toys for boys and cows

all the 4x4's on the hill at Southern Field Days, Gore

So I made it through my first week at work. I felt more like a casualty doctor than a GP, treating injuries sustained by possum hunting, getting trampled on by a cow, falling off a ladder  and overturning a quad bike on the farm. Not to mention a septic hand from sheep shearing.

It seems that country life is fraught with danger.

The highlight of the Gore annual social calendar is the Southern Field Days; a large agricultural event held outside the town. I somehow got roped into helping with the parking, and ended up in the field in the picture above for 4 hours wearing a high-vis vest and directing the 4x4's into neat rows on the top of the hill. A first for me, and probably a last, as the event only runs every 2 years. I did a good enough job and got a ride in a trailer and a bag of chips as my reward, after 4 hours of waving my flag on a pole.

Once released I set off to see what the show had to offer. Not much for one who isn't deeply into agricultural machinery or fence posts, fertilisers and ecological systems. The the show is massive, and I spent a good 3 hours wandering up and down.

It was muddy. Everyone wore boots, and the dress code was 'jeans'.

jeans

boots

mud

It occurred to me that this show was about toys for boys. Brightly coloured enormous machines in primary colours that will later get completely covered in mud. I am told that farmers like to stand kicking the tractor tyres and chatting about the machines. There were a few stalls of clothes for the ladies, but no one was buying.

blue

red

yellow

There were also sex toys for cows.

Well not really; look carefully at the writing below……………. not for the squeamish……..



I saw laser guided robotic milking.

man films laser guided machine that attaches to udders for milking while the cow gets a tasty treat

And a giant machine that I thought was cleaning the floor of the barn, but turned out to be turning the food over and pushing it towards the cows, keeping it fresh and 'improving their appetites'.

pitch forks are so 'last year'

 There were some delightful names for livestock feeds.

peck'n'lay

It wasn't a big day for sunscreen, but hats were selling well.

be sun smart ; a big issue in New Zealand

I finally found my ideal man

silo

at last, a flat white

I didn't buy anything.

Not even a truck.

truck and Fiordland

But I did go to Fiordland for the rest of the weekend, and had another dose of heaven.

More about that later.