Hay: Shearing Sheds and Windmills

On Tuesday to Wednesday the girls (Sas and Zara) are at daycare and Rob, Andy and Kate go to work so I get to spend three splendid days a week just me and my little man. Usually we just play around the farm or wander round town. But we decided to take a day trip to one of the nearby towns; Hay. Hay is about an hour north of Deniliquin. The drive was beautiful, it is amazing how much the landscape can change within an hour drive out here. The most spectacular thing were the wetlands. Due to the rainfall over the past year, the wetlands are full and thriving with birds, grasses and other life. It was a stark contrast to the golden plains that surround them.

When we arrived in Hay we stopped for a quick snack in a small reserve on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River. We then had the obligatory stop at a local park so Jarvis could go on "the big kids slippery dip", which was actually quite big so I had to pretend to be totally cool with him throwing himself down it. Our first cultural stop was the recently constructed shearing shed hall of fame and museum. Jarvis was pretty enthralled by the shears that you could have a play with and all sorts of old machinery (all of which are apparently called tractors according to Jarvis). But the highlight of the shearing shed was the shearing demonstration. It was amazing how quickly a sheep can be sheared and how effortless they make it look. When I say the highlight was the shearing, I should probably be honest and say that for Jarvis, the highlight was probably the windmill. He just stood watching it for ages (note for Grandma, Jarvis wants a full sized windmill for his next birthday).

We then took a look around town and hang on....... Jarvis spotted another windmill. It was actually part of the Old Jail Museum. So we stopped to take a look in there too. It was a fabulous museum full of all sorts of old and interesting things collected from the region. The yard was filled with old tractors, cars and farming machinery, a little boy's dream.

I decided I would leave on a high note; for a few hours anyway Jarvis thinks I am mum of the year. The drive back was almost as interesting as the way there due to the fact that the sun was setting so everything looked golden and glowing. When we got home Jarvis excitedly relayed stories of sheep's wool, windmills and tractors to his cousins, dad, aunty and uncle.