Roast lamb. That's the worst smell in the world. Because it smells like live lamb. As a kid, lambs topped my list of the best things in the world, just ahead of sheep coming in a close second. Now I'm grown with kids of my own and the list has changed. Except the first two … Continue reading The worst smell in the world? That’s easy.
Compromising on emergency first aid to save the planet
Whoever came up with the treatment for superficial burns didn't grow up on a dry land farm in the early 1980s drought. I loved my old top loader washing machine; when I'd hear the last lot of rinsing water start to drain, I'd run from wherever I was in the house (even if I was … Continue reading Compromising on emergency first aid to save the planet
It’s not me. It’s you.
It's like when you'd break up with your boyfriend. He'd be upset. You'd be upset because he was upset. And you'd get to thinking it wasn't that bad when you were together. But it was, obviously. Bad enough that you ended it. Just that vital fact would get forgotten in the 'he's-upset-now-I'm-upset; have-I-done-the-right-thing?' moment. Remember … Continue reading It’s not me. It’s you.
Near-death experience
It happened again. I was feeding our chook, still crouched down after opening the low latch on the gate when she started pecking pieces of bread from the little honey bucket that we use for her scraps, before I'd even had a chance to tip it on the ground. I squealed. And flung the lot - … Continue reading Near-death experience
When you want something done properly, do it yourself
I was just thinking how I get a little annoyed when Maeve undoes something I've done for her and redoes it herself. I walk away and wonder what the point of it was. Mostly it's when we're trying to get out the door in a hurry and I move things along a bit by putting … Continue reading When you want something done properly, do it yourself
You asked for tops for boys?
That was the autumn break. Sixty-one millimetres of rain in 12 hours. It fills empty water tanks and the cracks in the ground, puts moisture in crop beds and waters those already sown, it lifts the spirits of the older generations and creates puddles for the younger ones. Oh dear, all of a sudden I … Continue reading You asked for tops for boys?
We welcome with love Jackson
I don’t want the ewes to die. Or to kick away and neglect their little lambs in the interests of their own health and survival. But I seriously love raising a bottle lamb. Always have. And I love that now Elsie and Maeve get to do the same, giggle while a lamb head butts their … Continue reading We welcome with love Jackson
Farm life
Sometimes it’s hard to write. When big things are happening in the news, what I’m about to write seems small. When people in my life have just lost a relative, a pregnancy or their health, suddenly what I’m about to write seems not worth saying. So I wait a few days for the dust to … Continue reading Farm life
Lucky me in the Weekly Times
If you've just sat down for smoko and a quick flip through today's Weekly Times, you may have seen this: I was so excited when the editor of the Country Living section of the newspaper contacted me for an interview. They sent a photographer out and he snapped away as I peeked through a mobile … Continue reading Lucky me in the Weekly Times
Writing by Larissa Patton 