Jingle bells, jingle bells...

Sør'me om ikke vi blev færdige med at høste!
Faktisk har vi været færdige i et par dage, men jeg har bare ikke fåret skrevet noget før nu. Vi startede en gang først i November, og her halvanden måned senere er samtlige 3500 hektar nu reduceret til stubmarker og mad til fårene.
Høsten har dog været noget ringe. Jeg tror at vores bedste udbytte var noget af byggen, der gik 1,6-1,8 ton per hektar, hvilket er lidt under normalen. Det værste var nok rapsen, hvor vi ikke fik meget mere end 300 kg per hektar. Vejret har vekslet mellem sol og overskyet/spredte byger, hvilket i sidste ende gjorde Bruce i tvivl om vi ville blive færdige før jul. Det nåede vi dog heldigvis.

Arbejdsdagene har været lidt længere end normalt. Typisk er vi gået i gang omkring kl. 7.30, og fortsat til 8-9 om aftenen. Grunden til at vi ikke har kørt i døgndrift er at det er for fugtigt.
Og så har jeg ellers fået kørt mejetærsker. Meget mejetærsker. Det er sjovt nok den første uges tid, men derefter bliver det ret hurtigt kedeligt. Og egentlig er det ikke så svært. Det handler mest om at køre lige, sørge for at kø alle aksene med ind i tærskeværket og så ikke ramme nogle sten eller trærødder. Når man først har gjort det nogle dage, er det ret ligetil. Af og til, for at bryde monotonien, har jeg også kørt kornvognen.

Og så blev det i øvrigt jul. Sådan da.
Jeg har ikke helt forliget mig med at vi er sidst i december og at temperaturen ligger på mellem 25 og 35 grader. Det er ikke særligt julet. I morgen, d. 24., kommer Bruce- og Petas børn hjem til middag, og d. 25. tager vi alle sammen hjem til Bruces forældre til frokost. Derefter har Ole og jeg den 26., 27. og 28. fri. Vi har ikke helt besluttet hvad vi skal med de feriedage, men de skal i hvert fald bruges et andet sted end på farmen!

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Vi er færdige med at høste, og det er snart jul.

~*~

English for the Danish Impared:
Well, bite me if we didn't finish harvest!
Actually, we have been done for some days now, I just haven't written anything before. We started out sometime in early November, and about a month-and-a-half later, all 3500 hectares are reduced to stubble and sheep feed.
It has been a bad harvest, though. I think our best yield was some of the barley, which went 1.6-1.8 tonne to the hectare, which is slightly belov the usual yield. And the worst is probably the canola which was about 300 kg per hectare. The weather has been changeing between sunne, hot days and overcast with the occational drizzle, which made Bruce doubt if we would finish before Christmas. We did, luckily.

The workdays have been a bit longer than normal. We've typically started out at around 7.30 and kept going until 8-9 in the evening. The reason we haven't gone around the clock is that it is too wet. Oh, and I have been driving the header. A lot. It's all shits and giggles the first week or so, but then it rather rapidly becomes quite boring. And it's really not that hard. It's mostly about driving straight, getting all the heads into the thresher and avoiding whatever rocks and roots you may encounter. When you've done it for a couple of days, it becomes pretty straight-forward. Occationally, to break the monotony, I have driven the chaser bin.

Oh, and it's Christmas. Sort of.
I haven't quite got used to the fact that it is the end of December, and some 25-35 degrees outside. That isn't very Christmas-y. Tomorrow, the 24th, Bruce and Peta's kids will come home for dinner, adn the 25th we'll all go to Bruce's parents for lunch. After that, Ole and I have got the 26th, 27th and 28th off. We don't quite know what we'll be doing with those days off, but we certainly aren't going to spend them on the farm!

Summary for lazy/busy readers: We've been harvesting and it's Christmas.

Oh. And here's a Christmas song, for good measure:

Jingle Bells - Aussie style:

1.
Dashing through the bush in a rusty Holden ute,
kicking up the dust, Esky in the boot.
Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs,
it's summer time and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs.

Chorus.
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day.
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut'.
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden ute.

Chorus.

2.
Engine's getting hot, we dodge the kangaroos,
the swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too.
All the family is there, sitting by the pool,
Christmas day in the Aussie way, by the bar-b-que.

Chorus.

3.
Come the afternoon, grandpa has a doze,
the kids and Uncle Bruce are swimming in their clothes.
The time comes 'round to go, we take a family snap,
and pack the car and all shoot-through
before the washing-up.

/EMO

Stilhed før stormen/Calm before the Storm

Så er den stille periode på farmen ved at være forbi. Høsttid nærmer sig med hastige skridt, og fra vi begynder til vi er færdige bliver det småt med fritid.
Vi har allerede skårlagt det meste af rapsen, med undtagelse af det der skal høstes direkte, mejetærskerne er blevet efterset og smurt, siloerne er blevet rengjort og kornvognen er blevet spændt efter traktoren. Samtidig bliver en del af de lam der er gamle nok, snart hentet og solgt.
De stille tider er i den grad ved at være forbi.
Et spørgsmål der dog trænger sig på, er hvor omfattende høsten vil være. Jeg vil skyde på at Bruce har valgt at tilså omkring 3500 hektar i år, og det skal naturligvis alt sammen høstes. Dog har det været den tørreste vinter lang, lang tid, og det ser ud til at udbyttet vil være det laveste i de 23 år Bruce og Peta har boet og drevet landbrug her i Jerramungup. Faktisk har det været så galt, at Bruce besluttede sig for at skårlægge noget af kornet, for at bruge det som hø til fårene, i stedet for at høste det på normal vis. Det er vist ikke sket før.
Helt hvordan høsten kommer til at foregå, ved jeg ikke endnu. Dog ved jeg at vi ikke skal køre om natten, da det vil være for fugtigt. Og jeg ved at der sandsynligvis er dage vi kommer til at holde stille på grund af kørselsforbud i markerne, grundet brandfaren. Og jeg ved at med to mejetærskere (New Holland TR97 og TR98, for dem der måtte være interesserede i sådanne ting) og en kornvogn, kommer vi alle tre til at være travlt beskæftigede i dagtimerne. Men hvem der skal køre hvad, og de finere detaljer om hvordan man rent faktisk høster... mon ikke jeg får det forklaret før vi går i gang.
I øvrigt er der kommet en ny trainee her på gården (faktisk er der kommet et helt hold nye trainees fra Europa; danskere, nordmænd, svenskere, tyskere, englændere og franskmænd. Og sikken fest vi skal ha'). Han hedder Ole Johan, kaldet Ollie af de lokale, da de ikke kan udtale hans navn korrekt. Han er 27 og kommer fra Norge, og vi kommer fint ud af det sammen - heldigvis. Ellers var det nok blevet to lange måneder indtil jeg skal hjem. Jeg må indrømme at det er rart have nogen at følges med på diverse udflugter. Jeg har ikke noget mod at rejse alene, men det er bare sjovere at være flere om oplevelserne. Indtil videre har vi været i Perth i forbindelse med at jeg skulle til Metallica-koncert der, til rodeo i Boyup Brook og vi har været et smut omkring Bluff Knoll. Og vi har planer om at arranger en fest for samtlige trainees, gamle såvel som nye, når vi er færdige med at høste. Jo, der er i den grad udsigt til good times.

Nå ja, så er jeg så småt begyndt at kunne se enden på det hele. Lidt over seks måneder gået, og der er nu kun lidt over to måneder til jeg vender snuden mod Danmark igen. Dog har jeg forlænget mit ophold med 16 dage, idet min kære mor har valgt at komme ned og besøge mig. Planen er at leje en lille camper, og så vise hende nogle udvalgte steder i den smukke stat der kaldes Western Australia. Det skal nok blive en god tur.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Læs det selv; jeg er for doven til at opsummere i dag.

~*~

English for the Danish Impared:

The quiet times on the farm are about to come to an end. Harvest is rapidly approaching, and from start till finish, spare time will be in short supply.
We have already swathed most of the canola, apart from what we are going to direct head, the headers (or combines) have been given a thorough maintenance and are all greased up, the silos have been cleaned out and the chaser bin has been hooked on to the tractor. At the same time, those of the lambs that are old enough will be picked up and sold in the near future.
Truly, the quiet times have come to an end.
A question that presents itself, though, is how the harvest will be. My guess is that Bruce has cropped about 3500 hectares this year, and naturally, all of that will have to be harvested. But it has been the driest winter in a long, long time and it seems that the yield will be the lowest in the 23 years Bruce and Peta have lived and farmed here in Jerramungup. In fact, it is to bad that Bruce decided to swath some of the wheat to use as hay for the sheep, rather than harvest it. I do not think that has happened before.
Exactly how things will be during harvest, I do not know. I do know that we will not be driving during the night, beacuse it is too moist. I know that there likely will be days where we will be parked, due to harvest bans an account of the fire hazard. And I know that with two headers (New Holland TR97 and TR98, for those interested in such things) ane one chaser bin, the three of us will be busy during the daytime. But as to who will be driving what, and the finer deetails on harvesting... well, I'll probably get those explained to be before we start.
By the way, we have a new trainee on the farm (in fact, a whole group of new trainees have come from Europe; Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Germans, Brits and French. And what a party we're gonna have). His name is Ole Johan, though the locals call him Ollie, as they cannot pronounce his name correctly. He is 27 years old, and comes from Norway (though that's not his fault), and we get along fine - luckily. Otherwise my remaining two months would have been rather long. And I must admit that it is nice to have someone to travel with on various trips. I do not mind travelling alone, but it is just more fun to share the experiences with someone. So far we have been to Perth, as I was going to a Metallica concert there, to a rodeo in Boyup Brook and we have been by Bluff Knoll. And we are planning to host a party for all the trainees, both old and new, once harvest is over and done with. Truly, good times are ahead.

Oh, and I can ever so faintly see the end of it all. Slightly more than six months have passed, and there is only little over two months until I turn towards Denmark once again. I have actually prolonged my stay by 16 days, though, as my dear mother is coming down to visit me. The plan is to rent a small camper, and then show her some of the lovely state that is called Western Australia. I'm sure we'll have a great trip.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: Read it yourselves; I'm too lazy to summarize today.

/EMO

...og resten/...and the rest

Phew. Tilbage ved en computer med æ/ø/å. Pudsigt så stor forskel det gør.

Singapore:
Eller næsten, i hvert fald. Jeg skulle flyve til Singapore fra Sydney d. 23 september kl. 13.05 med JetStar, via Darwin. De første træningsløb til Formel 1 Grand Prix'et var den næste dag, og jeg havde besluttet at det nok var en fordel at ankomme dagen før, så jeg ikke var rejsetræt når det hele begyndte. Hotellet var også booket fra d. 23.
Glad og forventningsfuld tog jeg så til lufthavnen i god tid. Jeg havde dog overset en enkelt detalje: jeg havde ingen billet tilbage til Australien. Dette var egentlig lidt med vilje; i fald jeg skulle få lyst til at blive et par dage ekstra i Singapore, ville jeg ikke være hæmmet af at skulle booke en ny billet, og annullere den gamle.
Efter at have ventet i lufthaven et par timer, en væsentlig del af tiden i en bagagedrop-kø, kom jeg endelig op til disken, hvor jeg skulle have mit boardingpass udstedt...

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"Erik Olsen?"

"Yes, that's me."

"You're just checking a single bag in?"

"Yep. I prefer to travel light."

"Any dangerous items in your luggage?"

"Not to my knowledge, no."

"Allright."

[pause]

"This is a one way ticket. Have you got a return ticket to Australia?"

"No, I haven't."

"I'm afraid I can't let you fly, then."

"...what?"
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Tilsyneladende kan man ikke komme ind i Singapore, uden også at have en billet ud derfra. Dette er sikkert tilfældet i mange lande, men da jeg hidtil kun har rejst inden for EUs grænser, har det ikke været noget problem. Men så blev jeg da det klogere.
Da flyet jeg skulle med skulle til at lette (af uransagelige årsager var jeg ved at checke in i sidste øjeblik, til trods for at jeg havde været i lufthaven i ret god tid), var der ikke tid til at booke mig en returbillet på stedet. I stedet blev jeg sendt videre til en servicedisk, hvor en venlig dame udskød min billet til samme tid næste dag, og jeg fik besked på at møde op om morgenen med en billet tilbage til Australien. Lettere slukøret fandt jeg en computer, bookede en billet fra Singapore til Darwin d. 27. september og tog toget tilbage til byen. Der indlogerede jeg mig på et lille hotel tæt på min yndlingsbar, ringede til Hotels.com, som jeg havde booket mit hotel gennem, og bad dem om at ringe til hotellet og fortælle at jeg ikke ville komme før næste dag.
Derefter gik jeg på bar.

Jeg ankom til Singapore hen på aftenen. Til trods for at klokken var 23, var det pokkers varmt, og luftfugtigheden har ligget på omkring 80%.
Da jeg ikke havde lyst til at sætte mig ind i den lokale offentlige transport, tog jeg en taxa til hotellet. Glad over endelig at være ankommet, gav jeg chaufføren nydelige drikkepenge, samlede min bagage op og gik op til disken...
~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-
"Hello sir. How can I help?"

"Yes, I have a reservation under Olsen. Erik Olsen."

[tasten på computer]

"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot find your reservation."

"...oh? Well, that's a bit of a worry. I was supposed to arrive yesterday, but couldn't make it. But my booking agency should have called and informed you."

"What is the name of your booking agent?"

"Hotels.com"

[mere tasten på computer]

"I'm sorry sir, but nothing comes up. Have you paid for your stay here?"

"Yes, yes I have."

"Allright... I'll see what I can do. I just have to call my manager."
~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-
Slutteligt fik jeg tildelt et værelse reserveret til nogle andre gæster, som ikke var dukket op.
Næste dag tog jeg i Singapore Zoologiske have, inden jeg tog ned til racerbanen. For dem som ikke ved det, er Singapore Singtel Formula 1 Grand Prix en smule unikt. Ud over at banen ikke er en regulær racerbane, men derimod en del af byens gader, som er spærret af til ræset, er det det eneste Grand Prix som køres om natten. For at opveje for det manglende lys, har arrangørerne ophængt 1485 projektører a 2000 Watt stk. over den 5,o67 km lange bane. Resultatet er slående. Til trods for mørket, ser banen ud til at være badet i dagslys.
Ud over løber sker der en masse andet i de tre dage det tager. Der køres Porsche- og BMW Cup på banen i løbet af dagen, og der er arrangeret koncerter og anden underholdning fra ca. kl. 15 til 1 om natten. Om fredagen kører teams'ne træningsrunder på banen, lørdag er der tidskørsel som bestemmer på hvilken placering kørerne starter til selve løbet, og om søndagen er selve løbet.
Det var noget af en oplevelse, og bestemt noget jeg kunne finde på at gøre igen.

Darwin -> ?:
Mandag d. 27 september indfandt jeg mig i Changi Airport, hvor jeg skulle flyve (endnu engang med JetStar) til Darwin. Jeg havde dog ikke lagt nogle planer for hvad der skulle ske når jeg ankom, men jeg var sikker på at jeg nok skulle finde på noget.
Vi ankom til Darwin omkring kl. 7 om morgenen. Jeg havde ikke fået noget søvn i flyet, og overvejede at tage en bus ind til byen for der at finde et hostel at overnatte på. De planer forsvandt dog som dug for solen ved synet af biludlejningsdiskene. Pludselig virkede det som en kanon idé at leje en bil og køre til Ayers Rock. Hvor svært kan det være?
~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-
"Good morning sir. What can I do for you?

"Good morning. I'd like to rent a car."

"Okay. You haven't reserved one?"

"Nope."

"Eh heh heh. Allright..."

[tasten på computer, roden i papirer]

"It seems you're in luck. We've got two vehicles available. A Holden Commodore and a Toyota RAV4."

"I'll take the Toyota."

[tasten på computer]

"Actually, it seems I can't give you the Toyota."

"Right, I'll take the Commodore, then."

"Okay. Can I see your driver's license?"

"Sure."

"How much over 25 are you?"

"I'm not. I'm 24."

"Oookaay... I'll just have to call my manager."

[telefonsamtale]

"He says it's okay. How long would you like to hire it?"

"Yes, that... I'm not sure. Incidentally, do you know how it'll take me ot drive to Ayers Rock and back?"

"Heh heh heh. That's quite a long way. Eh... you might want to plan your trip. There are some motels along the way... if you leave soon, you might be able to reach Tennant Creek today. But in total... 6 days, perhaps?"

"Okay. I'll take the car for 10 days, then."

"10 days? Okay. Now, you should be aware that it's a V6 engine, so you won't get very good fuel economy."
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Jeg fik lov at leje bilen. Da jeg havde fået udleveret nøglerne og funden den, fandt jeg den første og bedste tankstation, hvor jeg købte et kort over Northern Territory. Og så satte jeg kursen mod Alice Springs.
Ærligt talt var det en kedelig tur. Dvs. Køreturen var kedelig. Fra Darwin til Alice Springs er der lidt over 1400 km. Og til Ayers Rock er det yderligere omkring 450 km. Vejen går overvejende lige ud, og du kan køre i timevis uden at møde et øje.
Oplevelserne synes jeg dog var det hele værd. Jeg fik set Ayers Rock og the Olgas (nogle andre klipper nær ved), jeg fik set King's Canyon, redet dromedar og jeg var omkring Litchfield National Park (nabo til den mere kendte Kakadu National Park). Jeg så nogle fantastiske landskaber, fik overnattet nogle anderledes steder, fik set krokodiller, og fik endelig købt mig en hat! Skulle jeg dog gøre noget lignende en anden gang, vil jeg dog finde nogen at køre med.
Efter Ayers Rock tur/retur, var der stadig et par dage til jeg skulle aflevere bilen, så jeg brugte et par dage i Darwin, overnattende på et youth hostel.

Perth:
Jeg ankom til Perth fredag d. 8. oktober omkring middagstid. Derfra var det meningen at jeg skulle tage en bus til Ravensthorpe (ca. 110 km fra Jerramungup), hvor Bruce eller Peta så ville hente mig. Men endnu en gang ville tingene det ikke som jeg ville. Bussen var kørt kl. 8 om morgenen, og den næste gik ikke før søndag. Jeg informerede Peta om dette, og hun spurgte om jeg ikke kunne vente til mandag, hvor der gik en bus direkte til Jerramungup. Det havde jeg intet problem med. Eller...
Leje af bil, samt div. overnatninger på min roadtrip havde drænet mine finanser noget, og udsigten til at skulle bruge penge på yderligere tre overnatninger lå ikke så godt til mig. Jeg fandt dog et okay hostel, hvor jeg lejede mig ind på en firepersoners sovesal. Hostel'et var fyldt med unge mennesker af alverdens nationaliteter, og jeg endte faktisk med at have det sjovere (som i fest-sjovere) i Perth end både Sydney og Darwin. Who knew?

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Jeg var til F1 Grand Prix i Singapore, på roadtrip fra Darwin til Ayers Rock, I litchfield National park og et smut i Perth. På turen er jeg gang på gang løbet ind i problemer, men jeg har klaret mig helskindet tilbage til farmen, væsentligt fattigere, men en del oplevelser rigere.

~*~

English for the Danish Impared:
Singapore:
Or almost, at least. I was supposed to fly to Singapore from Sydney on September 23rd. at 1.05 PM with JetStar, via Darwin. The first test runs for the Formula 1 Grand Prix were the next day, and I had decided that it probably was a good idea to arrive a day before, so I wouldn't be tired from travelling when it all started. My hotel was bookes from the 23rd as well.
Happy and expectant, I went to the airport in good time. I had ,however, missed one little detail: I didn't have a ticket back to Australia. This was actually slightly on purpose; should I desire to stay a couple og more days in Singapore, I wouldn't be inhibited by having to book a new ticket and cancel the old one.
After having waited in the airport for a couple of hours, a significant amount of that time spent in a baggage drop-of line, I made it to the counter where I would get my boarding pass...

~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-

"Erik Olsen?"

"Yes, that's me."

"You're just checking a single bag in?"

"Yep. I prefer to travel light."

"Any dangerous items in your luggage?"

"Not to my knowledge, no."

"Allright."

[pause]

"This is a one way ticket. Have you got a return ticket to Australia?"

"No, I haven't."

"I'm afraid I can't let you fly, then."

"...what?"
~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-
Apparently, one can't get into Singapore without having a ticket back out. This is probably the case in many countries, but so far I have only ever traveled within the European Union, and there it isn't a problem. But at least I learned something.
As the plane was about to take off (for some reason, I was checking in at the last minute, despite the fact that I had been at the airport quite early), there wasn't time to book me a ticket from Singapore on the spot. Instead I was sent to a servicedesk, where a nice lady rearranged my ticket for the same time next day, and I was told to be there in the morning with a ticket back into Australia. Slightly disappointed, I found a computer, booked at ticket from Singapore to Darwin and took the train back to the city. There I fund a small hotel near my favorite bar, called Hotels.com, through whom I had booked my hotel, and asked them to phone the hotel and tell them I couldn't make it today.
Then I went drinking.

I arrived in Singapore sometime in the evening. Despite the fact that it was around 11PM, it was bloody hot, and the humidity has been around 80%.
As I didn't want to work out the locak public transportation, I took at cap to the hotel. Happy to finally have arrived, I tipped the driver somewhat genreously, picked up my luggage and went up to the counter...
~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-
"Hello sir. How can I help?"

"Yes, I have a reservation under Olsen. Erik Olsen."

[typing on keyboard]

"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot find your reservation."

"...oh? Well, that's a bit of a worry. I was supposed to arrive yesterday, but couldn't make it. But my booking agency should have called and informed you."

"What is the name of your booking agent?"

"Hotels.com"

[more typing on keyboard]

"I'm sorry sir, but nothing comes up. Have you paid for your stay here?"

"Yes, yes I have."

"Allright... I'll see what I can do. I just have to call my manager."
~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-
In the end I got a room reserved for some other guests who hadn't showed up. The next day I went to Singapore Zoo, before I went to the race track. For those who don't know, the Singapore Singtel Formula 1 Rgand Prix is a bit unique. Besides the track not being an actual race track, but rather some of the city's streets which are fenced off for the race, it is the only race that is held at night. To make up for the lack of light, the people arranging it has put up 1485 lights of 2000 Watts each over the 5,067 km long track. The results are striking. Despite the darkness, the track appears as lit by daylight.
Apart from the race, a lot of other things happen over the tree days it all goes on. There is a Porsche and BMW Cup on the track during the day, and koncerts and other kinds of entertainment has been arranged from around 3PM to 1AM. On Friday, the teams have a few test runs on the track, Saturday is the time challenge, which determines in which position the drivers start at the race, and on Sunday is the actual race.
It was quite an experience, and definitely something I would like to do again.

Darwin -> ?:
Monday the 27th, I showed up at Changi Airport, where I was to fly (once again with JetStar) to Darwin. I didn't have any plans as to what was going to happen once I arrived, though I was sure I'd come up with something.
We arrived in Darwin at around 7AM, and as I hadn't had any sleep on the plane, I considered taking a bus to Darwin find a youth hostel and spend a night there. Those plans disappeared instantly, though, when I saw the car rental counters. Suddenly it seemed like an excellent idea to rent a car and drive to Ayers Rock. How hard can it be, right?
~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-
"Good morning sir. What can I do for you?

"Good morning. I'd like to rent a car."

"Okay. You haven't reserved one?"

"Nope."

"Eh heh heh. Allright..."

[typing on keyboard, shuffeling of papers]

"It seems you're in luck. We've got two vehicles available. A Holden Commodore and a Toyota RAV4."

"I'll take the Toyota."

[typing on keyboard]

"Actually, it seems I can't give you the Toyota."

"Right, I'll take the Commodore, then."

"Okay. Can I see your driver's license?"

"Sure."

"How much over 25 are you?"

"I'm not. I'm 24."

"Oookaay... I'll just have to call my manager."

[phone call]

"He says it's okay. How long would you like to hire it?"

"Yes, that... I'm not sure. Incidentally, do you know how it'll take me ot drive to Ayers Rock and back?"

"Heh heh heh. That's quite a long way. Eh... you might want to plan your trip. There are some motels along the way... if you leave soon, you might be able to reach Tennant Creek today. But in total... 6 days, perhaps?"

"Okay. I'll take the car for 10 days, then."

"10 days? Okay. Now, you should be aware that it's a V6 engine, so you won't get very good fuel economy."
~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~- ~-
I got to hire the car. After I got the keys and found the car, I pulled in to the first and best service station, where I bought a map over the Northern Territory. And then I yurned towards Alice Springs.
Honestly, the trip was boring. Thatis, the drive was. From Darwin to Alice Springs it's just over 1400 km. And furter on to Ayers Rock, it's an additional 450 km, approximately. The road is mostly straight, and you can drive for hours without meeting anyone.
The experiences were worth it all, though. I got to see Ayers Rock and the Olgas (Some other rocks nearby), I saw King's Canyon, I rode a camel and I went through Litchfield National Park (neighbor to the more famous Kakadu National Park). I saw some fantastic landscapes, slept some interesting places, saw crocodiles and finally bought myself a hat! Although, if I were to do something similar another time, I'd find someone to travel with.
After the trip, I still had the car for a couple of days, so I spent a couple of days in Darwin on a hostel.


Perth:
I arrived in perth on Firday October 8th, around noon. From there I was supposed to go by bus to Ravensthorpe (some 110 km from Jerramungup), where either Bruce or Peta would pick me up. But once again, things didn't work out as I wanted them to. The bus had left at 8 that morning, and the next one wouldn't leave until Sunday. When I informed Peta about this, she asked me if I could wait until Monday, where a bus would leave directly for Jerramungup. I told her I didn't have a problem with that. Or...
The hire of a car, along with various stays at motels on my roadtrip had drained my finances somewhat, and the outlook to having to spend money on accomodation for an additional three nights didnt' sit well with me. I found an acceptable hostel, though, where I rented a bed in a four-person dorm. The hostel were filled with young people from all over the world, and I actually ended up having a better time (as in party-better) in Perth than in either Sydney and Darwin. Who knew?

Summary for lazy/busy readers:
I went to the F1 GP in Singapore, was on roadtrip from Darwin to Ayers Rock, went to Litchfield National Park and snept a couple of nights in Perth. On this trip I've run into trouble time and again, but I've made it through, notably poorer, but richer in experiences.

/EMO

Sydney...

(Dette indlaeg er skrevet fra en australsk computer, hvorfor visse danske bogstaver mangler. De vil vaere erstattet af ae/oe/aa)

Saa begyndte min ferie endelig. Foerst koerte jeg til Perth, hvor jeg moedtes med nogle af de andre trainees til en aften men sjov og spas. Jeg overnattede paa et hostel, og naeste dag (loerdag d. 18. september) tog jeg til lufthavnen, hvorfra jeg floej til Sydney.
Jeg ankom til Sydney om aftenen, og efter at have fundet mit hostel, havde jeg ikke energi til meget mere end at finde noget at spise, og gaa i seng. Pudsigt hvor draenende det kan vaere at rejse.
Soendag var jeg i Sydney Aquarium, hvor jeg blandt andet saa hajer (desvaerre ingen store hvide), rokker og et naebdyr! Sidstnaevnte var nok til at goere det til en rigtig god dag. Det viste sig ogsaa at der var Sydney Marathon den dag, saa havnefronten var taet pakket med mennesker. Om aftenen fandt jeg en irsk pub ikke langt fra mit hostel.
Jeg har ogsaa soerget for at vaere lidt kulturel. Jeg har vaeret paa Sydneys Museum of Contemporary Art og Art Gallery of New South Wales. Desuden har jeg vaeret oppe i Sydney Tower og gennem det notoriske King's Cross. I aften skal jeg ind og se/hoere Mozarts "Figaros Bryllup" i Operahuset. Og mon ikke at det bliver til et par oel eller cocktails bagefter.
I morgen, omkring middagstid, flyver jeg videre til Singapore. Jeg har vaeret udmaerket tilfreds med min tid her i Sydney (og tvivler paa at jeg glemmer byen lige forloebig), men ville dog oenske at jeg havde fundet en anstaendig bar foer tirsdag aften...

Opsummering for dovne/travle laesere: Det er et relativt kort indlaeg. Laes det selv.

~*~

English for the Danish Impared: I have finally started vacation. I started out by driving to Perth, where I met with some of the other trainees for a night of fun and shennanigans. I slept in a backpacker hostel, and the next day (Saturday, Sept. 18th) I went to the airport wherefrom I flew to Sydney.
I arrived in Sydney in the evening, and after having found my backpacker hostel, I didn't have the energy for anything more than finding something to eat and then go to bed. Funny how travelling can exhaust you so.
Sunday I went to the Sydney Aquarium, where I saw sharks (unfortunately, no Great White ones), sting rays and a platypus! That last one was enough to make it a very good day. As it turned out, the Sydnay Marathon was on that day as well, so the harbour front was tightly packed with people. That evening I found an Irish pub not far from my hostel.
I've also made sure to add some cunture to my time here. I've been to the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Furthermore, I've been up in the Sydney Tower, and through the infamous King's Cross area. Tonight, I'm going to watch and hear Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" at the Opera House. And likely I'll have a few beers or cocktails afterwards.
Tomorrow, around noon, I'm flying to Singapore. It's been a pleasant enough stay here in Sydney (and I dounbt that I'll forget the city anytome soon), but I do wish that I had found a decent bar before Tuesday night...

Summary for lazy/busy readers: This is a relatively short entry. Read it yourself.

/EMO

Vedrørende får og hegn/Of Sheep and Fencing

Så var det vidst også på tide at der skete noget her på bloggen! Selv synes jeg ikke at der er sket så meget, men jeg tror nu alligevel at jeg kan få det til at fylde et par linier...

Jeg er så småt begyndt at planlægge min ferie, som kommer til at ligge i september/oktober. Indtil videre har jeg besluttet mig for at tage til Singapore for at se Formel 1 Grand Prix d. 24.-25.-26. september. Det kan jeg dog ikke få de fire uger jeg har til rådighed til at gå med, så jeg har også overvejet at tage til Melbourne eller Sydney. Endelig har jeg leget med tanken om at tage til New Zealand, og måske se hvor Ringenes Herre er optaget.
Tanken om ferie virker mere og mere tiltalende. Selvom jeg har weekenderne fri, så er det svært at klemme mere end endagsture, eller en enkelt overnatning ind. Jeg havde dog nogle fridage tilbage i juli. Der valgte jeg at køre til Kalgoorlie-Boulder, en mineby i WA (passende beliggende i et områder der bliver kaldt The Goldfields). Kalgoorlie og den nærliggende Coolgardie var centrum for en af de sidste store guldfebre, og den dag i dag er der stadig guldminer (samt andre miner, bl.a. nikkel) i området. En af dem er den såkaldte Super Pit, Australiens største åbne mine.
Jeg kørte selv til Kalgoorlie, via Ravensthorpe-Espernace-Norseman og Kambalda, en tur på ca. 680 km. Efter et par dage i byen kørte jeg til Albany via Coolgardie-Northam-Narrogin-Katanning og Cranbrook, hvilket var yderligere 937 km. Da jeg endelig var tilbage i Jerramungup (fra Albany, ad South Coast Highway, ca. 200 km.), efter en nat i Albany, var jeg næsten mere træt end før jeg tog afsted! Overraskende så udmattende det kan være at køre (okay, det at jeg også valgte at se nærmere på Kalgoorlies natteliv havde nok også noget at gøre med det).

Mht. arbejde sker der stadig ikke så meget. Bruce og jeg laver mest det man vist kalder "forefaldende arbejde" - vi rydder op, reparerer, vedligeholder og sådan. Desuden har vi sat et nyt hegn op et sted hvor det trængte. Jeg fik selv halvanden dag til at gå med at tage det gamle trådhegn ned, rulle det sammen og hive stålpælene op. Der var omkring 1,5 km. hegn der skulle rulles sammen, og ca. 100 stålpæle der skulle trækkes op ad jorden. Nogle uger senere bankede Bruce og jeg så de nye stålpæle i og fæstede det nye hegn til pælene. Heldigvis havde vi noget maskineri til at banke pælene i; ellers er jeg sikker på at jeg havde tabt mine arme efterfølgende.
Ud over det har der været noget fårearbejde. De fleste af dette års lam er blevet øremærket, vaccineret og nogle af dem (af racen Merino) er blevet udsat for hvad de kalder mulesing, en process hvor man fjerner noget af huden omkring enden og halen på lammet (til min store overraskelse bliver får faktisk føde med temmelig lange haler). Intentionen er at skabe arvæv, hvor der ikke kan gro uld. Grunden til at man gør dét, er for at undgå at lammet/fåret får flyblind. Flyblind, eller flystrike, opstår når fæces og urin samler sig i ulden, hvilket kan bevirke at huden nedenunder går i opløsning og forrådnelse. I det sår der opstår lægger spyfluer æg, hvilket bliver til fluemaddiker. Bliver fåret ikke behandlet, dør det. Det tager dog noget tid, hvori fåret langsomt bliver svagere og svagere. Der er udbredt enighed blandt farmere om at mulesing er den mest effektive måde at forhindre flyblind, til trods for lammets midlertidige ubehag. Gjorde man det ikke, ville det betyde at Bruce jævnligt skulle rundt og inspicere sine ca. 3500 får, fordelt på ca. 400 hektar, på tre farms. Lidt af en opgave. Samtidig med mulesingen får lammene en gummiring på halen, hvilket får den til at dø og falde af efter noget tid, igen for at undgå fluemaddiker.
Som det ser ud nu er de fleste af Bruces får også blevet klippet. Jeg må indrømme at jeg synes de klippede får ser noget åndssvage ud, i forhold til da de havde uld.
Endelig kan jeg berette at det har været rigtig godt vejr de sidste mange uger - desværre. Afgrøderne kunne virkelig godt trænge til noget regn; flere af dem ser noget syge ud. Bruce har nedjusteret sine forventninger til udbytte for nogle af markerne fra 1 ton/ha til 0.5-0.6 ton/ha.

Meget mere er der vidst ikke at fortælle. I morgen tager Bruce og jeg til Newdegate Field Day. Desuden lader det til at han skal have en hundehvalp i nærmeste fremtid. Hans fårehund, Mack, er ved at være gammel, og har problemer med sine hofter. Efter en dag i marken kan han ikke engang selv springe op på ladet af uten. Så Bruce har besluttet at det er på tide at få en ny hund.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Jeg har været i Kalgoorlie, og skal til Singapore for at se F1. Bruce og jeg har rejst et hegn. Fårene er blevet klippet, og lammene øremærket.

~*~

English for the Danish impared:

I think it's time to update the blog again. Even though not much has happened in my opinion, I'm pretty sure I can write a paragraph or two...

I have started planning my holidays, which wil be in September/October. So far, I have planned to go and watch the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, which is September the 24th-25th-26th. However, I can't pass four weeks that way, so I've also thought about going to Melbourne or Sydney. Finally I've contemplated going to New Zealand, possibly to see where The Lord of the Rings were filmed.
The thought of a holiday seems more and more attractive. Despite the fact that I have the weekends to myself, it's hard to squeeze more in than a day trip, or staying anywhere more than a single night. I did have a few days off in July, though. For those, I chose to drive to Kalgoorlie-Boulder, a mining city in WA (and suitably located in the area known as The Goldfields). Kalgoorlie and the nearby Coolgardie were the centres of one of the last big goldrushes, and to this day there are stil goldmines, as well as other mines (nikkel, for example) in the area. One of them is the so-called Super Pit, Australia's largest open-cut mine.
I drove to Kalgoorlie myself, via Ravensthorpe-Esperance-Norseman and Kambalda, a trip of roughly 680 km. Afte a couple of days in the city, I drove to Albany over Coolgardie-Northam-Narrogin-Katanning and Cranbrook, which was an additional 937 km. When I finally were back in Jerramungup (from Albany by the South Coast Highway, about 200 km.), after a night in Albany, I was almost more tired than when I left! Surprising how exhausting driving can be (okay, the fact that I chose to inspect Kalgoorlie's night life first-hand probably contributed as well).

Not much is happening at work. Bruce and I are doing what can best be described as miscellaneous work - we're cleaning up the sheds, doing repairs and general maintenance and the likes. Furthermore, we've done some fencing (which, sadly, has nothing to do with swords, rapiers or the onsale of stolen goods). Firstly, I passed a day-and-a-half byt pulling down the old fence, and rolling it up, then pulling up all the steel posts that held the fence. There were about 1.5 km. of fence to roll up and some 100-odd posts to pull up. A couple of weeks later Bruce and I hammered in the new posts and fastened the fence to them. Fortunately, we had a phneumatic hammer to bang in the posts; otherwise I'm sure my arms would've been dead by the end.
Apart from that there's been some sheep work. Most of this year's lambs have been ear marked, vaccinated and some of them (those of the breed called Merino) have been mulesed, a process where some of the skin around the breech and tail (to my big surprise, lambs are actually born with rather long tails) is removed, with the intention to create scar tissue. The reason that is done, is to keep the lamb/sheep from going flyblind. Flyblind, or flystrike, happens when feces and urine gathers in the wool, which causes the underlying skin to dissolve and rot. Bloatflies then lay eggs in the open wound, which then becomes infested with fly-maggots. If the wound isn't treated, the wheep will die. But only after slowly painfully becoming weaker and weaker. Farmers pretty much agree that mulesing is the most effective way of preventing flyblind, despite the temprary discomfort of the lamb. If it wasn't done, it would mean that Bruce regularly would have to inspect his roughly 35oo sheep, which are scattered over about 400 hectares, on three different farms. Along with the mulesing, the lambs get a rubber ring on their tails, which causes it to die, and eventually fall off, likewise to avoid a bloatfly infestation.
As it is now, most of Bruce's sheep has been shorn. I have to admit, I think they look rather stupid without their wool.
Finally I can tell you that we've had nice weather for quite a while - unfortunately. The crops could really do with some rain. A lot of them seems sick or dying, and Bruce has downgraded his yield expectations for some of the paddocks from 1 tonne/hectare to 0.5-0.6 tonne/hectare.

I tihnk that's about it. Tomorrow Bruce and I are going to the Newdegate Field Day. Also, he will be getting a pup sometime in the near future. His sheep dog, Mack, is getting old, and after a day of working, it can't even jump on the back of the ute by itself.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: I have been to Kalgoorlie, and am going to the Singapore F1 GP. Bruce and I have erected a fence. The sheep have been shorn and the lambs ear marked.

/EMO

Is It Dead Yet...?

...Nej, den er ikke helt død. Men dels er der ikke sket så meget nyt, dels har jeg ikke gidet skrive noget.
Tiden går med at sprøjte markerne mod ukrudt og insekter, og med at sprede kunstgødning. Regelmæssigheden bliver af og til afbrudt af nogle får der skal flyttes, men det er også det.
Ikke at det gør noget; der er trods alt kun Bruce og jeg til at leve tingene, så det passer fint at vi ikke er ved at drukne i arbejde.
Et par afbræk er kommet i weekenderne. Jeg har bl.a. besteget Bluff Knoll, det næsthøjeste bjerg i Western Australia (1095 meter - ikke alverden), og beliggende i Stirling Range National Park. Turen op tog mig ca. en time, og nedstigningen 50 minutter. Jeg havde heldigvis valgt en dag med klart vejr, men solen til trods havde jeg medbragt en jakke - heldigvis. Det viste sig at være koldt og blæsende på toppen, men udsigten var fantastisk (se billeder nederst).
Ellers har jeg været i Albany (igen), og et smut på den lokale pub, der dog allerede lukker til midnat.
To af Bruce & Petas fire børn har været hjemme indtil videre. Jeg har således hilst på Haley og Katy, hhv. den ældste og mellemste datter. Begge to er ret flinke, men de har deres forældres temperament, hvilket kan mærkes når de diskuterer. Det er måske meget godt at de begge bor i Perth, 400-500 km. væk...

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Jeg sprøjter mod ukrudt og insekter, og spreder kunstgødning. Jeg har besteget Bluff Knoll, og hilst på et par af Bruce & Petas børn.

~*~

English for the Danish Impared:
...No, it is not quite dead. Not much has happened, though, and I have also been too lazy to write.
We pass time by spraying the paddocks for weeds and bugs, and by spreading fertilizer. The continuity is interrupted occationally by sheep work, though that is it for diversity. Not that I mind; there is only Bruce and I to do the work, so it is fine that we are not drowning in it.
The weekends make for a change of pace, though. I have climbed Bluff Knoll, the second-highest peak in Western Australia (1096 meters - not that much), which lies in Stirling Range National Park. The ascend took me about one hour, and the descent 50 minutes. Luckily, I had piked a day with good, clear weather, but in spite of the warmth of the sun I brought a jacket - fortunately. It turned out to be pretty windy and cold on the top, but the view was well worth the climb (see pictures below).
Apart from that, I have been to Albany (again), and to the local pub, which already closes at midnight.
Two of Bruce and Peta's four kids have been home so far. Thus, I have met Haley and Katy, the oldest and second-oldest daughter, respectively. Both are very nice, but they have certainly inherited their parents' temper, which can be felt when they are discussing. Perthaps it is very well that they both live in Perth, some 400-500 kilometres away...

Summary for lazy/busy readers: I am spraying for weeds and bugs, and spreading fertilizer. I have climbed Bluff Knoll and met a couple of Bruce and Peta's kids.

/EMO

Bedste. Tømmermænd. Nogensinde./Best. Hangover. Ever.

For at fejre den nyligt overståede såning var Helle, Bjarke og jeg blevet inviteret til fest hos Erik, en svensk trainee fra Helles hold om fredagen. Erik er trainee hos en familie i nærheden af Bremer Bay, ca. 45 minutters kørsel fra hvor vi er. Selvom han ikke er fra mit hold har jeg mødt ham nogle gange før, og jeg takkede naturligvis ja til invitationen.
Vi ankom sidst på eftermiddagen efter at have forsynet os med drikkevarer I Jerramungup. Vi var nogle af de første der, men der gik ikke længe før at der begyndte at dukke folk op. Jeg var lidt overrasket da de første andre gæster ankom; jeg troede at det var Erik der holdt fest, men det viste sig egentlig at være hans værtsfamilie. Snart ankom der en masse farmere fra Bremer og omegn. Til start blev der sat en masse ost og kiks frem, samt en del andre snacks som folk forsynede sig med indtil hovedretten var klar: grillet lam, der havde stegt i omkring otte timer, laks, fanget samme eftermiddag, fra det kold hav mellem Australien og Antarktis (Southern Ocean, slet og ret) og diverse grøntsager og brød. Der var rigeligt til alle, og humøret blev hurtigt højt. Der begyndte også så småt at komme en del trainees, mest fra Helles hold (dvs., holdet før mig) men der dukkede også en enkelt fra mit hold op.
Som aften blev til nat forsvandt gæsterne, med undtagelse af os trainees. Humøret blev kun bedre som vi fik mere og drikke, og på et tidspunkt besluttede værtsfamilien at de ville lære os hvordan man bruger en rigtig læderpisk. Det er noget sværere end man skulle tro, men jeg fik den da til at smælde et par gange. Klokken var blevet morgen før jeg kom i seng.

Næste dag skulle vi på udflugt. Egentlig var jeg ikke videre stemt for det, da indersiden af mit hoved føltes mange gange større end ydersiden, men jeg lod mig alligevel overtale efter en gudsbenådet kop kaffe. Jeg kom ikke til at fortryde.
Vi var ti unge, samt værtsmoren og -faren, men logistikken blev løst ved at lægge nogle puder og madrasser op på ladet af to utes, hvorfor der pludselig var rigelig plads. Jeg kom til at sidde på ladet af en sammen med tre andre fyre; Erik, den svenske trainee, Jean-Louis fra Frankrig og Mads, en dansker. Knapt var vi sat i gang, før at det blev besluttet at vi skulle have en reparationsbajer. Vi kørte omkring kl. 13, og var tilbage 16.30. Turen tog os ned til Point Anne, og derefter langs stranden, næsten hele vejen til Bremer Bay... og der var en fantastisk tur. Trætte og med tømmermænd morede vi os gevaldigt på ladet af uten, mens omgivelserne bare lod til at blive smukkere og smukkere.
Nede ved vandet, efter en køretur på tre kvarter, så vi både hvaler en sæl og ørne, samt en del havfugle. Vandet var utroligt blåt, og sandet hvidt som sne. Hjemturen foregik ad mindre veje, ofte med bevoksning så tæt at vi måtte dukke hovederne for ikke at blive ramt. En ægte Australien-oplevelse.
Lørdag aften tog Bruce og Peta os med ud at spise på pubben i Jerramungup for at fejre at vå var færdige med at så, og som afsked for Bjarke og Helle, der tog til Perth om søndagen, for at tage videre hjem derfra onsdag eftermiddag. Så som det ser ud nu er jeg ene arbejder her, udover Bruce, indtil september hvor der kommer en ny trainee. Spændende.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Jeg var til fest fredag, hvor jeg næsten lærte at smælde med en rigtig læderpisk. Lørdag var jeg på udflugt lå ladet af en ute til nogle utroligt smukke strande nær Bremer Bay. Bjarke og Helle er taget til Perth, og tager hjem til Danmark derfra, så jeg er ene arbejder og dansker tilbage på farmen.

~*~

English for the Danish impared:
(For pictures, see the above Danish section)

To celebrate the newly finished seeding, Erik, a Swedish trainee from Helle's group, had invited Helle, Bjarke and I to a party Friday evening. Erik was a trainee with a family near Bremer Bay, about 45 minutes in car from where I am at. Even though he is not from my group, I have met him a couple of times before, and naturally accepted the invitation. We arrived in the late afternoon after having bought somthing to drink in Jerramungup. We were some of the first there, but it did not take long until people started arriving. I was a bit surprised when the first guests arrived; I though Erik was the one hosting the party, but it turned out that it was really his host family. Soon a lot of farmers from around the Bremer area arrived. For startes, cheese, crackers and a lot of other snacks were served, to ward off the hunger until the main course: barbecued lamb, which had been cooking for about eight hours, salmon from the cold seas between Australia and Antartica , caught that very afternoon, and various vegetables and bread. There was plenty for everyone, and the mood was good. Some other trainees started arriving, and even though most were from Helle's group (which is the group before mine), a single from mine came as well.
As evening turned into night, the guests went home, except from us trainees. It just got merrier as the drink continued to flow, and at some point, the host family decided to teach us how to use a real leather whip. It is a lot harder than it looks, but I got it to crack a couple of times. It was morning before I went to bed.

The next day we went on a trip. Initially I was a bit sceptical, as I had a bit of hangover, but after a blessed cup of coffee, I was talked into coming along. I did not come to regret that decision.
We were ten young people going, as well as the host mom and -dad, but the logistics were solved by putting some mattresses and pillows on the back of a couple of utes, whereupon there suddenly were plenty of room. I came to share the lid of a ute with three other guys: Erik, the Sweedish trainee, Jean-Louis from France and Mads, a Dane. We had barely set out before it was decided that we should have a beer to chase away the hangovers. We lft at about 1 PM, and were back 4.30 PM. The trip took us down to Point Anne, and long the beach, almost all the way to Bremer Bay... and it was a magnificent trip. Tired and hungover, we had loads of fun, and the surroundings just got prettier and prettier (one is tempted to call them "quaint" and "picturesque")
By the water, after a 45 min. drive, we saw both whales, a seel and eagles, along with various water birds. The water was incredibly blue, and the sand white as snow. The trip back took us along some smaller trails, often with the vegetation so dense we had to duck our heads no avoid getting hit. A true Australia-experience.
Saturday night Brucen and Peta took us out to dinner on the Pub, both to celebrate the finished seeding, but also to say farewell to Bjarke and Helle, who went to Perth on Sunday, to stay there to wednesday, upon when they are flying home to Denmark. So as it is now, I am the only worker here (apart from Bruce), until a new trainee arrives in September. Exciting.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: I was at a party Friday night, where I almost learned to crack a real leather whip. Saturday I was on an excursion on the back of a ute to some incredibly beautiful beaches near Bremer Bay. Bjarke and Helle has gone to Perth, to fly home to Denmark, so I am the only worker and Dane left on the farm.

/EMO

3...2...1... FÆRDIG!/3...2...1... FINISHED!

Langt om længe blev vi færdige med at så. Det har taget os lidt over en måned, og vi har tilsået ca. 3200 hektar med hhv. raps, hvede, byg, ærter og lupiner. Egentlig ville Bruce gerne have været færdig for en uge siden, men grundet diverse uheld var det ikke muligt.
Faktisk føltes det som om at vi var forfulgt af uheld et stykke tid. Et af hjulene på seederbaren skiftede vi hele tre gange, fordi det blev ved at blive fladt. Til sidst skiftede vi både dæk og fælg, hvilket løste problemet. Glæden var dog kort, da dets tvilling (dækkene sidder i par på baren) lavede samme nummer, hvorfor vi igen måtte til byen for at få et ny dæk. Endnu en formiddag spildt.
En anden ting der har voldt os problemer er motoren på seederboxen. Mere præcist var det batteriet og startmotoren. Vi klarede os et stykke tid ved at bruge den ene ute og nogle startkabler, men en dag ville motoren slet ikke. Vi måtte desværre konstatere at startmotoren var brændt af, og måtte så vente halvanden dag på en ny. Vi har haft nogle andre problemer, omend ikke nær så slemme. Blandt andet er der kommet en lille revne i gearkassen på traktoren, så vi har været nødt til at fylde olie på regelmæssigt. Hen mod slutningen af såningen var jeg på vej med et læs lupiner fra Holdman's til McHarty's (hvad jeg tidligere har kaldt McCarthy... nu er jeg helt sikker på at jeg har det rigtige navn), da det pludselig begyndte at ryge voldsomt fra motoren på trucken. Jeg standsede, kiggede op under den, og konstaterede at der var gået ild i noget i motoren. Uden en ildslukker ved hånden ringede jeg fluks til Bruce og indledte samtalen med ordene: "Uh, Bruce? The truck is on fire."
Selvsagt var han ikke glad for den besked, så han ræsede op til mig, mens jeg slukkede ilden ved at kaste sand på den. Det viste sig at være en lille olieslange som var knækket, og havde spildt olie på udstødningen, hvilket der så var gået ild i.
Der er også sket et par andre interessante ting siden sidst. For eksempel er der mistanke om at der har været fåretyve i området. Naboen har mister nogle får, og der er risiko for at Bruce også har. Vi har ikke talt dem endnu, men der er en del tegn på at der har været nogen inde i markerne her, da der er spor efter både en bil og en truck. Desuden har gates vi har lukket været åbnet, og to grupper af får som vi havde placeret langt fra hinanden var pludselig blandet sammen til én stor flok.

Bortset fra uheldene er såningen forløbet fint. Traktoren har kørt som den skulle, og har faktisk haft en forbløffende god brændstoføkonomi. Selv har jeg mest kørt om aftenen og natten, et bevidst valg fra min side. Dels så har jeg ikke noget mod at køre rundt alene med min musik, dels så har det givet de to andre trainees (som også kommer sammen) mulighed for at være sammen uden at jeg var i nærheden.

Endelig har jeg lidt stof til eftertanke: I Danmark er det ikke ualmindeligt at regne med 10-15 tons udbytte per hektar. Bruce regner med 2 tons/ha. Der er ikke noget at sige til at han har så meget jord.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Vi er færdige med at så. Vi har haft nogle uheld, men ikke noget der ikke kunne løses. Der er muligvis fåretyve i området.

~*~

English for the Danish impared:

Finally we finished seeding. It took us just over a month, and we have cropped about 3200 hectares with canola, wheat, barley, peas and lupins. In truth, Bruce would have liked to finish a week ago, but due to various setbacks and accidents, that was not possible.
Actually, it felt like we were pursued by bad luck for a time. We had to change one of the tires on the seederbar a total of three times because it kept going flat. Finally, we changed both the tire and the rim, which solved the problem. But alas, the joy was short, as its twin (the tires are mounted in pairs on the bar) went flat as well, upon which we had to go to town to get a new tire. Another morning wasted.
Another thing which caused us trouble was the motor on the seederbox. More precisely, it was the battery and the starter motor. We got by for awhile by using a ute and some jumper leads, but one day it just would not start. It turned out that we had burned the starter motor, and we hadto wait one-and-a-half day for a new one. We have also had some other troubles, though less serious. For example, we discovered a crack in the gearbox on the tractor, which meant that we had to out oil on regularly. Towards the end of seeding I was carting a load of lupins and fertilizer from Holdman's to McHarty's (what I've previaously been calling McCarthy... I'm sure of the name now, though), when it started smoking from the engine on the truck. I pulled over and had a look at the engine, where I could see fire. With no fire extinguisher at hand, I called Bruce and opened the conversation with the words: "Uh, Bruce? The truck is on fire."
Naturally, he was not very pleased with that message, so he raced up to me in a ute, while I put out the fire by throwing dirt on it. It turned out that a small oil hose had broken off, and had spilled oil out on the exhaust pipe, which had caught fire.
Some other interesting things have happend. There is a suspicion of people stealing sheep in the area. The neighbour has lost some sheep, and perhaps Bruce has too. We have not counted them yet, but there are signs that people have been into the paddocks here, as there are tracks from both a car and a truck. Furthermore, gates which we had closed have been opened, and two mobs of sheep, which was placed far from one another, have merged to one, and been put in the same paddock.

Apart from the accidents, the seedig has gone well. The tractor has run as it should, and it has had a surprisingly good fuel economy. I myself have mostly been driving evenings and nights, a conscious choise on my part. Both because I do not mind driving alone with just my music as company, but also to give the two other trainees (who are also a couple) some time alone.

Finally, some numbers: In Denmark it is not unusual to expect 10-15 tonnes of crop per hectare in harvest. Bruce is counting on 2 tonnes/hectare. No wonder he needs that much land.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: We've finished seeding. We've had a few accidents, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. There may be sheep rustlers about.

/EMO

All Work and No Play...

Det er vist et stykke tid siden at jeg har skrevet noget her. Og med god grund (synes jeg selv). Dels er der ikke sket noget nyt og spændende, dels så har vi haft travlt. Siden det regnede har vi sået, sået og sået (Alene i dag har jeg sået ca. 80 hektar, og det har været cirka det samme de andre dage). Mandag var den eneste dag hvor jeg var færdig før kl. 20, de andre blev klokken 21 eller 22. Ud over det arbejdede vi også lørdag og søndag, og de fleste af dagene har vi også været oppe med solen, omkring kl. 6. Noget af en forandring, i forhold til at arbejde i det offentlige.
Mine dage er gået med at køre traktoren med såmaskinen, hvilket jeg i øvrigt har fået helt godt styr på. Jeg har typisk kørt fra vi er gået i gang, til hen på aftenen, hvorefter Bruce har taget over, og kørt til omkring midnat. Imens er jeg er kørt hjem for at fylde lastbilen op med gødning, og siden i går, byg. Ja, vi er færdige med at så raps, sår byg nu, og skal så hvede når vi er færdige med byggen. Ud over det har Bruce i dag annonceret at vi fra i morgen kører alle døgnets 24 timer. Det kommer til at foregå ved at en starter om morgenen, en tager over hen på eftermiddagen, og en tager over igen om natten. Hvor slemt det end lyder, så gør det mig faktisk ikke noget. Jeg har fundet en radiostation der spiller hits fra 70erne og frem, med fokus på rock 'n' roll. Her til aften havde de f.eks. godt 2 timer med "Big Hair Bands"; jeg har glad rocket ud til f.eks. Van Halen, Twisted Sister, Thin Lizzy, Quiet riot, Metallica, Alice Cooper , AC/DC, Europe, Def Leppard og Scorpions. Så går tiden lidt hurtigere.
Som sagt får endnu travlere end vi allerede har, så hvis der bliver længere mellem opslagene her er det fordi jeg sår, sover og spiser, og ikke meget andet. I øvrigt sker der nok ikke noget videre spændende.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Jeg har sået, og ikke meget andet. Jeg har arbejdet hele weekenden.

~*~

English for the Danish impared:

It has been a while since I last wrote something here. And with good reason (at least i think so myself). Both because nothing new and exciting has happened, but also because we have been busy. Since it rained we have been seeding, seeding and seeding (today alone I have seeded about 80 hectares, and it has been circa the same the other days). Monday was the only day where I was done before 8 PM, the other days it was past 9 or 10 PM. On top of that, we worked Saturday and Sunday as well, and most days we have been up with the sun at around 6 AM. A bit of a change, compared to being employed by the government back in Denmark.
My days have gone with driving the tractor with the seed bar, which I by the was have become pretty decent a. I have typically been going from the morning to sometime in the evening, whereafter Bruce has taken over until around midnight. Meanwhile I have driven the truck home to fill it up with fertilizer, and since yesterday, barley. Yes, we are done seeding the canola and are seeding barley now. As if all of this was not enough, Bruce has announced that from tomorrow we will be driving around the clock. The way it is supposed to go is, one will start in the tractor in the morning, another will take over sometime in the afternoon, and finally one will drive from midnight until morning. However, as bad as it may sound, it does not really matter to me. I have found a radio station that plays hits from the seventies to the present, with focus on rock 'n' roll. This evening, they had about two hours with "Big Hair Bands"; I found myself rocking out to Van Halen, Twisted Sister, Thin Lizzy, Quiet Riot, Metallica, Alice Cooper, AC/DC, Europe, Def Leppard and Scorpions. Time moves a bit faster, then.
As I said, we will be even more busy than we are already, so if it gets longer and longer between posts, it is because I am seeding, eating and sleeping, and not much else. Not that I expect something interesting to happen either.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: I have been seeding, and not much else. I have worked all weekend.

"This is Not a Weather for Man or Beast"

Endelig fik vi regn. Det startede i det små omkring daggry, og med undtagelse af et par enkelte ophold her det holdt hele dagen. Indtil videre har vi fået omkring 25 mm.
Bruce er glad. Han har efterlyst regn i et stykke tid nu, og det her er lige hvad der skal til for at få den raps vi har sået til at spire. Samtidig betød regnen også at vi ikke kunne lave så meget i dag. Vi kunne ikke fortsætte såningen, da traktoren bare ville fedte rundt i den plørede jord, og han havde ikke andre opgave til os, så vi fik fri allerede omkring kl. 15.

Af andre spændende ting kan jeg nævne at jeg har prøvet at køre traktoren med airseeder og seeding bar. Det er noget sværere end jeg havde troet, og jeg har ikke så godt styr på det endnu. Dog er jeg fortrøstningsfuld, og sikker på at jeg nok skal få det lært. Ugen i øvrigt har jeg ikke lavet så meget forskelligt. Mandag gik med at indfange får, og derefter drafte dem i får med lam og uden lam. Tirsdag og onsdag sad jeg overvejende enten med i traktoren under såningen, eller kørte den selv.

I øvrigt sikrede jeg mig i dag en billet til Metallicas koncert i Perth den 22. oktober. Det glæder jeg mig til.

Slutteligt:

Ute: Hvad jeg har kaldt Yout. Australsk betegnelse, egentlig for coupé utility vehicle (vel en lille pickup),men den bliver dog reelt brugt om et hvilket som helst køretøj med et lad (som en pickup), der kun kræver et almindeligt bilkørekort at føre.

Holdman's: Hvor vi bor nu, og hvor Bruce og Peta flyttede op for nogle måneder siden. Om de har lejet huset og jorden, eller købt det, ved jeg ikke.

Killara: Farmen hvor Bruce og Peta boede før (og i øvrigt har i 23 år før de flyttede til Holdman's), og hvor de stadig har jorden.

McCarthy's: Hvad jeg har kaldt det nyligt leasede. Så vidt jeg har forstået har Bruce leaset jorden for to år.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Jeg har sået (Det gik ikke så godt) og draftet får (det gik egentlig ret godt). Det har regnet i dag, for første gang i lang tid. Det var tiltrængt.

~*~

English for the Danish impared:

Finally we got some rain. It started in the early hours around dawn, and apart from a few pauses, it continued throughout the day. So far, we have had around 25 millimeters.
Bruce is happy. He has been asking for rain for a while now, and this is just what is needed to make the canola we have been seeding grow. But at the same time, the rain also meant that we could not do much today. We could not continue seeding, as the tractor's wheels would just spin around in the muddy soil, and he did not have any other jobs for us to do, so we got off at around 3 PM.

As for other exciting things, I could mention that I have driven the tractor with the airseeder and seeding bar attached. It is a lot harder than it looks, and I am not very good at it yet. I am hopeful, though, and I think I will learn it yet. It will just take some time. As for the rest of the week, I have not done a lot of things. Monday went with catching sheep, and drafting them in ewes with lambs and ewes without lambs. Tuesday and wednesday I mostly either was riding along in the tractor with the seeder, or driving it myself.

By the way, I got my hands on a ticket for Metallica's show in Perth on October 23rd today. I am looking forward to that.

Finally:
Ute: What I have been calling a Yout. An Australian term for a coupé utility vehicle (really a small pickup). In fact, it is used about any vehicle with a lid, flatbed or open cargo space, which only requires a normal driver's license to operate.

Holdman's: Where we are living now, and where Bruce and Peta moved a few months ago. If they have leased bor bought the house and land, I do not know.

Killara: Where Bruce and Peta used to live (and where they have done so for 23 years, before moving to Holdman's). They still farm there.

McCain's: What I have been calling the newly leased. As far as I know, Bruce have leased the land there for two years.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: I have been seeding (it didn't go so well) and drafting sheep (that went pretty well). It rained today, for the first time in a while. It was much needed.

Endnu en uge, endnu en weekend/Another Week, Another Weekend

Endnu engang er billederne kun thumbnails. For fuld størrelse, klik på dem, og i vil blive ført til hjemmesiden jeg har uploaded dem til./Once again, the pictures are only thumbnails. To view them full size, click a picture, and you will be led to the page I have uploaded them to.

Sidste uge, fra onsdag til fredag, forløb med en del repetitioner. På Killara skulle nogle får draftes (skilles i to grupper, i dette tilfælde mødre/små lam og store lam), og derefter skulle mødrene øremærkes. Killara (og alle andre fårefarme, tror jeg) har nogle folde beregnet til netop det formål (faktisk tjener de flere; man kan både drafte, øremørke, og lede dem ind til klipning dér), og der bragte vi fårene op. Vi nåede dog ikke længere end til at skille dem ad, så øremærkningen gjorde vi den næste dag.
Ellers er tiden gået med at så raps, hvor Helle og jeg har skiftedes til at læsse/køre gødning i lastbilen til Bjarke, som har sået.
Et afbræk var dog da Bruce modtog små 500 får om onsdagen. Ham og jeg tog imod dem, og den følgende dag øremærkede vi dem.
Fredag bragte også lidt forandring, i hvert fald om formiddagen. Helle og jeg blev sat til at fjerne alt mudderet fra en dam vi havde tømt næsten helt for vand i ugerne forinden (dam scooping, som det hedder her). Man tager to traktorer, placerer dem på hver sin side af dam'en med scoopen spændt mellem dem, og derefter kører man bare frem og tilbage, frem og tilbage, frem og tilbage... Det kan nok godt være svært at forestille sig, men billederne nederst giver måske et meget godt indtryk.

Weekenden var igen stille og rolig. Jeg overvejede at lægge vejen forbi pubben lørdag aften for at fejre min fødselsdag, men lod være da jeg ikke var stemt for at enten køre bilen hjem beruset, eller sove i den på pubbens parkeringsplads.
Jeg blev glædeligt overrasket søndag formiddag, idet jeg både fik et kort og en gave af Bruce og Peta (et gavekort til en boghandel). Jeg har trods alt kun været her tre uger.

Og så i dag, mandag d. 10 maj. Ikke at der er sket noget videre. Det var mest bare flere gentagelser, med den undtagelse at det faktisk regnede en smule i dag. Ikke nok til at det gør en forskel, men lidt har også ret.
Efter at have kørt lastbilen med gødning til Killara om formiddagen, blev Helle og jeg sendt ud for at hente nogle får hjem så vi kunne drafte dem i gravide/med lam og store lam/"tørre" hunner. Vi fandt fårene i det fjerneste hjørne af paddock'en, og begyndte at presse dem tilbage mod farmen, Helle i Nissanen og jeg på motorcyklen. Det var vist det man kalder friskt vejr; det blæste en del, og solen kiggede af og til frem bag de lavthængende, grå skyer. Jeg nød virkelig at det for en gangs skyld ikke var pokkers varmt, og havde mere øjnene på omgivelserne end på fårene. Det betalte sig også, da jeg pludselig så ikke en, men to ørne lette fra nogle træer tæt på, og cirkle over mod fårene. Jeg har godt nok fået at vide at der er ørne her, men det kom alligevel bag på mig. Selv på afstand var de ret store, og gled bare stille og roligt gemmen luften, før de besluttede sig for at der ikke var noget nemt bytte blandt fårene og deres lam. Desværre nåede jeg ikke at få nogen billeder af dem, de var væk da jeg fik fundet mit kamera.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Jeg har draftet får, øremærket får, kørt gødning og tømt en dam for mudder. Desuden så jeg to ørne i luften.

~*~

English for the Danish impared:

Last week, from wednesday to friday, came with some repetitions. On Killara, some sheep had to be drafted (seperated in two groups, in this case ewes/small lambs and larger lambs) and after thast the ewes had to be ear tagged. Killara (and every other sheep farm, I think) has some special pens or yards for that purpose (actually, they serve several purposes: you can draft, ear tag and lead them into the shearing shed there), and that is where we brought the sheep. We did not get further than drafting them, so we did the ear tagging the following day.
Apart from that, time has passed with seeding canola, where Helle and I have taken turns with loading/driving fertilizer in the truck to Bjarke, who has been driving the seeder.
A change of pace was when Bruce recieved almost 500 sheep on wednesday. Him and I were there ti recieve them, and the following day we ear tagged them.
Friday also brought some change, at least before noon. Helle and I had to remove all the mud from a dam we had benn emptying of water the previous weeks (dam scooping, as it is called). You take two tractors, place them on opposite sides of the dam with the scoop hooked to either with cables, and then you just go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I is probably har d to imagine, but hopefully the pictures below gives a better impression of the general idea.

The weekend once again came and went pretty quiet. I considered dropping by the pub saturday night to celebrate my birthday, but left it at that, as I was not in the mood for driving the car home drunk, or sleeping in the car, on the pub's parking lot.
On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised sunday morning, as I got both a card and a present (a gift certificate to a bookstore) from Bruce and Peta. I have, after all, only been here three weeks.

And then today, Monday May 10th. Not that anything out of the ordinary happened; it was just more repetitions, apart from the fact that it actually rained a bit today. Not enough to make a difference, but that does not matter.
After haven driven the truck with fertilizer to Killara, Helle and I were sent to bring some sheep home to be drafted into pregnant/ewes with lambs and "dry" ewes/big lambs. We found the sheep in the farthest corner of the paddock and started pressing them back towards the farm, Helle in the Nissan and me on the motorcycle. The weather was what you would call fresh; it was rather windy and the sun occationally peeked out behind the low, grey clouds. I really enjoyed that the temperature was not as damn high as usual, and I had my eyes on the surroundings more than on the sheep. That paid off, as I suddenly saw not one, but two eagles take off from a nearby tree and circle towards the sheep. I have been told that they have eagles here, but even then it surprised me. Even from a distance, they were quite large, and they just calmly glided through the air before deciding that there was no easy prey among the sheep. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures, they were gone before I found my camera.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: I have drafted sheep, ear tagged sheep, driven fertilizer and emptied a dam of mud. Also, I saw two eagles in the air.

/EMO

Damscooping:

Sheep drafting:


Bruce og jeg modtager de nye får/Bruce and I recieve the new sheep:

Såning og flere billeder/Seeding and more pictures.

Billeder nederst på siden/Pictures at the bottom of the page.

Sør'me om ikke vi fik startet Versatilen. I virkeligheden var det ikke så svært; vi trak den bare i gang med den gamle Chamberlain og en kæde. Derefter blev Helle og jeg sendt afsted efter John Deere-traktoren, som Bruce og jeg havde efterlade dagen før på det nylige leasede, da den ikke havde diesel nok til at komme hjem. Helle og jeg havde så en reservedunk med, og jeg kørte den hjem. Vi skulle bruge den til at læsse gødning i lastbilen.
Efter det skulle såmaskinen tilses, da Bruce havde besluttet at begynde at så, på trods af at det ikke har regnet. Det betød bl.a. smøring af div. bevægelige dele, kontrol af hjulene, og af de slanger som fører såsæden samt gødningen ned i jorden og kontrol af den tank der indeholder såsæd og gødning (det hele er luftdrevet; tanken blæser blandingen bagud til såmaskinen, som så kommer det i jorden). Derefter skulle tanken fyldes med en blanding af gødning og rapsfrø.
Vi begyndte at så et par timer efter middag. Dog var der et problem med en del af såmaskinen, så Bruce afmonterede den, og ham og jeg kørte tilbage til værkstedet for at reparere det. Bjarke og Helle fortsatte med at så. Da vi ca. en halv time senere kom tilbage til såmaskinen, var der gået noget andet galt. Et eller andet blokerede for at gødning/såsæd-blandingen kunne blive blæst bagud til såmaskinen, og så måtte vi endnu engang til at reparere. Dette viste sig dog at være noget mere kompliceret, og involverede at skille en del af tanken ad. Reparationen tog resten af dagen, men vi fik det ordnet.

Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Vi fik Versatile-traktores startet igen. Vi gjorde klar til at så. Under såningen gik der noget galt, og vi brugte resten af dagen på at reparere.

~*~

English for the Danish impared:

We actually got the Versatile started again. Actually, it was not that difficult; we pull-started it with the old Chamberlain tractor and a chain. After that, Helle and I were sent down to fetch the John Deere tractor, which Bruce and I had left the previous day on the newly leased land, as it did not have enough diesel to make it home. Thus, Helle and I had brought a small drum of diesel, and I drove it home. We were to use it to put fertilizer into the truck.
After that we had to check the seeder, as Bruce had decided to start seeding, even though it has not rained, It meant greasing the various movable parts, checking the tires and the pipes which puts the seed and fertilizer into the ground, and checking the tank which holds the seeds and fertilizer (everyting is air-driven; the tank blows everything back out to the seeder, which then puts it into the ground). After that we filled the tank with a mixture of fertilizer and canola seeds.
We started seedign a couple of hours after lunch. Unfortunately, there was a problem with a part of the seeder, so Bruce unmounted it and him and I went back to the workshop to repair it. Bjarke and Helle continued seeding. When we half an hour later returned to the seeder, something else had gone wrong. Something was blocking the seed/fertilizer mix to be blown back out of the tank, so once again we had to repair. This turned out to be rather more complicated, though, and involved taking apart part of the tank. The repairs took the rest of the day, but we got it fixed.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: We got the Versatile tractor started again. We got ready for seeding. During the seeding, something went wrong and we spent the rest of the day making repairs.


/EMO

Og nu nogle billeder/And now for some pictures:

Nogle af køretøjerne på gården/Some of the vehicles on the farm:

Klargøring til såning/Preparing for seeding:



Selve farmen/The farm itself:



Australsk fodbold, Boxwood Hill mod Newdegate/Australian football, Boxwood Hill versus Newdegate:

Nu med billeder/Now Featuring Pictures!

Note: Ved at klikke på billederne bliver i ført videre til den side jeg har uploaded dem til/Clicking on the pictures will direct you to the homepage I have uploaded them to.


Torsdag: Vi brugte meget af dagen på at lægge fliser til Bruce & Petas terrasse. Omkring middagstid ankom ca. 300 får som Bruce havde købt en uge forinden, med lastbil. Efter de var blevet afleveret kørte vi til Jerramungup efter skæreskiver så vi kunne rette de sidste, genstridige fliser til, og for at Helle kunne aflevere nummerpladerne til sin bil.

Fredag: Vi startede med at øremærke de får vi havde fået dagen før, hvilket tog hele formiddagen. Det foregik ved at ca. 40-50 får ad gangen blev gennet ind i en smal indhegning, som så blev lukket i begge ender. Derefter var det bare at starte fra en ende af, og fortsætte til vi var færdige. Selve mærkerne er af plastic, og sættes i med en speciel tang.
Til middag kom Bruces forældre på besøg, hvorfor der var varm mad på bordet. Efter middag kørte vi til Killara for at klargøre en harve til at lave brandbælter på markerne. et viste sig at være en længere process, da der skulle skiftes en hydraulikcylinder og harven i øvrigt var for bred. Mens Bjarke ordnede cylinderen, afmonterede Helle og jeg de overflødige "vinger" på harven, noget som ikke blev lettere af at boltene og møtrikkerne der holdt sammen på dem de fleste steder var rustet fast.

Lørdag: Jeg stod tidligt op, i betragtning af at det var weekend, for at køre de ca. 200 km. til Albany. Alene. Det var dog ikke noget problem, da vejen gik lige derned, og den lange tur i venstre vejbane gik også fint. Lidt mere spændende var det i selve Albany, men jeg fandt et sted at parkere og gik så på jagt efter de ting jeg nu manglede. Jeg fik også hvad jeg ville have. Tøj, bøger en cd og et digitalkamera.
På vej hjem opførte bilen sig lidt sært. Vinduesviskere, elruder og blæsere virkede ikke, før jeg et sted på halvvejen fik stoppet og startet igen. I min eufori (det var en ret lummer dag, og jeg havde lige kørt ca. 100 km. med lukkede ruder og uden ventilation) åbnede jeg min siderude helt, men da det blev for koldt ville den ikke rulle hele vejen op igen.
Hjemme var hverken Bjarke og Helle eller Bruce og Peta hjemme, så det var ikke før om aftenen, da Bruce og Peta var kommet hjem, at jeg fik fortalt hvad man skulle gøre for at få bilen til at makke ret.


Søndag: Stille dag. Jeg brugte mest tiden på at læse i en af mine nyerhvervede bøger. Faktisk er jeg bange for at jeg (endnu engang) har solgt min sjæl til en forfatter; jeg er begyndt på bind 1 af The Wheel of Time-sagaen af Robert Jordan. Det er en massiv fantasy-følgeton på indtil vidre 12 publicerede bind (og med 2 ufærdige), hvor ingen af dem er på mindre end 700 sider. Jeg er allerede halvvejs i første bind, og er nok nødt til at gøre dem alle færdige, med tiden. Og bedst som jeg var kommet ud af mit Terry Pratchett-misbrug...

Mandag: Jeg startede med at køre vand fra en dam tæt ved huset til en af tankene her, så vi havde noget at bade i (og så toiletterne kan skylle ud, ikke mindst). På min anden tur, da jeg skulle tilbage ville den famøse Versatile-traktor (som Bruce så pænt er begyndt at kalde Eriks traktor) dog ikke starte. Batterierne var endnu en gang brændt af. Nu er det store spørgsmål så bare hvorfor.


Opsummering for dovne/travle læsere: Ingen. Jeg er selv for doven til at lave den, så i må undvære denne gang. Alternativt kan i læse det ovenstående.

~*~

Englsih for the danish impared:

Thursday: We spent a lot of the day laying bricks for Bruce and Peta's porch. At noon about 300 sheep, which Bruce had bought the previous week arrived bytruck. After they had been dropped off, we drove to Jerramungup after cutting discs so we could fit the last, uncooperative tiles, and so that Helle could turn in the license plates for her car.

Friday: We started the day by eartagging the sheep we had delievered the day before, which took until noon. It was done hy herding approximately 40-50 sheepat a time into a narrow fencing (about two sheep wide), which then was closed in both ends. Then we just had to start from an end and continue until we were done. The tags themselves are made of plastic and is put in with some special tongs.
Bruce's parents came to visit us for lunch, so we had a hot meal for once (not that we usually don't get hot meals. We just don't have it for lunch). After lunch we drove down to Killara to ready a scarifier so we would be able to createsome fire lanes(lanes of dirt to stop the fire from spreading) on the fields. It turned out to be more difficult that first assumed, as we had to change ahydraulic cylinder in the scarifier, which also was a bit too wide. So as Bjarke changed the cylinder, Helle and I disconnected the superfluous "wings" on the scarifier, something that was not made easier with most of the bolts and nuts that held the sides in place, were rusted fast.

Saturday: I was up early, considering it was weekend, to drive the approximately 200 kilometres to Albany. Alone. It was not much of a problem, though, asthe road went straight down there, and the long ride in the left side of the road went well as well. It was abit more exciting in Albany, but I was able to find a place to park the car, upon which I went hunting for the things I needed. I got what I wanted too. Clothes, books a cd and a digital camera.
On the way home the car did act a bit strange. Whipers, electric windows and fans did not work, until I somewhere about half way home stopped the car and turned it on again. Euforic as I was (I had just droven about 100 kilometres with closed windows and no fans), I opened the driver side window as much as it could, but when it got too cold, it would not go all the way down.
Back home, neither Bjarke, Helle, Bruce or Peta were home, so it was not until evening, when Bruce and Peta did come home, that I had explained to me what to do to make the car act as I wanted it to.

Sunday: Quiet day. I spent most of the time reading in one om my newly aquired books. In fact, I am afraid that I (once again) as sold my soul to an author; I have begun reading volume 1 of The Wheel of Time-saga by Robert Jordan. It is a massive fantasy series on 12 published volumes so far (and with 2 in the making), where none of them is on less than 700 pages. I am already halfway through the first volume, and I probably have to finsh them all, eventually. And here I thought I was over my Terry Pratchett addiction...

Monday: I started the day by driving water from a dam close to the house to one of the tanks here, so we would have something to bathe in (and so the toilets can flush, no less). On my second run, when I was to return, the infamous Versatile tractor(which kindly Bruce has started calling Erik's tractor) would not start. The batteries were once again fried. The big question now is why.
After lunch I cleaned the back of the John Deere, whereafter I went to scarify fire lanes on some of the paddocks on th enewly leased land.

Summary for lazy/busy readers: None. I am too lazy myself to write it, so you will have to do without this time. Alternatively, you can read the above.

/EMO