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Diary of a Smallholder
Life's about endings for me right now. As the year draws to a close, so do several of my own seasons. In fact, life really is much like a book …essentially a series of chapters with varying lengths, plot and purpose, leading at some point, we hope, to a conclusion that feels satisfying.
For some of us, our chapters are random and eclectic, as if they were a collection of seemingly unrelated short stories. Others have a life book that reads like a skilfully written novel, with a masterful composition and construction that fills me with awe. I admire the talent of their authors for their life well lived.
Humble humans
Similarly, there are those who wear humble, ordinary covers that belie the contents of their extraordinary lives, lived with courage, passion, originality and sincerity. I love it when I meet these people. I find they pop up in the most unlikely places, such as the passenger I recently sat beside on a long haul flight, an American woman of Spanish extraction whose astounding life story filled me with humility beyond measure. I think perhaps that most people fall into this category if we but take the time to listen to their story.
Lacking depth
However, there are those who present a glossy exterior but whose interior is a little wanting. Then there's the ones with a life book that has such a promising start but somehow just fizzles out inconclusively, while others still have a non-descript or nonsensical beginning but go on to develop a gripping plot with a delightful turn of events.
Whatever the book though, it'll always have a beginning, a middle and an end…and change. You can rely on Change. I recently said to a friend, while at my nephew's christening, that I could feel the winds of change blowing my way, as if I could hear a train coming but couldn't yet see it.
Dramatic change
The next day, the small school we've spent almost a decade building and growing on our farm burnt to the ground leaving nothing but the fire damaged foundations in its place. Well, I didn't see that one coming! I guess the moral of that story is to be careful what you say, because unwittingly or not, we are on some level the architects of our own narrative. That's the end of a chapter I hadn't imagined would end so abruptly.
Yet there's something about fire that is truly cleansing; the blank canvas of possibility it liberates through the destruction of all that's old and outmoded. It renews something verdant and vibrant, like the bright new green shoots that grow on a blackened hillside.
Leaving home
Not all chapters finish so unexpectedly. You can normally sense them coming to a close, though it doesn't always make turning the last page easy. Allowing our 14-year-old son to leave home to spend six months in Australia with his grandparents has been just such a turning of the page. He is a cricketer, dedicated to his sport and an episode in Australia was what he wanted to enrich his own life story. It was a decision we anguished over, but in the final analysis knew that the only reason for not sending him was to protect us from missing him. Whether he returns to live under our roof again remains to be seen. That chapter may or may not be over.
Old farming methods
One thing is clear however. The days of our old style farming are drawing to a close and I already miss them. Somehow, the pace of our life today just isn't conducive to hand milking, turning wild flowers into wine, berries into jam, milk into cheese and wool into clothes. While new beginnings are exciting, I feel immensely grateful for the richness of simple living that went before them.
You get sad endings, happy endings, thoughtful or ambiguous endings and some that are positively comical. One day I went into our local town and had the usual choice of shopping in Supervalu, Centra or Spar. The next week I stood with bewilderment, not quite sure what to make of this normally highly predictable little place. Supervalu had overnight become Eurospar, while Centra was now Supervalu and Spar had transformed into Centra. What do you do with that kind of change?
Goodbye readers
With a trip overseas on the horizon to spend some time with our son, it feels appropriate that I step aside and let someone else take my place on this column. Yet another chapter coming to an end! I appreciate you all for enduring, or perhaps even enjoying, my commentary these past five years. It's been an honour for me to share with you some anecdotal snapshots of our fun and foibles on the farm. So whoever you are, wherever you are, take care and I wish you all the best.
Gillian Westbrook has been appointed to the new position of
General Manager with IOFGA. Coming from a background in the regulatory area...
