Okay so this blog update is for you Dad… Sorry it’s taken me so long to let everyone know what I’ve been up to. The best news of all is that Calving Season is finally OVER!!! However, AB did happen to start this week but in four weeks that will be over and then things just might possibly slow down.
This past week has actually been a really good week out on the farm. I was expecting it to be a terrible week because of AB starting but so far everything has gone smoothly given the circumstances. Last Friday was the day we glued on the Kamar strips. Kamar’s are small heat detectors that indicate if a cow is on heat and if it can be “Artificially Inseminated.” Again for those that are more curious about the A.B. process you can google it. I’m not too interested in going into detail about it. We ended up gluing on Kamar strips to around 880 cows. Everyone I’ve talked to has said that this would be the worst day in the shed because there would be glue everywhere and it makes that milking three times as long. Although, I think everyone was expecting a long day so everyone showed up to work early and surprisingly in good moods. My cousin Jen (who is nearly 9 months pregnant) also came out to help so there was an extra person in the shed to lend a hand. We all worked together and everything ran smoothly that day. It also helped that the weather was great and the cows were actually doing what we wanted them to do, which typically does not happen.
Work as a whole has gotten much better for me… Well I’ve at least gotten use to it and I don’t mind the hours that I’ve been working as much as I did. My days are still starting around 4:30 to 5am and end around 7pm but Summer is approaching and with the day light savings that happened a few weeks ago the days are getting longer so my mood has been quite pleasant. And if there is anything that I’ve learned from this experience is that I will definitely be appreciating a 40 hour per week office job much more than I did before. My over 80 hours a week can be a bit overwhelming at times!
My routine at work has stayed relatively the same but every day is slightly different. The work on a farm is never ending. If it’s not one thing that goes wrong it’s another… Especially on a “New” farm that was taken over less than a year ago. Milkings have gotten easier now that the cows have gotten into more of a routine. There are those days where it seems like you can’t get a single cow to do what you want it to do but there is really nothing you can do about it so you have to just deal with it. I’m also getting better at the just “dealing with it” side of things too. I still get oddly frustrated and it’s amazing how much I’ve grown to hate cows but all in all I’m still happy to be here and still grateful for this opportunity.
My days usually involve me getting up and going down to the cow shed. I’m the first person to the shed typically so I simply turn on the light and prep anything that needs to be prepped for whom ever is bringing in the cows that morning. The cows are usually waiting for me once I make it to the shed. Milking is typically over around 9:30am if everything goes smoothly and then we all usually head in for breakfast. Other jobs during the day now that calving season is over would be killing weeds (which is my favorite job because I get to hike around amazing hills and I don’t have to even look at a cow), fixing fences, and moving cows around. Around 3pm I head back to the shed for the afternoon milking, usually in for the night around 7pm. Some days are better than others of course and really it depends on the environment. If it’s raining I automatically know that the cows will be more difficult to work with and to be prepared for a longer day. Also you never know when something is going to go wrong, so when it does I’m not surprised.
My skills on the farm have improved compared to what they were three months ago as well. I won’t do anything if I don’t feel comfortable with it, so if I ever feel unsafe or unsure if I can do a certain job all I have to do is say something and either I’m shown how to do it or someone else takes over for me. I’ve gotten better at driving all of the tractors on the farm but all I really do is the simply stuff, I can officially kick start a motor bike (only took me 3 months to learn how to do haha!), and I’ve gotten faster at milking. All of those things are good but when you break it down there is still so much that I need to learn.
Life off the farm has become quite nice. I’ve made a few friends, all of which are farms around my same age. Either managing farms or doing the same thing I’m here to do. We all meet up at least once a week down at the pub in Reporoa and usually we get together on our weekends off as well. I’ve also gotten to see a little bit more of the country which really is the main reason why I’m here. I’ve gone on a few hikes and have enjoyed all of them. One of the hikes was simply a hike up the mountains that are across from the farm. There is a large amount of geothermal activity in New Zealand and its everywhere around the farm. So our hike was through trails that guided us along the geothermal areas and ended with us looking over a ledge to the entire farm. It was quite a few and an amazing hike.
I’ve also gotten a chance to hike to the “Tarawera Falls” which is located in the Kawerau Rainforest. The Tarawera Falls are the most spectacular falls in the Bay of Plenty. The Tarawera Rivers plunges 65 meters down a sheer cliff before tumbling down bush-lined rapids. The river bed around the falls is carved into ancient volcanic rocks and the high cliffs are thought to be the eroded end face of an ancient lava flow that poured from Mt. Tarawera about 11,000 years ago. Needless to say it was more incredible to experience in person. The pictures I took give the Falls no justice at all.
Also after being here for three months in the next few days I get to take a two week vacation. Jared (my Boyfriend) is coming to visit me and we will be taking a road trip around the East Coast of the North Island. I’m sure I’ll have plenty to write about after that adventure. I’m so excited to not only see Jared but to also get two weeks off! Even though I’ve gotten use to the work it is still more than I have ever worked before so taking a break will be a good mental break. I’m loving the weather, now that it is approaching summer. I’m just now hoping that the sun holds out for the next few weeks! And Dad, I promise it won’t take me as long to update my blog, Love you!
