Sheep farming in the country

This weekend we got the opportunity to experience an Australian sheep farm. Granted, with 300 sheep it is considered a 'hobby farm' rather than a commercial farm. My colleague Ray Marchetti is an auditor by day and a farmer on the weekends, getting back to his Italian farming roots. We had to venture farther out of Perth than we have been so far, a good 2 hour drive at our speed (Ray expected an hour - shows you how Australians drive. The speed limits here are much higher than in Canada. We were on a two lane country road and the speed limit was 110 km - compare that with the Pat Bay Highway from Victoria to Sidney, a four lane divided highway, where the speed limit occasionally reaches 90 km).

Ray has 300 acres, with rolling hills, a creek, sheep paddocks, a big tractor and multiple small farm vehicles. The youngest of his five children, Noah, was at the farm with his cousin James on Sunday when we visited. Noah had the job of identifying which sheep needed their bottom wool shearing to clean them up before being sent to market, while James was in charge of rustling up the sheep Noah identified. It was a pretty physical job, as the sheep aren't particularly keen and they charge around in big herds whenever a person comes near them. Ray had the battery-powered clipping shears and was in charge of that end of the job, flipping over the sheep with the most matted wool to get right along the underbelly.

We had the opportunity to discover just how physical it is to handle sheep, as each of us was handed a baby lamb to cuddle when we arrived. As you can see, I'm struggling a little to hang on. Poor Sol got a good hoof in the chest as well.

Ray gave us a tour of his 300 acres in a big four wheel drive truck, which nonetheless managed to get stuck in the mud near the creek. Luckily, he was able to pull it out with the tractor. Meanwhile, we did some exploring and the kids found themselves walking through some spiky grass - it makes sense now why grass grows in 'blades'!

The highlight of the trip for the kids, though, was undoubtedly the opportunity to drive the ATV and motorbike, which they each got to try. Apart from Rio not being quite sure how to brake, they took to wheels and motors surprisingly well. For Sol, his dirt biking experience at Western Speedway had prepared him, but it was Rio's first driving apart from go karts.

But for me, the highlight was the sweet little lambs, baaing away in the fields. Even with their scraggly bottoms, they're pretty cute.