20160315 – Tuesday – A tour of the Oliver’s farm

After very little rain there is water in pools all over the farm

First thing in the morning, at breakfast, we listened to a Bible reading on Paulines phone and then after breakfast, Pauline announced that she did not want to record any of her history with me today.  It all seemed too hard for her to contemplate.

Instead she said she had a story she wrote some time back called “bleedin’ hearts.” She printed this story out from her computer and gave it to me to read. She also gave me another story called “The Wolf” which was written by one of her daughters for a school project, and it was very funny.

I asked Pauline and was granted her permission to put up both of them on my web-site for all her rellies to read. I suggested that I start a section on my web-site for some of her family stories and I was delighted when she agreed. Pauline has lived a very unique life being married to Barrie Oliver, and has lived in so many places and so many farms over the years, and she has so many funny stories to tell.

I spent the rest of my morning working on my web site getting links in place for some of the posts I have written.

In the afternoon Barrie and Pauline took me for a drive over the farm and I found it fascinating. Firstly, I love the country.  It is flat and the soil is a rusty red and out of it grows all the woody weed like small trees with straight trunks. Above the woody weed rise the various kinds of trees, giving a layered effect. The scrub in the Cobar region grows much taller than the scrub in South Australia. Even though the area is dry the woody weed and the trees make it seem green and lush but without the undergrowth that makes for a feeling of being closed in.

Through the window you can see the woody weed and then the other trees that tower over the woody weed giving so many layers of green everywhere

The Loading chute for the trucks

The inner holding pens for the goats.

The holding pens for the goats

The ramps that the goats climb to get into the holding pens, but once in, they cannot get out.

Barry and Pauline showed me how the goats get into the fenced areas and then can’t get out afterwards. It had been raining and I soon found out why Barry and Pauline wouldn’t let me drive from Cobar to their farm. Even with a little bit of rain the ground soon became covered in pools of water and if you were not careful, even with the four wheel drive you could easily get bogged in the soft red sandy soil. Barry drove very carefully back home.

The water tanks near the dam

One solitary Kangaroo drinking from the run off.

We had steak and vegetables for dinner which was delicious and then we sat in the lounge each in our lazy boy’s and watched TV for an hour or so.