We were meant to be getting broadband via satellight or something cool like that installed at the farm today. Our appointment for Wednesday got bumped to Friday, and then we didn't hear and didn't hear for what time to expect the technicians.
This was happening under a subsidy from the government, one of these *clever country* type initiatives. Mum has been jigging around the house for weeks looking forward to this. KA got it a few weeks ago, although she had to pay for the full installation as she was within 5klm (ish) of the exchange. It's rocked her world, I can tell you that. So many of us live parts of our intellectual, social, cultural and entertainment lives through this technology that the speed and ease we can access it (or not) is so effecting. Instant access to Google and Wikipedia even just for a few hours a day is so very addictive. On the farm all this happens between real world activities. Mum mustered the cattle by 9.30 this morning so she could work with them around dealing with installers. She did the shopping yesterday (instead of today) and was muttering to herself last night while on Ebay "not like this tomorrow, I can tell you that" as each tiny stamp-sized picture took nearly a full minute to appear.
Can you feel where this is going? She rang to see if there was an appointment time yet: they aren't coming. The subsidy has run out. Apparently we don't need to be too clever.
We heard this week that the subsidy for rainwater tanks may have run out too (I'll leave the obvious puns to the papers).
It's not just the elements we battle here.
Ma is pretty pissed, I can tell you. I feel a lot more cynical about the world, so I don't feel as personally let down as she does. Neither of us is showing that bouncy can-do spirit that salt-of-the-earth types are meant to exude. I think I'm more pepper than salt in this regard - a lot less useful and can go stale. On the other hand, it is an election period, they'll find money somewhere probably. Things will work out ok.
2 comments:
what exactly does it mean to muster cattle? and pepper goes stale? I love these posts.
Mustering is to "round them up" - find them in the hills and behind trees. on big farms they do it with a team of guys on horses, bikes and sometimes choppers. We are much more humble.
Mum has about 34 cattle at the moment, and she is the one who manages them all the time, so from when they're little they start learning the drill. Mum does have a quad bike to help her go find them all, but usually she just calls them, and they come to her. It's utterly brilliant. I've learnt how to mimic her call well enough that I can do it sometimes. So if they're in one paddock, and you need to move them to another, just walk to the gate, making this "oooo-oo" noise (very hard to transcribe!) and by the time you get to the gate, the nosy ones are butting your arse.
Hilarious!
Yes, pepper *does* go stale! Getting fresh pepper is the challange. It does last a long time, and so most stores/producers don't bother to put a use-by date on it. Very frustrating.
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