2017 Mustering Season

Things are in full swing here at Chardy Central.  It seems the rain has finally gone and mustering got underway a couple of weeks ago now.  I still can’t believe it is now nearly the middle of April.

Before the crew can start mustering they have to get all their ducks in a row – so to speak.

Horses need new shoes.  Yes please, I always endorse new shoes, every single time!   Horse shoeing is not everyones favourite sport, it is hard work and all I can say is – better them than me.  There is a reason I don’t ride horses.  My shoes are far easier to sort out than the horses.

Roads need to be graded because we need road train access to truck all the wearers back into the station yards.  Thankfully John and Badger arrived on the weekend to start grading the roads.  Tick.  You can read all about John and how we grade all of our roads in THIS post.

Now we also need hay.  Because without hay the cattle won’t get fed while they are in the yards.  So this is kind of important.  Very! Our haystack is certainly not looking like this at the moment…

We only have a little bit left from that huge stack.  So it is very important that we get some hay, toot sweet.  We usually get a hay contractor to come out and bale the natural pasture.  This is all then trucked back into the station yards.  The hay contractor and hay carter should be here after the Anzac weekend.  Tick.

So all in all we are off and racing.  Mustering is underway, there are cattle in the yards and things are in full swing.  Let the circus begin my friends, from here on in you don’t really have time to scratch yourself.  Weekends fill up and the weeks just fly by.

Miss Pip has been off getting her extroverted fix, galavanting all over the countryside (I also absolutely endorse this, as a fellow extrovert, I totally understand).  She is back now and doing a few days in the stock camp before school goes back.

The boys are enjoying their school holidays and this week we have the Savvy B boys here so there has been fishing at the river, camping at the river, building cubby’s, playing pool, and me confiscating iProducts so they can do all of this without their head buried in a screen.  Oh I am just so mean aren’t I.  I am getting so much better at standing my ground even when a certain 12 year old makes me feel super guilty – nope, no more of that my friend, I am not giving in.

Recommendations…

Reading – of course you know I actually mean listening…. LION – A Long Way Home, by Saroo Brierley.

Now I first listened to this man on the Conversations with Richard Fidler Podcast and I was absolutely gobsmacked and fascinated by his story…

A moving and inspirational true story of survival and triumph against incredible odds. It celebrates the importance of never letting go of what drives the human spirit: hope.

When Saroo Brierley used Google Earth to find his long-lost hometown half a world away, he made global headlines.

Saroo had become lost on a train in India at the age of five. Not knowing the name of his family or where he was from, he survived for weeks on the streets of Kolkata before being taken into an orphanage and adopted by a couple in Australia.

Despite being happy in his new family, Saroo always wondered about his origins. He spent hours staring at the map of India on his bedroom wall. When he was a young man, the advent of Google Earth led him to pore over satellite images of the country for landmarks he recognised. And one day, after years of searching, he miraculously found what he was looking for. Then he set off on a journey to find his mother.

I also watched his interview on Australian Story.  I just finished listening to the Audiobook and can’t wait for the movie to come out on iTunes on 19th April.  Such a wonderful story.

Here is a little something I found on You Tube…

Oh another thing I have been reading…. Baby Mac – she has just been in New York and boy I loved travelling along with her through her wonderful Blog.  Thanks for taking us on your Anniversary trip Beth, it was such fun.

Have you read LION or perhaps you have seen the movie?
Got any fabulous recommendations for us?  You know I am always on the hunt!  
How are you going with School Holidays?  Me: “when does school go back?”