Last Monday was my first day as the Office Administrator in Toowoomba and I can tell you, swapping the tools and blisters for a wheelie chair and a computer is just bliss! Still, I’ve learnt a lot these past 5 months being the gopher girl for Harold Green, the fencing contractor, handy man, experienced and practical advice guru, as he completed the long list of projects that we’d drawn up. His patience in getting this awesome property makeover completed despite changes, hiccups, our inexperience and frustrations, is just amazing. The Deaconsgate Shires that visitors see today is a testament to his skill and workmanship and we excitedly wait to see how Pearl and Rebel take to the new surroundings on their return in 4 weeks or so.

With me travelling away earlier in the mornings now the farm yard routines have had to be adapted. Dale now manages the menagerie in the mornings before he heads off to work in the afternoon and I get to settle them back into pens and yards for the nights on my return. Weekends see us both spending time outside watching and enjoying their antics. The exciting news from Bundaberg is that Pearl has been served by the stallion and in 18 days time the scan will hopefully show a pregnancy, heralding their much awaited return.

Having free time back feels rather odd and of course it hasn’t lasted long as with property management there is always something to be done. The new paddock will need to be slashed ready for the rains coming, the hay shed floor requires sleeper insertion and then stacking of 300 bales, the stable floor sand needs levelling, the tack/feed room needs to be sorted, the grass needs mowing all over the place and the chook yards need hucking out for the onset of summer and these are just a few of the “now” tasks – so the boots are ready and waiting, hats and sunscreen are our best friends and the mini horses, on seeing us venture out, happily keep watch just in case there are extra rations to be had.