Travelling second-class

Not having a dogbox - and even if I had one, I have no tow-ball on my car to attach it - and with the boot chock-full with my baggage, Bess was permitted to travel to Te Awamutu in great state in the back seat.

New Job

I am now living in Te Awamutu with my sister and brother-in-law and young nephew (whose photos appear periodically in this blog) and working at Bin Inn three mornings each week. I refill bins, jars, and shelves, keep things clean, and occasionally work the till. This job is to last until early August, when I will undertake another shift, this time to "Castle Craig" (the farm I will be working on) about 1½ hours from here. This is the first time that I have worked in a shop. It's interesting and fun. This morning I spent most of the time refilling spice/herb jars. My boss, Murray, would like me to stay on permanently (and that's after only one day), but this is definitely only a steppingstone to the next job, and I am thrilled about that one. Colin and Dorothy Gilbert are the owners of "Castle Craig". They already have my dog, Bess, with them. Dorothy turned up at Bin Inn this morning - not long after I'd been thinking that she might show up one day - I didn't expect her on my first day, though! I enjoyed introducing her and Murray to each other. ;c)

What you're not meant to do with the vaccination gun!
The blisters on my fingers made me change to operating the gun with my left hand, which was fine until a passing sheep (they were going through a conveyor machine - sooo much easier and faster than working in a yard race!) jerked its head up under my hand, causing me to run the needle across my right wrist. The faint parallel line on the left of the scrape is the vein that I narrowly missed. The visible damage wasn't all that bad, though not exactly comfortable, but I was a bit crook the next day when my blood pressure dropped as my body coped with the small amount of the vaccine that would have been on the needle. (It is not uncommon for sheep handlers to stab themselves - and occasionally other people - while vaccinating.)

A bundle of laughs

Tim with the giggles.

Bounce me more, Aunty Nelya!

The brothers

Finally! I get some time with my nephews from Nelson.

Feeding time with Mama.

Cuddle time for Tim and Misha with Aunty.

Joshua, happy to watch the action of his cousins from the shelter of Daddy's legs.

The next generation of cousins

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.

Lessons in music appreciation...

...and rocking chair appreciation.

Misha says goodbye to Bess

Tima with Aunty Nelya

January 2006

Visiting family - especially the new additions. Joshua Peake was born in August 2005. It still seems strange that my younger sister has a child, but I do enjoy the fact!

Back to home and...a car!

Dad got me a car while I was away. He spoke of it as "your jalopy", so seeing this vehicle parked by the drive on our arrival back home after my graduation was rather breath-taking!
I will be paying him for the car when I get a job with a decent income! Meanwhile, the car has made it possible to get temporary work. Thanks, Dad!!!

The Fence

Can you play a tune on these?




Not quite the clothes for fencing...

Graduation Bonus

A trophy, a fuel/oil can, a kitchen clock, and a rain vest - all for getting the top prize in Sheep Theory! Of all the prizes, this was the one I had hopes of achieving. Hurrah!
My final exam score was the top mark (out of both sheep and dairy): 91%. My fieldtrip assignments were mostly in the high 80’s, with the exception of the last one, which was 92. My first farm discussion report received 76, but the other three were 91, 91, & 92. The assignments from my two weeks of work experience scored 93 and 97. My Weeds & Grasses Collection gained 80, and my Project Book (Glenburn Farm Report) earned 86.75. I really earned that prize. I thank the Lord for giving me understanding and something of a way with written words.

Graduation: December 16, 2005

Three cheers! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
I was awarded the Taratahi Certificate in Agriculture with Merit. Merit is awarded to those whose overall score is above 70%.
I achieved 471/600 for the fourth term skills test. Not quite the overall scores I would have liked to achieve, but with some very good individual scores, such as the Sheep Practical section, in which I gained 93/100.

"The Veterans"

Dick Tredwell and I with our completed fence. We called our team "The Veterans". We did a great job (the prizewinners were even better). We completed the fence in 3 hours 50 minutes, and that included digging three post holes. A huge improvement on the beginning of the year, when it took me 3 hours to dig one post hole!

Taratahi Fencing Competition.
In teams of two, we had to build a 32m four-wire electric fence from scratch. There were 8 or 9 teams competing. The date on the photo is incorrect. The competition was on December 10, 2005.

Work with a view.

"Education" (the name of the paddock). Don't work here if you have a problem with heights!

Glenburn Station buildings from "Education" paddock, where I was mustering (on foot) the cows out from among the sheep.

A sunny day at Taratahi Ag. My room is straight ahead on the end of the block.

Skills Test results

My results for Term 3 Skills Test were mostly a big improvement. My low scores in Tech 3 and Tech 1 were mostly a matter of speed - or a lack of it - and I'd never nailed together a mitre joint before (Tech 3), let alone four of them to make a box/frame; most of my marks were for measuring and sawing the pieces.

T3 = 34 (Rather a come-down from the previous term's 75.)
T2 = 79 (That's the first time I've completed the wirework, but my Tex Brown knot wasn't actually a Tex Brown, so the tutor couldn't mark it.)
T1 = 64 (First time I've put a line post in completely by myself, but I didn't finish nailing all three battens.)
Sheep = 89 !!! (Top girl in this, and only three boys were higher: 94, 91, & 91!!!)
Lectures = 84
Ag. = 75 (Second equal in this with two others; top was 94)

Total: 425/600