October 2020

04 October 2020

Today was one tough day. Tough emotionally because we stowed our belongings ready for travel, hooked up the rig, and with some very raw, mixed emotions, pulled out of the driveway of Ducketts Mill Wines, and Denmark Farmhouse Cheese.

In leaving, we left behind so many beautiful people, beautiful experiences, and such a beautiful place which for a number of months now, we have called home.

It has been our absolute pleasure and privilege to have been accepted into, and worked as part of the team there. We have been spoilt beyond belief in so many ways, and both of our lives have been completely and totally enriched and filled to overflowing by every person, and experience there, but especially by the owners Laurie and Annette.

So "if it was so good then why are we leaving?" I hear you ask. Well, it's because the grain harvest of 2020 is about to start, and that is the time we harvest to top up our bank account ready for another year.

Ducketts Sign

So, while the emotions of leaving this morning were rather raw, that wrench was only softened by the thought of seeing family and friends again for a few days, before another type of harvest starts.

We have a number of things to do when back in the big smoke before we head out to our usual October to Christmas haunt, and it's going to be different in almost every way. The view out the window, the temperature, the locality, the people and the tasks, just to mention a few things.

12 October 2020

Arriving back in Perth we have spent a nice, but very busy week with family and friends, before heading out to Bruce Rock to acclimatise (no higher than 22 degrees in Denmark and now 30+ in Bruce Rock) and prepare for the harvest.

25 October 2020

Well, we are a couple of weeks into the harvest now and well ahead of the curve. Normally the harvest is slow at the beginning and the momentum picks up as time goes on, but not this year. Day 1 was a simple 256 tonnes, and jumped to 1,100 tonnes on Day 2. So with just the boss and myself working things were hectic. Thankfully Joanne started work on day three, and just as well. We were near 2,000 tonnes coming in and the stack was growing very quickly. All week the tonnage rose until Saturday when, because of the AFL Grand Final, the local Bowls and Cricket were brought forward and a few farmers took time off. This allowed us to catch our breath and to catch up on a few things, and today we are enjoying a day off before it starts all over again tomorrow in a forecast 38 degree day.

Mark Twain once said "...years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do that by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - and so we will.