Skip to main content

We are becoming farmers baby


Gerhard and I were city dwellers, it was in our blood, we had been out of the small town of Middelburg, Mpumalanga for almost 10 years.  We left to go to varsity in Pretoria and never returned.  I liked the city.  I loved the idea of being able to go grocery shopping at 4 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon.  I loved the fact that you were never more than a kilometre away from a Woollies Food.  I loved the craziness and the people, the hustle and the bustle.  We were city dwellers. 
 
Gerhard finished his articles and was a fully fledged CA, I was working at Ernst & Young in Johannesburg and loving it.  Gerhard battled to find a job as this was the start of EE in South Africa.  In the end, he landed a lovely position in Middelburg, and started a long year of commuting the 150 kilometers a day to Middelburg. 

I could see that this was not sustainable and in the end, I resigned from EY. Moved to a house in Middelburg, EY did not accept my resignation, so for another year I commuted.  I slept in a hotel in Joburg on Tuesday and Wednesdays and spent Mondays and Fridays working from home.  This was also rather hectic and I resigned a second and final time. 

It was during this period that we built a house on my dad’s farm and moved to the farm.  And I was bored senseless within minutes after arriving on the farm.  Well, in that case, there is obviously only one thing to do baby, we will start farming…

Now for those that know me, I am not farmer material, I go for facials and pedicures, I wear suits to work, I belong in the boardroom damnit.  So how did it come about that I was clearing the muck from what was soon to become my diary you might ask.  How did I learn all about the trials and tribulations of the dairy farmer, know about things like mastitis and ‘rooi water’.  Heaven only knows.  Well, we did it, we bought a registered herd of jerseys, we put up the dairy, I learnt all there is to know about feed technology, illnesses, calves, milk production, milk hygiene and the like.  It was an interesting yet rough ride. 

What do I miss most about my days as a farmer you might ask?  My white gumboots of course!  There is nothing that quite beats getting dressed for work in a pair of jeans and t-shirts and a pair of Wellies.  I would trade that for my little black suit and high heels any day. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tinsel and all that glitters

And so the 1 st of December happened and we put up a tree.  A very simple version of a story that is just a tad longer… As in the past, I decided not to put up a tree at home as we leave for our annual beach holiday soon in any event.  Well after seeing trees, baubles, glitter and what not on Facebook, I felt extremely guilty for denying my kids the pleasure of Christmas for two whole weeks whilst my virtual friends’ kids were all rolling in the tinsel.  So I decided to put up the tree after all, how lazy can one person be.  Out came the box and the tree and the lights and horror of horrors, we are missing a leg.  So Luka and I went to the mall last night and got a new tree, a bigger tree and more sparkly things than we need.  If it says Christmas, and if it even has a hint of glitter, we have it, we even have fairy lights running up our balustrade, we have baubles and glitter and advent calendars, I really went to town on this one.  It i...

The state of the world we live in

Before having kids, I used to read newspapers and watch the news on TV all the time.   My current affairs were really very up to date and I knew the names of most heads of state and had insights into the economies of several states.   After having kids I know the names of all the teletubbies, I know the words to most nursery rhymes and I can recite the content of a couple of kid’s books when woken at 3am.   I also know that you need more than twenty coins to buy a house.   My knowledge of current affairs these days comes from the bits of news I can gather on the radio in the morning in between getting my brood dressed for school and most of their teeth brushed.   I also need to get myself dressed and hair blow dried, lunches packed and the like in a very limited amount of time.   Getting kids dressed really is an ungrateful job and if I do not check underneath all the winter’s clothes, I fetch Liam at school in the afternoons and see the oddest thing...

I might not burn my bra just yet...

Anyone that has ever decided to move to another country will probably tell you that it is an emotional roller coaster ride of note.  The one minute you are all happy and thinking of new things and the adventure, the next you think of something sad, someone that you will miss dearly or a place where you spent some good times, so yes, I am up and down.  It is Christmas time again, Boney M is playing in the stores, the stockings are up, yet I have not managed to buy a single thing!  I am just not feeling Christmas at all this year.  It might be the totally crappy weather that we are experiencing at the moment, not sure. Reality is that this has been a long and hard year, so much happened, I was pregnant this year, Luka is 8 months old, we decided to move to Sydney, we have been working really hard, we gave away our cat, sold our furniture through it all, we did not manage a vacation at all!  So I think exhaustion (mental and physical) is at pla...