Been MOOC'd lately?

In making the leap from the corporate office to running a cattle property, I had to go through numerous adjustments ... as you can imagine.
My work at Virgin Blue was implementing change at the corporate level. I was bumping heads with strong-willed general managers. It was extremely intellectually challenging to navigate their ambitions yet change their ways of working to help consolidate a young, fast growing company.
In coming to Spring Creek, I missed the fiery, stimulating intellectual debate my relationships at VB had afforded me.
I've had to look for new avenues for intellectual stimulation.
It's not that living in the bush isn't intellectually challenging at times. You are more often than not drawn into significant problem solving - the dozer stuck in a dam, the fallen windmill that has to be re-erected ... and these are more frequent occurrences than most would like.

Cute Jewish Professor

But ... it's different.
Then I discovered MOOC's (Massive Open On-line Courses)! They are brilliant. They are delivered over the internet, they're free and they're university standard.

The view from my office

I've just finished my first one: Neurons, Synapses and the Brain.
I sat in my remote farm house, looking out across the paddock, listening to a cute Jewish professor instruct me on the intricacies of neuroscience - at the perfect level for my current understanding. Brilliant!

A dendritic tree - a neural network

Discovering www.coursera.org has definitely filled a hole for me.
I now understand the current thinking and research on the workings of the brain. Why do I want to know about that, you ask?
Of course it isn't just for the pure fun of it ... it's research for my next book.
But overall, I guess it's about finding my way in a remote, isolated community. I still want to grow and develop and learn. I want to think along new lines and explore new avenues such as ... do we really have free will or are our actions dictated by the neural networks in our brain? Now that's an interesting debate and has sparked a few conversations.
Can't wait for my next MOOC and to see where that will lead my thinking!

Stealing Babies

As I've often mentioned, there are lots of emotional challenges running a cattle grazing property. One thing I don't really look forward to is ... weaning time!
Each year, just before winter, we have to take the calves away from their mothers.
Going into winter, our dry season, is tough on all the stock but particularly lactating mothers. Mums need to eat a lot of grass to sustain themselves as well as feed a 250kg calf. Cows can quickly lose condition when the protein store in the grass depletes.
It's better for cow and calf to be separated so we can provide the best care.
Having said all that ... they don't like it all!!!!

It's very noisy...
The mothers stand around calling and calling to their calves and their calves call back night and day.






The cows glare whenever you come near, their eyes pleading "Please give me back my calf!"

 And the poor things ... their udders are bursting.

But after three days and three nights, it's all over. The mums give up and we muster them to their winter paddock. The calves stay in the yards for a bit longer to make sure they are quite calm. Then they are released into a paddock near the house so we can keep a watchful eye on them.

All in all, it's a rather traumatic experience for all concerned and I'm always glad when it's over. It's hard to sleep with all that racket. At last it's done ... until next year. Sigh!

Rikki - Our Poddy

It’s tragic when you come across one of your cows struggling to stay alive. Such was Rikki’s mother when we found her – too late, her afterbirth not released had become septic. There was nothing merciful to do but shoot her. She could barely stand.

But what of her little calf – just a few days old? We managed to run her down, catch her, take her home and name her. She was terrified the poor little thing.

Morning feeding

Though she was depressed for about a week, she adapted quickly and learned to suckle the bottle the first day. She bonded with us too and was most upset when we retreated inside the house. She would stand at the back door, trying to get in.

Standing at the back door

Being empty-nesters, both Chris and I embraced the opportunity to look after someone again. We’re quite pathetic really, LOVING having someone dependent once more. The twice daily feeding regime was no burden at all.

But we couldn’t maintain her emotional dependence on us … tempting as it was. So we relegated her to one of the paddocks near the house holding some of last year’s offspring. She could make some new friends.

Each morning, Rikki would stand at the gate bleating, calling for her bottle. But it was never enough. She always wanted more, her sucking reflex so strong, driving her. Also, you had to be ready for her reflex to nudge the udder (which normally would release her mother’s milk). A sharp, sudden head butt could catch you off guard in awkward places (particularly for Christopher!).

Though it’s probably socially improper to share this with you, some of her new friends liked to take advantage of her sucking reflex. Some quickly switched on steers, would stand close by waiting for the end of her feed whereby she would happily oblige them by finding something else to suck … I’ll leave it to your imagination! These are the realities of living at close quarters with wild beasts who exhibit none of our social constraints!

Waiting at the gate

Though Rikki is more independent now, we still love her. It’s nice to give her a hug and she loves having her belly rubbed. I’m glad she wasn’t a young bull as we will be able to integrate her into our breeding herd eventually. Young bulls (once turned into steers) go off to market at the appropriate weight. That would have been a sad day.

But then I always feel a little sad when the young steers and heifers go off to market. Life as a grazier is full of emotional challenges but, I guess, saying goodbye to your well-cared-for stock, is a minor one when all things are considered.

At least I won't have to say goodbye to Rikki ... not for a long time anyway.

Black Sabbath

A fan of heavy metal? Me neither. In fact I hate it so much I usually want to turn if off within a few minutes. But Chris has been a dedicated fanatic, following Ozzie Osborne’s career forever. It’s interesting that after all the years of listening to Black Sabbath blaring in the CD player while working in the paddock, the kids and I have actually developed a deep affection for them!

That’s why it was so exciting when we heard that Black Sabbath was coming to Brisbane! The kids chipped in and the tickets made a great Chrissie present. Chris would get to see his idol, Ozzie Osborne, LIVE.

He was a bit nervous though, I have to say. $160.00 a ticket hurts on any account but it wasn’t just the price; he was concerned about the band. Let’s face it, like us, they aren’t getting any younger! And the band members have been hard on their bodies and abused themselves severely over the years with drugs and excesses. Ozzie is an old man. Would he and the guys really be up to it? Would they give us our money’s worth?

Sold out

Well, on Anzac day we set out to find out.

What a night! It’s hard to describe the experience. We sat at the back of the Boondall Entertainment centre, amongst the black t-shirts and dread locks, looking down on the mosh pit and the press of fans (it was sold out).

Explosions of sound and light

The band took stage. I couldn’t help but marvel at how two guitarists, a drummer and one singer could manage to create such an explosion of music and sound and, well … life, which filled the massive auditorium. It even made my tummy vibrate.

As well as the sound, the stage was electric with light works, video projections and enigmatic performances by each member of the band.

We were in the presence of majestic talent and we were absolutely enthralled by every living precious moment of it. There was something magical and mesmerising about watching the performance of so many songs you have listened to over the years, unfolding before you … LIVE.

We didn’t want it to end.

We watched Ozzie worshipped by his fans and he gave his all back. He commanded the stage as he always has. His pitch may have been off slightly in one or two songs with a register now too low for his aging voice box, but he nailed it just the same.

Savouring the memory

Did Chris enjoy it? Well, he’s got the tickets stuck to the wall next to his desk in the office, wanting to keep the memory fresh for as long as possible.

But there is something about the visceral, ephemeral nature of a live performance that is captured for that moment, then lost. Though, I can say that even today, the memory lives within me. I don’t want to forget it. I won’t let it go.

For a few hours I was young again and I LOVED it.

A Motley Crew!

When we first came to the Traprock, one experience I looked forward to was … the cattle sales yards! It was a new market and we had to learn how it worked. The first one we attended was in Goondiwindi and I have to say, what struck me most was … what a motley crew!

I was used to boardrooms, meeting rooms, white shirts, ties, suits and black polished shoes. Well the fashion code indulged by graziers, particularly at the sale yards … was rather hard to follow! Yes, there were the obvious blue jeans, checked shirt and boots but there was a whole range of other delights that made me wonder how on earth you could learn to conform, and, did I want to?

There were shorts and long pants, boots of all kinds. There were akubras and ten gallon hats of all colours. There were t-shirts, work shirts and flannels. There were beards, moustaches, grey hair, crazy hair … I even saw plaits! I didn’t really know what to make of it all.

I remember what I wore that day. My fashion choice had been quite deliberate, though no doubt many didn’t know what to make of me. I wore my work boots but with a short skirt. On reflection I don’t think it was quite the right environment to be showing off my legs, even if my sock protectors did match my skirt!

Thank God I wore the boots at least – so much mud, poo and wee!!! 

Re-enactment of the Oops!! (no longer have matching sock protectors)

Overall the experience was a little overwhelming and I could not imagine myself ever having the courage to raise a finger in an auction to actually make a bid for some stock.  The auctioneers talk so fast and things move along before you’ve had time to think. But we needed stock to get our enterprise off the ground so it was just as well that Chris was able to adapt more quickly than me.

After many sales and many auctions both buying and selling, we’ve come a long way.

Attending the Stanthorpe sale yards last week, we felt right at home - though now I’m sure to wear a pair of jeans with my boots, just to look a little less conspicuous.

Our pen picked at at the Stanthorpe Sale

We came home the proud owners of 34 beautiful Angus heifers, ready to see the bull. We have so much grass at the moment; it was time to take advantage and grow our breeding herd some more.

Tagged and ready

They are all settled in now, tagged, drenched and loose in the paddock. I’m sure they are feeling right at home, just as we are these days … even if I haven’t completely conformed to the grazier’s sense of fashion!!

Living with the Wild Life

Living in the bush and especially running a cattle enterprise, changed my perspective. This might sound really basic, but it made me realise that humans rule this planet. We are at the top of the food chain. Yes, there are some species that still give us a run for our money (lions, sharks … etc.) but for the most part we keep the wild life at bay. We are in control.

This is harder to do when you live in the bush. Thankfully we don’t have many life threatening predators in Australia, though I have learned, of course, to be snake wary and am always conscious of foot placement when out in the paddock, particularly near water sources.

Unfortunately, some of our favourite Australian icons do get in the way. Even though we love them of course, the kangaroos can be a jolly nuisance at times.

The garden gate

For example, they love to jump in front of the car when you are whizzing down the road, particularly at night. “We hate those kamikaze ones,” my neighbour said once. I know just what she means.  No matter how hard you look, how much care you take, you can always be taken off guard by a kamikaze wallaby or kangaroo determined to put themselves under your car.

The problem becomes exacerbated due to the proliferation of the ‘roo colonies, loving the conditions we create for our stock – open grazing lands, permanent water sources. They thrive, they propagate … and at times they plague the landscape.

I was woken around 4am the other morning to a strange sound. It took me a few moments in my sleep drugged state to realise it was two massive male kangaroos going for it … just outside the garden gate. I could hear them spitting and bashing the crap out of each other. It was a real contest and it went on for a long time. (Next time I’ll pull out the video, if I don’t scare them off.)

Another much loved icon is the goanna. I don’t mind them really, though of course I don’t want one to run up my leg so always approach with caution. But they make a ruckus when they get in the chook pen and can’t get out! The poor chooks get very upset and I don’t want to share the eggs with them … their mine!

Goanna holes!!!

I can’t keep the goannas out of the garden. We are very diligent about keeping the garden gate shut to deter them but they can just as easily shimmy up the gate post. Why do I care do you ask? Because they dig great big holes in the garden beds and in the lawn! They have favourite spots where they will return again and again … such as under the rose bushes. I guess they dig for roots or something.

Keeping the wild life at bay can be challenging at times. But when all things are considered, I’d still rather listen to a couple of ‘roos in a street fight, than listen to the yells and fights of humans when the pub shuts.

I guess that’s why I’m still here, ‘roos and goannas despite.

New blog to be kept in sync

Hi My Blogging Friends!
I've just recently agreed to blog on a more regular basis for The Highlife Magazine on their website. Check it out at: My new Highlife Blog

So rather than maintain two blogs, I've decided to keep them in sync.

As I will be blogging more regularly for Highlife, I won't be prompting when a new blog is posted. I'll simply  post the blog here as well as with Highlife (more or less weekly) and note it on Facebook news feed.

So if you would like to follow my blogs regularly and you aren't a friend of mine on Facebook, you will need to register your email in the box to the right "Follow by email" under "About Me".

Comments always welcome.