Just thought I'd check in and share my afternoon. I am sitting here feeling much better after a shower, but a simple day sure turned out HUGE. I really am exhausted. A pleasant ride into the nearest town turned into an adventure with cut roads and rising flood waters and of course, a another downpour on my way back.
We have just come out of a drought here, and it just plain amazing to see the earth transformed almost overnight from beyond brown (a scorched yellow) to lush green again. But as is the extremist nature of human responses.. we went from a long harsh dry to a BIG WET!
Our dam looks glorious. We are lucky to have a good one, which was still wet when others were long dry, and made it through the drought despite turning somewhat ucky. When I got back, I recruited a couple of fellow farmhands to go down and check the pump. Sure enough we had to raise it as the waters were now lapping a foot away. So as we were sorting that out, my daughter wandered around the perimeter and announced we had a leak.
Sure enough, tonnes of the earths vital fluids where running off down the road! She had already begun damming the gap, finding rocks, logs and whatever. I smiled at my kid. What a good job she was doing! All hands on deck for a bit, before my mate suggests maybe we don't actually need this much water? Were we being greedy? Work slows a bit as we all think about this...
Then there is this slapping noise. Our resident 12 year old marine biologist/aquaculturist is immediatley onto it! One of our Silver Perch (fish) has come out the overflow! There's some yelling and scurrying about, recruiting the final member of the team, who comes down the hill with a barrow and buckets and finally the fish is back in the dam. Not happy with this situation at all, the fish lover heads down the road and begins hollering out, "Here's another one! And another one!" It seems our fish were all heading down the road!!! I'm hauling gravel, mud, clay, trees, and rocks trying to do my best beaver impersonation, while they are running back and forth, returning fish to some 'real water'.
When we finally slow the water enough to maybe get us through the night, and return countless fish. We all head up totally buggered, only to find the ponies stall is a quagmire and the poultry pen is flooded from a hole in the guttering. Trenches were dug and we literally ended up covered in both pony and poultry poop as we attempted to clear the mess (filling bags to use on the dam wall tomorrow). We hose ourselves off outside.
We were all knackered. Really buggered. And yet not one negative things was said. We laughed at each other as we slipped about in the ponies stall and our boots filled with muck - and that pen was a real nose curler, believe me! When I eventually flopped into my chair and every one else assumed their positions about the house. I thought, "Damn (pardon pun) That was Good!"
How different things were back in the drinking days. We simply wouldn't have cared, about the water, the fish, the rain, my kids interests, or our animals, nothing much mattered back then... but we wouldn't have had the stuff we care about today either. It is good to be sober, and actually have a life that you value, isn't it?
Keep smiling all - and if you're having trouble, try picturing me in that giant pile of wet pony poop and mud! It was worth laughing about, I reckon. We all did.
All the best,
Nic
amanda2u2 said
Dec 10, 2004
Thanks for sharing that great story, and how your positive and constructive behavior was due to your recovery, and your ability to have a humorous perspective. I come from farm background myself, on my mother's side,,,, and my cousin tells me stories like that... now I have one to share with him!
Hi All,
Just thought I'd check in and share my afternoon. I am sitting here feeling much better after a shower, but a simple day sure turned out HUGE. I really am exhausted. A pleasant ride into the nearest town turned into an adventure with cut roads and rising flood waters and of course, a another downpour on my way back.
We have just come out of a drought here, and it just plain amazing to see the earth transformed almost overnight from beyond brown (a scorched yellow) to lush green again. But as is the extremist nature of human responses.. we went from a long harsh dry to a BIG WET!
Our dam looks glorious. We are lucky to have a good one, which was still wet when others were long dry, and made it through the drought despite turning somewhat ucky. When I got back, I recruited a couple of fellow farmhands to go down and check the pump. Sure enough we had to raise it as the waters were now lapping a foot away. So as we were sorting that out, my daughter wandered around the perimeter and announced we had a leak.
Sure enough, tonnes of the earths vital fluids where running off down the road! She had already begun damming the gap, finding rocks, logs and whatever. I smiled at my kid. What a good job she was doing! All hands on deck for a bit, before my mate suggests maybe we don't actually need this much water? Were we being greedy? Work slows a bit as we all think about this...
Then there is this slapping noise. Our resident 12 year old marine biologist/aquaculturist is immediatley onto it! One of our Silver Perch (fish) has come out the overflow! There's some yelling and scurrying about, recruiting the final member of the team, who comes down the hill with a barrow and buckets and finally the fish is back in the dam. Not happy with this situation at all, the fish lover heads down the road and begins hollering out, "Here's another one! And another one!" It seems our fish were all heading down the road!!! I'm hauling gravel, mud, clay, trees, and rocks trying to do my best beaver impersonation, while they are running back and forth, returning fish to some 'real water'.
When we finally slow the water enough to maybe get us through the night, and return countless fish. We all head up totally buggered, only to find the ponies stall is a quagmire and the poultry pen is flooded from a hole in the guttering. Trenches were dug and we literally ended up covered in both pony and poultry poop as we attempted to clear the mess (filling bags to use on the dam wall tomorrow). We hose ourselves off outside.
We were all knackered. Really buggered. And yet not one negative things was said. We laughed at each other as we slipped about in the ponies stall and our boots filled with muck - and that pen was a real nose curler, believe me! When I eventually flopped into my chair and every one else assumed their positions about the house. I thought, "Damn (pardon pun) That was Good!"
How different things were back in the drinking days. We simply wouldn't have cared, about the water, the fish, the rain, my kids interests, or our animals, nothing much mattered back then... but we wouldn't have had the stuff we care about today either. It is good to be sober, and actually have a life that you value, isn't it?
Keep smiling all - and if you're having trouble, try picturing me in that giant pile of wet pony poop and mud! It was worth laughing about, I reckon. We all did.
All the best,
Nic
Thanks for sharing that great story, and how your positive and constructive behavior was due to your recovery, and your ability to have a humorous perspective. I come from farm background myself, on my mother's side,,,, and my cousin tells me stories like that... now I have one to share with him!
I hope the situation improves today,
love in recovery,
amanda