Boys From The Bush Are Back In Town

Boys from the bush are back in town

I come to the city so much that I forget that it can be a strange and unusual place for people who don’t visit as often as I do. The Farmer and I just returned from Melbourne after a few days away with our neighbours, Mr and Mrs B and their two teenage boys.

I’ve compiled a list of things I saw that city people take for granted and that country people get excited about.

1.      Toll roads – every time the tag in the car beeped, the boys (and by ‘boys’ I also will include the adult boys as well) would cheer in excitement. It was finally getting a run after sitting dormant in the car for so long.

2.      Car maintenance – our taxi in Melbourne had the engine light on. Goodness knows how or why the boys even noticed it. There was much speculation about ‘fumes’, ‘fluid’ and ‘engines dying’ and general intrigue about a perceived lack of vehicle maintenance.

3.      City organisation – The Farmer was impressed at the layout of Melbourne, even commenting that it was ‘organised like a termites nest’. Sometimes I wonder how his brain works… As a general rule we were all excited about the train and tram network, and general navigability of the city.

4.      Soft feet and city boots – when your feet are always wrapped up in work boots, wearing thongs (city boots) for even a few days can end in cracked feet. The Farmer was well prepared with Heel Balm to see him through however.

5.      Daylight hours – when you aren’t working on a farm (where you work until the sun goes down, and sometimes even later) those daylight hours are amazing. We were out every night until at least 11pm contemplating late evening meals and cricket matches in daylight hours that were still occurring when I am normally wrapping up my day.

Having dinner at 9.15pm because... #adulting

6.      The price of meat – when you don’t normally buy meat, paying for a meal that cost you almost as much as a whole sheep sells for at home can be mind boggling. Even if it is the most delicious meal you’ve ever eaten.

Whilst we all loved Melbourne (with it’s crazy weather and wonderful sights), there is nothing like coming home to sunny Queensland, where you don’t have to choose between ’50 Lashes’ and ‘4 Wives’ beer, (because it’s ‘XXXX Gold’ or ‘XXXX Gold’ on tap). More specifically, we love coming home to the farm, resplendent after a little rain. Reality is setting back in and we are all glad for the memories we made in our week away.

You can also find me on facebook: “The Farmer’s Wife” and on Instagram: “Jess the Farmer’s Wife”