The Calmer Farmer

Observer - Farmer - Philosopher - Researcher - Freelance Writer - Neurodiversity Advocate

Yep, just try and fit me in a box! So, I guess it's no accident that I am self-employed, finding my way through my love of land, our animals and our kids.

I'm a REALLY high-energy person but my aim is to become calmer, and farming helps me in that respect because if you are stressed or too high the cows know it and everything gets worse. So, best to stay calm. I am now trying to live remembering this as I work, play, eat, breathe and train in the space of sustainability, regenerative farming practices and zero waste initiatives.

I've been a very practical, high-achieving do-er all my life, ticking off goals and moving on to the next challenge but after a while it just stopped making sense. I realise my kids gave me perspective on what's important and what's not, and now I'm working hard to tackle life differently, to 'do' less, and 'be' more. I'm enjoying (most days) our new family life setting up our farm. Like many families, Covid-19 tipped our life upside down, bringing a change of country, employment, pets, house and well, pretty much everything. We are now creating our new normal in Australia, you know what they say Don't waste a Crisis, or a Pandemic!

We have a small farm that we are working hard on and beautiful cattle (Speckle Park Stud) and although the never-ending work and projects on a farm can be over-whelming (you are NEVER done) I'm getting better at slowing down to enjoy the sunrises and sunsets. We are up early, starting our day at 5am. After a cold shower and black coffee, I relish the quiet time in the morning to do my writing and post a favourite farm pic, before the kids wake.

Why a Zebra? Well, sometimes I feel like a Zebra, walking around in Australia, not quite belonging, sometimes I pretend to be a black horse with white stripes, other times a white horse with black stripes, some days I don't even pretend, I just go underwater. Other than being with my family (my hubby and wonderful quirky twins), the water is my medium, more on that in future posts. We took this photo ourselves, when we lived in South Africa. We have lived in many countries, seen many weird and whacky things and observed many ways to live; we are not your average family.

Thanks for stopping by, I intend to provide a space for you to sit, take a break and marvel at the beauty of farm life. Whether you come for the sunrises and sunsets, or the wonderings, or the stories or the Australian animals I will showcase for you, I hope to help improve your day, in some small way.