Mistakes of Young, Knowledge of Old

Well... It's been an immense gap between my last post and this one. For those of you who followed the blog avidly, I apologise; life has a funny way of getting in the way of things we intended to do. 

In that time the Facebook page has had many a photo added to it, but I feel that the written word has an undervalued power, and so it's back to writing (when I have time for it!). Please forgive me while I get back into producing informative yet enjoyable blogs and I do hope you enjoy hearing of my antics and the photos will still be added to the Facebook page too. 

Today has been one of those Friday's where things gain a little clarity. Clarity from a UHF call informing me the top dresser and tractor are bogged to the moment when we finally beat the laws of physics with brute horse power. 

I learn from my father on the farm, as many family farms would relate to. It's only on the days when he's not around (today) that I realise just how much information is in his head. Not necessarily because he's a genius, but because he's done it before, and learnt from it in his younger years whilst being open to innovations and adapting to technology. Today it became clear that a) I'm incredibly lucky to be able to learn from him in this safe and challenging workplace and b) that I can't fear making mistakes my father has made 10's of years ago. He did it once and the only way to learn is by making that mistake for myself. It also crosses my mind that there's an optimal balance between having knowledge imparted to you and learning it first hand. It's safe to say I discovered a few things I'll never do today that had my father simply told me not to, may not have sunk in quite so well (if you'll excuse the blogging pun). 

Again I find myself marvelling at how much science, common sense and satisfaction in accomplishment can be learnt or found within a farm. The physics of tractors and gravity in wet areas, the chemistry of why we apply lime to a cropping paddock, the common sense in drain placement and muddling through the fundamentals of the sciences to realise why the tractor isn't shifting yet. 

I love farming because there are physical challenges that I learn from every single day. I love farming because it's a different way to learn, a book only tells you so much. Needless to say, every farmer knows the value of a carton of beer - the price of every mistake that warrants your neighbours tractor. ;)