Saturday, January 1, 2011

2010 - A Year in Review!

Fiona over at Cattle, Kids and Chaos has inspired me to post about our 2010. So here goes:

JANUARY 2010 - Holiday time at Renmark, SA for 2 blissful weeks of camping and water skiing, I celebrated my 41st birthday.


FEBRUARY 2010 - the farm receives 180mm of rain for the month which resulted in some flash flooding, Ryan and Emma are back to school for another year.

MARCH 2010 - Farmer Phil and I have a few nights in Melbourne where we see the musical Mamma Mia, Farmer Phil celebrated his 44th birthday and Emma turned 14, I am honoured to be named as one of Casella Wines Top Country women and win $1000 which goes towards a new BBQ for the family, the farm receives another 150mm of rain for the month so cropping is looking like having a very good start.

APRIL 2010 - cropping starts at the end of the month so machinery is being prepared in readiness, Ryan and Emma attend their final water ski tournament of the 09/10 season, Farmer Phil and I attend a friends beautiful wedding.

MAY 2010 - our house gets a facelift with a much anticipated pergola being built after a long 8 1/2 year wait, cropping continues with Farmer Phil and I working around the clock to get the crop sown on time.
JUNE 2010 - Ryan has another surgery to correct the overgrown bone graft in his jaw (I think this is about the 12th surgery!), Ag n Chat visits a dairy and none of us farmers wives wants to trade places with the dairy wife, we visit friends for a bonfire night to celebrate the Queens' birthday weekend.

JULY 2010 - we remember baby Brendan who was stillborn 17 years ago, Emma attends choral camp and performs in a production of Phantoms, Cats and Superstars, Ag n Chat enjoys Christmas in July.


AUGUST 2010 - Emma sings at the Sydney Opera House with the State Public Schools choir, Farmer Phil and I celebrate 22 years of married life, Ag n Chat reveal their artistic sides by attending a metalwork day, Emma sees "Wicked" the musical in Sydney.

SEPTEMBER 2010 - Ag n Chat visits Hay and Deniliquin for an overnight trip, Ryan turns 16 and attains his Learners Permit, the family has a week at Colombo Creek for a junior water ski training camp, Spring rain is falling.
OCTOBER 2010 - Wagga experiences it's first flood in 10 years, Farmer Phil and I get started paving around the pool, the farm experiences a wet Spring which hasn't happened in a very long time so hopes are high for a fabulous harvest!

NOVEMBER 2010 - Emma visits Tasmania for 6 days with her Year 9 school group, Ryan sits his School Certificate exams and then has 2 weeks of work experience to complete Year 10, Ryan and Emma attend a water ski training school for a week at Narrandera, harvest starts with hopes of it being a bumper one!

DECEMBER 2010 - harvest continues but under very trying wet conditions, Daniel comes home to help with harvest, Ryan and Emma finish school with floods enveloping YAHS, Ryan and Emma spend a week at Stoney Park near Port Macquarie for a water ski training camp, Daniel turns 22, we have a very quiet Christmas Day at home, and an even quieter New Years Eve with Farmer Phil and I on the header and chaser bin to see in 2011!

3 comments:

Fiona said...

Really enjoyed hearing about your year Donna, it's a real insight into who you are. Firstly, we're practically the same age, me with a six year old, and you with a twenty-two year old...what have I been doing??? So sad to hear about your Brendan, but pleased you shared. Your Emma's a beauty.

Now, you get back on that header sister!!!

Here's to a great 2011 for the ag sector.

Fiona.

Donna said...

Hi Fiona,

Thanks for all your positive comments lately - I love to open my dashboard and see that there are comments waiting for me to look at.

I really enjoy your blog - it's great to see how farmers wives go about their daily lives managing kids, husbands and work but still having a great sense of humour and happiness about them.

Hope you don't mind me borrowing your idea, but as I looked back over the year it was quite amazing to see what we'd accomplished. Farmer Phil and I were unplanned younger parents, so don't beat yourself up over having young kids. In another few years Phil and I will be all on our own!! What'll we do then?!

I've been demoted from the header by eldest son Daniel - the nerve!! I'm now the official "gopher" - servicing the header, getting fuel, bagging machine helper, moving bins and vehicles etc. Not much fun in 40 degree heat when I could be sitting in a nice air-conditioned header!!

Thanks again for you interest. Gotta get back to work - hopefully we'll finish in a bit over a week.

Donna x

Annette Piper said...

What a year! And they say country people don't do anything ;)