Target Practice

Have you ever met a person that just talks to hear his own voice, can't stand the silence and must fill it with noise. Who thinks he knows everything and then proceeds to share with you the vast knowledge he has and then reiterates it just to let you know over and over again how much he knows. If so, then you have met my new coworker Baz. That's short for Bazza and that's short for Barry. Here in Australia if you have an -ar or -arr in the middle of your name it some how gets shortened to Gazza or Gaz for Gary, Kazza or Kaz for Karren, and the list goes on. It's a very interesting process but it works. But anyway that is taking away from the point of my story. Well spud picking is done in a cart pulled by a tractor on site over the mud clots and dirt mounds and rocks in the potato paddocks. It's a bumpy sort of work and fast moving and I quite like it but it has it's moments. The Gypsy Cart as we like to call it is in very close quarters as it's tented in and you only have enough room to stand on either side of a conveyor belt sorting through the spuds. Well our new loud friend Baz on top of all the incessant talking is a smoker and has no problems smoking and sharing his fumes while working in this tight unventilated area. This annoys me, I'm sorry for all the smokers out there that I know and love, but making people inhale your smoke when they are not smokers is just down right rude and especially in this situation there is no escape and the sneezing starts and the headaches start and it just angers me. I send him death rays with my eyes and curse him in my mind and just fester while working. Well on top of this annoyance for a brief but long hour yesterday he stood next to me while sorting, we could have stood shoulder to shoulder but I didn't allow it making my body as small as possible and shoving myself in the corner getting closer and closer to the beginning of the belt. I then was welcomed by his body odor, slept in clothing funk, topped off with stale smoke breath and body grease smothered cologne which is high rancid. Oh it was disgusting and I wanted to bust out of there. He proceeded to smoke and share his body odor with me and his vast knowledge and all I could do was use my mind to curse the man and wish him to return to his post. Finally after eating the thick smell that exuded from this man he shifted spots and I was able to breath in the much welcomed dirt filled air that smelt oh so fresh in comparison. As a practice I don't usually talk publicly about a person in such a bad way but there is a moral to the story and I feel that I should paint an accurate picture for you to get to whole idea.

I am posted at the base of the belt and Danielle is across from me in the middle of the belt and Baz is at the end directly adjacent from me. The goal is to take the rocks, mud clots, cut spuds, green spuds and rotten spuds from the belt thus leaving the fresh spuds for sale. When a heap of clots or rotten spuds come through its gets crazy and hands are flying trying to rid the belt of unwanted debris. Whatever I miss Danielle tries to get and whatever she misses Baz gets. Well when the belt gets overrun with crap and it whisks back to Baz he goes crazy trying to get the stuff off the belt before it goes into the bin. The faster he works the more crazy and octopus like he gets and the rocks and rotten spuds start travelling closer and closer to me and before you know it I'm target practice. I get pelted up and down my left arm, in the stomach, on my left butt cheek up and down my left leg and one even crossed my body and splatted on my right arm! If ever I get hit in the head I know I'll be out for the count. I just cower in the corner and miss my lot because I'm trying to protect myself and the cycle viciously continues until the end of the row and I can finally safely come out in the open. Man!

So the moral of my story is... if you send death rays with your eyes or secretly curse a man with your mind karma will seek you out in the form of a rotten spud!

Splat!

Farm Life

I hope every one's Easter was good. This year we spent it with the Tayler's and enjoyed ourselves. It started off on a sad note. On Good Friday Gaz's father passed away. He was a very sick man and even though it was expected and a blessing that he wasn't suffering anymore it was still hard for everyone. It was all too familiar for me as that was the anniversary of my own mothers passing and it was just hard to watch them have to go through the same thing. Gaz's sister came into town and we all had a huge feast Saturday night and played a game of Phase 10. We had fun and made sure that Charley was celebrated. It's good to be around loved ones during a time like this and I know that Danielle and I serve as a fun and welcome distraction. My heart goes out to them.

Well the potato harvesting has yet to happen. But in its place we have baby sat, harvested wine grapes, tore down an old fence, went to our first rodeo, burned some fires and placed some bets!

Babysitting was fun and exhausting too. A two and a half year old and a one year old demand a lot of attention BUT we had fun and have become very fond of the curly headed beauties. Winnie and Maggie are their names and playing is their game! :) We played at the park and fed the ducks and just enjoyed the intrigue of putting on lids and taking them off again over and over. hahahaha I think it's so funny how there can be a room full of toys and the little tykes will go for the box the toys came in before anything else. They are smart kids and we really enjoy them.

Harvesting wine grapes was a much different task but also very fun. It was just a one day event with only 31 rows to clear and a team full of oldies... and then Danielle and I. We showed up and assumed that we would be joined by other backpackers. Instead we were met with a retired bunch of men that just make you giggle! We walked up and down the rows with our buckets and snipers and listened to the chatter of many years experience. One conversation consisted of one bloke announcing his retirement from grape picking to finally being able to just sit at home and do his own thing. He was met with an angry group of fellow retirees all chanting... "Merv if you stop working you will die!" So harsh! hahahaha they were so serious though. Then the youngest of the group at 65 was being picked on for having a lady friend. The comments are as follows... "Oh that lady knows more than here prayers! She's not the type of woman that I'd want to take home to mom!" followed with... "Bernie, she only wants you for your body!" hahahaha can you just picture it!? Danielle and I couldn't suppress our laughter it was just adorable! They went on to talk about footy, war, money, beer and then homosexuals. Oh the older generation! Some were very homophobic as they self titled and the opposition was trying to educate them by sharing their own experiences and friendships with gays and lesbians. Encouraging them to take a less harsh stance. I must say it was very educational and entertaining!

Fencing work is just plain good physical labor and we can tackle it any time we wish. The Tayler's are so good to us and we like to help them out in any way we can. The most exciting of the jobs offered us is the burning of paddocks! They run a harvesting farm and grow wheat, bailey, canola and oats. After the season is over and everything is cut and sold they are left with stubble in the paddocks. They mulch this down and let the sheep graze and get fat and then they have to burn the areas so they can restart the whole process. The burning helps with regrowth and basically gives them a clean slate otherwise the soil becomes sterile. They also have to make many truck loads to the lime pits to sprinkle on the paddocks to bring up the pH levels. I went with Gaz on one of his trips. We woke at 5:30 am and trekked down to the pits and it was just amazing to see all the machinery and work that goes into it. We drove back and the big semi (of which they call road trains) tipped the contents of lime onto the ground in a huge heap and we went on to work. I'm really enjoying the farm life and getting to know all the inns and outs of things here. Today we get to burn some more paddocks and we have the job of sitting on the back of the fire truck! In my opinion the best place to watch it all unfold! We drive through smoke and flames and spray all the fences with water so that they don't burn up and then move on to the next paddock to do it all over again! What a rush!

Last Friday we attended our first Rodeo... yes I know we are Texans the put our state to shame but at least now we can say we have been to one! It was fun but interesting and a little too much for me. I can see why the sport is so addictive to the participants but it's just a bit too much for me. I must be turning in to a greenie but that's okay. I can be worse things. ;) I can now say I've seen one and experienced the atmosphere but I'm sure I won't venture to one again. One guy was carried away on a stretcher. Yikes!

I found this amazing cafe in Ballarat called Da Vinci's Cafe and it is amazing! Inside it's all decorated with Leonardo da Vinci's art work and sculptures and the atmosphere is just enchanting. Huge canvas paintings, Italian stucco on the wall with more paintings and just an amazing food selection and environment. So Danielle and I decided to shout our new Australian family to a good Italian meal and we made a night of it. We first went to the TAB (where people go to place bets on horse and greyhound races) and Gaz was going to place a bet on his friend Pedro's horse Totally Oro. He called him earlier and just had a good feeling about it. Now you have to understand Gaz is a very lucky man! At the pockies he can slip a dollar coin into the machine pull the handle and walk away with $130. So the more he talked about placing this bet the more Danielle and I adopted the excitement and adrenaline he was putting off. So we decided what the heck we will place a couple dollar bet and if we lose we aren't throwing away too much. It's just for fun and you can't take your money with ya, right!? So we had Gaz help us. We ended up placing $3 to win and $3 to place. Not a lot of money but a fun investment for the novelty of it. We went and ate our wonderfully cooked meal had some gelato and mint chocolate cake and great conversation and then headed back to the TAB. We arrived just in time for Gaz to place one more bet and we watch the race with a new appreciation and interest that we've never shared before. Sure enough Totally Oro came in first place! The odds were in our favor... $20.50 for a win and $4.50 for a place! We walked away with $75!!!! It was so great! We all celebrated and after Gaz collected his pot full of gold we went home pleased as punch!

We are now quitting our gambling career with a winning streak! hahahaha :)