Life on the Farm is Kind of Laid Back...

Helloooooo America!! How is everyone? Good? Good! Now lets move on. Let me tell you a little story about the life of Erik as a farmer, I know you are all really excited to hear about this...

It all is happening in a far away place, well from you guys at least, where gum trees are creating a canopy across back country roads. The land is dry and the air is hot, the sun gives off a firery glow as it sets in the northwest. I am sorry I cannot keep writting like that I am laughing too hard, I am sure my creative writting teacher would be so proud though. Right now on the farm it is time to sow the crops, and in order to do that you have to burn off the stubble from last years crops. This involves a few laps around the paddock (field) in a tractor with a disc first, which I have mastered. Then just light a match and let her burn!! Well sort of, a couple of guys fly around on four wheelers with little torches and start fires, then let it burn. Then there are a couple other guys who drive around in a water truck looking for trouble.

Then the sowing: enter 8 wheeled tractor, pulling two trailers, one being an 80' wide air seeder making a total length of well over 100'. It has all this computer trickery in it so that once you get out in the paddock, it drives itself! It uses sattelite GPS to go in a stright line and all you have to do is turn around once you get the the end.

Then the harrowing: enter Erik in a 6 month old tractor with a 40' wide harrow bar on the back, essentially a drag. I just cruise over all that has been sown and smooth it out as well as help cover up the seed. Sounds simple, but the dust when you turn at each end is insane! Almost got a tree the other day.

Other fun activites I have been doing involve sheering, crotching, detailing and de-nutting sheep and lambs. Sheering is a given, crotching you shave the sheepers butts so the poop doesn't stick to it, I was the guy that picked up the wool and picked out the pieces of poop so they could sell the good stuff. The poor little lambs loose thiers tails, again for the poop reason, and if they have a package, a small rubber band will take care of those.

Fencing is all done for now as well, we had to have done well over 5 miles of taking down and/or putting up fences during the hottest part of the year, talking about tanning I am really bronzing.

Sarah came up this last weekend for easter. I got her out in the tractor for a bit and then we spent a day cutting and splitting wood for the winter. The the end of the day we were both just covered in durt and dust, shes cute. But now I am ready to catch up on cutting wood at home.

I hope everyone had a good easter, from what I gather it sounds like it has been nice up there. The uncle and aunt that I am staying with on the farm as well as one of Sarah's cousins are coming over in July for a wedding and are planning on stopping by so hopefully you all can meet them.

The sun goes down earlier everyday so now I can say what I need to say at a sooner day. It has been a while since the last time I wrote but miss you all even more! See you soon!!

Erik (Ezza down here I guess)

Ordinary - Not good, like when I crashed the dirtbike I felt pretty ordinary. (By the way I forgot to tell you I crashed Sam's dirtbike and partially tore my MCL, but I am already healed up and back to working so no worries!!)

Rooted - Screwed up, that fence Erik hit is rooted!