Occupations and Events

The most frequent occupations this year have been spraying ragwort on a dairy farm (where else? Sheep eat ragwort) and applying for shepherd positions. The spraying was on foot with a knapsack and added up to about 6 full weeks' work, spread over two+ months because it was weather-dependant. I was mighty sick of it by the end!
The job applications never got as far as an interview, but I have one underway at present of which I'm hopeful, especially as this one is quite close to home, about 40 minutes away (that's very close compared to Waikato, East Cape, Malborough, Canterbury, and Otago!). I very quickly discovered how difficult it is to break into an industry that for the most part operates by word-of-mouth. There are not a lot of junior shepherd jobs advertised, and there seems to be a lot of competition for the jobs that are. In spite of the excellent training at Taratahi, being a girl from a non-farming background doesn't compete well with strong young men who have lived on farms all their lives and are instantly capable of all the heavy work. But I prefer to think that the refusals are because God has a certain place for me, and none of them were it! If I didn't know that He has it all in hand, I would be in flat despair. Praise God for his guiding hand.
It was certainly an advantage to be not working this past week. Grandad (Mum's Dad) died March 6 and the funeral was on Thursday, March 9, in Johnsonville, Wellington. My parents and older sister drove down the afternoon before, but I drove down in the morning. The rest of our family flew in, one from Australia (for the day), two and a little one from Te Awamutu (also for the day), and two plus two little ones from Nelson. They came back up with us to Dannevirke for a couple of nights before flying home, which meant that I had the novel experience of sitting in the back of my car between two baby seats for 2½ hours. Not something I want to repeat often, but I enjoyed the time with my nephews, from then right through till they left on Saturday. I saw a lot of Misha, because he was sleeping in my room. That boy is so good at going to bed! And such fun when he wakes up...!
On Monday, March 13, we drove over to Wanganui for a family lunch with relatives, then a short memorial service for Grandad and a visit to the Wanganui Cemetery to bury the ashes. It was a lovely day, and I was glad I was available to go.