at the moment

and I think it's because we are in the start of winter twilight zone that happens around Easter,

all be it a robbed Easter 

with no 'extra' day off this month,

cause ANZAC Day falls on Easter Monday.

You can imagine in this secular country which takes precedence.

Actually that's not entirely fair

because our veterans deserve respect

so everyone is robbed when our holidays are doubled up on.

BUT

that's not what I was thinking about.

During holidays, like Easter that herald the start of winter

I get a tonne of books out of the library

and hunker down by the fire

and read.

At the moment

I want to read about people who have left the city rat race

and tossed it all in to make a go of it

with their crazy, half arsed plans of living on and off the land.

The thing is that these tales of life changing choices are all well and fine

but the catalyst for them is often

girl falling in love with some land based bloke

and she's up and off and moving to the country to farm

guinea pigs and pork chops*.

You know those stories about the city girl

who trades manicures with manure,

cocktails with rosters,

taxis for tractors,

chilly bins filled with champers with chilblains covered with Norsewear socks.

You get the picture.

I guess my point is
what about the women (or men)

who trade it all in for life on their own farm

on their own?

Let's see there is

Christine Fernyhough
who after her wealthy husband died
bought Castle Hill Station
and has a wonderful story of opportunities to tell.
She is a great stick and
has an excellent sense of humour about herself.

There's my friend Anne
who when her husband took a job in Wellington
and they needed to move nearby,
decided that she would get herself a sheep farm in the Wairarapa.
She'd never farmed but got into it
and loved it and then
retired to an architecturally designed house
and a life of leisure
(ok that's not true but
compared to running a sheep farm by herself,
it is a life of leisure).

My point is where are the all the single women
who decided on a seachange and chose
a life on the land?
Where are their stories?

* Not self respecting bloke would farm guinea pigs unless you live in South America where they eat them.