Dispatch from the North
Thea is weaning, while we are wintering
Things are busy for Thea Harrington and her family right now. They’re weaning on the station, while down south we are putting the ewes and their six week old lambs onto crop to warm and fatten as winter blows its way into being. The crackling fire inside has never been so good. Either has my wheat bag or the long wool socks I bought from Aldi a few weeks ago. Enjoy your Sunday dear readers, whichever stage of the cycle you find yourself in. Sxxx
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Dispatch From The North with Thea Harrington.
Winter means weaning. The days are long and dusty and demanding, but rewarding. The weaners you are working are the product of two years of hard, yet thoughtful, work; genetics, joining, breeding and care. It is the ultimate reward.
Long days in the yards and on the tail educating, training and guiding. And then you walk those babies out to the paddock, let them go and hope to hell you’ve left an impression on them.
Weaning signs a certain symphony of sounds. What can start as a deafening chorus, at its best, softens to a gentle hum.
It’s the clang and swing of chains and the rattling of gates, and the thunder rumble of 300 weaners moving from pen to pen.
It’s the slurp and gurgle of water bottles quenching the thirst of the dusty dry mouth. The chaff and rubbing of denim as the cowboy walks around the mob and the whinny of his horse waiting out in the night horse paddock, ready to aid when he gets the call up.
Static over the UHF with the call for lunch, or maybe for those lucky enough, the crackling of kindling boiling the billy for a cuppa.
The bellows from the mob, loud and strong, that soften over the four nights and days. It’s a call for comfort, a desperate need for their mother’s touch which petters out, signalling a coming of age.
And then, on that final walk, calm and control, and the drumming of hundreds of hooves marching along in unison. Blis
Podcast Playlist
I want to become friends with Cathy O’Conner of Ohh Media. She sounds like she has life sorted out. Here she is on 15 minutes with the Boss.
Are you on the zero’s? This is good intel
I mentioned this on Wednesday (for paid subscribers) but the man behind Mr & Mrs Smith is lovely to listen to. He;s visted over 4,000 hotels for his craft. Imagine?! On-farm BNB’s we can do this!
Lay your eyes on these Instagram accounts
@emetamily || @splitfigs || @house.on.oak.lane
This pile of things to read
-Different types of morning routines each with their own acronym.
-Quitting, sabbaticals and meaningful work.
-Why millennials are quitting the rat race.
-How doodling will change your life.
-Our podcast episode with the lovely Claire Mactaggart was a good example of quiet leadership I thought. And this newsletter delves into it more - I am really loving
right now.Thank you for being here. This is the free edition of Company On Sundays. If you want more of this goodness become a paid subscriber for $7 week (AUD) and receive more recommendations, real life stories and relaxing reads as a paid subscriber. Come! join the crew. Sxx