing I have ever done. But, by the end of it the car was gleaming - a job well done. There was only so much I could do before the time came to drive a tractor, and when the time came. I was given a quick lesson, and was left to it. I think all of their trust in me disappeared when, on my first go. I put it into reverse instead of first gear and backed into the machinery shed. Not the best start in the world, but after that I was off - in the right direction. It is a proper old tractor, with lots of levers and switches, and after only being told which one was the brake and which was the clutch I avoided all of the others in case they did something silly. However, this also meant I had no idea where the accelerator was, but luckily enough it was happy to trundle along without the use of it! So, my job was to drive the trailer around the field whilst their son loaded it up with big round bales, and then drive it back to the haystack and wait whilst he unloaded it again. It really doesn't sound that hard, but after 2 hours of negotiating gates and attempting to learn how to reverse the damned thing with the trailer I was ready to pack it in and never get on a tractor again. But, I wasn't given that option, and after a few more cigarettes to calm my nerves I was starting to enjoy myself. I was pretty terrible and on more than one occasion I got stuck, or almost took out a fence post and had to be rescued by their son - not so good. But, I was very glad that it was him I was paired up with and not my host, as I really don't think he would have half as much patience with my driving ability. 

Thursday was planned to be a whole day of tractor driving, and after the mess which was the day before I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but something had changed, and I actually managed to be quite good - well, at least I was terrible at it anymore. And so the day was spent driving around fields in the sun, and also getting paid for it. Really not bad in the grand scheme of things, I was still crapping myself every time we got to a tricky gate, but, apart from that I had learnt where the accelerator was, and also how to put the bugger into 4th gear. Oh, the speed! I also had my load increased, from 6 bales to 8, which meant everything was a bit trickier, and every time I went over a bump I envisaged one of the top bales rolling off and crushing me - that made me drive slightly more carefully over the bumpy bits! But all in all, loved it, and by the end of the day was enjoying myself! God forbid! I also learnt that their son's idea of a 'full day' was about 6 hours work, which was hilarious, and by the end of it he was moaning about how knackered he was - admittedly, he did more than me in the process, but, even so, six hours is not a full days work!

Saturday was spent pottering about the house, and not actually doing much, but I did help out in the evening to get stuff ready for the market in Mooroopna, which I was going along to - but not to sell cheese. I had found out that a friend from Uni was there picking cherries, and after 3 years, it was time for a catch-up - it's a small world, when someone you know from home can end up living 30km away. So, Sunday morning came, and as it was so close we didn't have to leave until about 7ish, which was a lot more civilised than Bendigo Market! And we were off, as Gemma had to work in the morning I spent some time selling cheese, and a lot more time wandering about the market and buying some goodies - mainly for Tuesday as Will was coming up and we were going to have a long car journey to Wagga Wagga, but some for my picnic lunch which I enjoyed in the sun - I'm not sure if biscuits, iced coffee and crisps really counts as a picnic, but I enjoyed it was soaking up the sun and finishing reading my book - glorious. The actual market was the first one there, and they even had a grand opening - which was a complete non-event, but in celebration of this we were given vouchers for free fried egg rolls - awesome! We got a coffee too, and half-way through it I realised that the lid didn't fit, and I had managed to pour most of it down my top. Great. But, it was a hot day and it dried quickly - but it was all stained a beautiful shade of brown! Once the market was all packed up I had the whole of Ferrari Park to myself, and, to avoid the bugs, lay on a picnic table and listened to music and finished my biscuits. Once Gemma got there - complete with a bag of cherries for me, the only perks of working on a farm I later learnt - got a true insight into the place, and with her local knowledge, we found a pub - just what I needed on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It was a pretty ghastly pub, but I had been warned, and we ordered a cider, amongst the multiple old men having, what I imagined was 'their usual' as they all looked quite at home in the place, and everyone stopped to look at us when we walked in! But, we sat in the beer-garden for the next couple of hours topping up our drinks when required, and when it finally came for food we went in to order - to find the whole place empty, and the chairs up on the tables. Seemed like it was closing time. So, we headed out into the metropolis of Mooroopna again to find somewhere to eat. Not too hard, but not a great choice, so after making the tricky choice we headed in the direction of one. When we walked in the place we empty - lots and lots of tables with candles lit, but no one in it, apart from the chef - who, funnily enough wasn't actually doing anything! It apparently was open, so we picked a table by the window and perused the menu - again, not the best veggie option - but at least there was a choice, which I swiftly ignored, and went for the classic of of a bowl of chips! I also ordered a 'Tripple Chocolate Mud Cake' only one of the many spelling errors on the menu! It had been arranged that I would be picked up by my host on their way through from Melbourne, and as I was waiting for my pudding the time came to leave, so once it arrived, and turned out to be HUGE complete with strawberries and marshmallows. Gemma declined the offer to help me out, and in the end, after scoffing a respectable chunk I had to ask to take it away as I saw the car drive past the end of the road - on the way to where I was being collected. And so, with cake in a take-away tub, not forgetting my cocktail umbrella, I ran down the road slightly regretting my choice to try and finish it in the restaurant. And so, my day of vague socialisation was over, shame really. It was a great day, and a really nice catch up. I was slightly worried that it would all go badly and we would have nothing to talk about - but thank god that wasn't the case, and if I am up here for much longer we really should meet up again! 

So, that was week one on the farm, and, in the most part it has been really good fun - a little trying being someones house-guest for so long, but it all seemed to be going quite well, and, despite the fact they are in their 60s, they are actually pretty good company! So, next week, I have a few more days tractor driving, one day with Will as we go on an adventure, and then on Saturday I am heading back to Melbourne! Actually really looking forward to proper civilisation, and some me-time! That is the worst thing about being here - I can't go anywhere on my own as we are so far from anything! Maybe I'll ask if I can borrow their car...