Blood, guts, love, straight talk and poetry
Back storyBefore dipping into the seasonal chapters, please read section one, The Farm. This is the back story. This tells how Tim came back home like a slow reluctant boomerang and how he brought a German girl with him. I like that part of the story. She's vegetarian – on an animal farm. In the backstory we meet all the family members and a fair slice of the local community. All that adds vibrancy to the rest of the saga. It is how it is
'A collection of parts no different to the grease-drenched components of a car strewn across a garage floor. Each a special part of the animal's story. And like any well-written story, every soft unidentifiable piece was there for a purpose. No superlatives. No subplots. No needless adjectives. Just raw guts.' Picture by Farming Weekly - used with permission Sheer hard workRichly written language is a feature of this farming story: 'The moon was more scythe than sickle, suspended like God's crooked grin above the woolshed'; 'The ghosts breathed a sigh of relief around the flaxes.' 'The shed was a flurry of movement and noise, like the scattering of seagulls when a dog runs through them.' Rich language yes but much of it gives accounts of sheer hard work. Read the Winter section. The many days of lambing stretching into the beginning of Spring are heavy long and tiring – though there is rejoicing over all the new life. RespectOne of my favourite episodes comes in the Spring section. Tim writes about pet lambs. They become sheep and they live in the orchard, sometimes for many years. Eventually they get old, as did Rosie. 'Under moonlight we made her comfortable and said our goodbyes. As I ran my hand through the thick wool around her head, I felt warm air snuffling down my neck. Bungo looked over my shoulder, a deep sadness in her eyes. She gently pushed me aside and lay down, propping herself against Rosie's back. Then Kimmy appeared out of the darkness to sniff and lick Rosie's face. I saw Rosie's muscles relax. Sooty was next, and as we stepped away, all of the pets lay down in a bundle, each touching Rosie's body as her shallow breaths grew thin. Sometime in the night those breaths stopped, but the sheep kept their vigil until the first rays of the sun crept silently over the Tararuas. And then one by one, they slowly rose to their feet while Rosie continued on her journey.' Tim says: 'Raising pet sheep taught me more about respecting animals than any other experience on the farm.' ChangeThis is a five decades farm but nonetheless change comes. Tim and his family acknowledge it, try to understand it and want to embrace it when it is better for the land and the planet. Nasty carping and unwanted criticism against farmers and farming upsets them though. The media roughage about farmer suicides being good for the land and the environment does more than grate. When you read that bit it will more than grate with you too. What won't upset you are the engaging throwbacks to Tim's boy days. Cleverly, the boyhood passages are set in a different typeface. They highlight engaging incidents involving family and friends, especially Jono, a sharemilker's son. And quite poignantly the book finishes with Jono. It's a beaut book – a good read offering much to think about if you are at all concerned about the state of our world. PoetrySaunders is a writer and a poet. Today is New Zealand Poetry Day. Well it would be if Covid 19 hadn't caused the celebratory events not to be held. However, click the arrow below and Tim will read a poem. That seems a fitting way to conclude writing about This Farming Life. □ John McInnes Friday 21 August 2020 Publication details: This Farming Life by Tim Saunders - Allen & Unwin New Zealand 2020 ISBN 978 98854 746 6 ##########
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