Light Entertainment

Our high school is an agricultural school. They have a fully working farm, with sheep and students in high school can study a certificate 3 in agriculture. Below is a picture of the homestead at the school's training farm, "Sims Farm" named after the kind man who bequeathed it to the school.
Even though Stephanie hates sheep she has been choosing agriculture as one of her subjects since year 8 and she really enjoys the plant and agronomy side of it. She is just afraid of sheep, which means she won't study ag in year 11 because year 11 is where they are taught to shear.
Above is the year 12 class being taught how to drench sheep, which basically means squirt medicine down their throats.

Why am I telling you this?


Well, the business I work for is on the outskirts of town, the same side of town that the training farm is. To get out to the farm you have to go past me, and I have just witnessed the most amusing thing I've seen in a while.


The sheep were brought in a couple of days ago from the farm to the school (where the shearing shed is) for shearing. Even though she doesn't like sheep Steph enjoys walking them from the farm to the school and back again....so long as she doesn't have to get too close. Also it's about a five kilometre walk and its pleasant exercise on a sunny spring day.


This morning the year 10 class had the task of walking the sheep back out to the farm after shearing. I heard a bit of a commotion outside my window so got up to take a look. The sheep and most of the class had passed by without incident but there was one sheep (as there always is!) who wasn't co-operating. I looked out my window to see three boys from Stephanie's class running around in circles on the side of the road trying to catch this rogue sheep. Then I heard familiar laughter. Stephanie was sitting in the ute with the teacher yelling "go Trent" "go sheep" "go left, no right, no left!" all the while falling about laughing. The boys caught the sheep eventually but not before providing much entertainment for both Stephanie and myself! I bet those boys were so glad they had Stephanie there to "help" them!


She doesn't know yet that I watched the whole thing from my office window. I'll mention it this afternoon and ask if she enjoyed helping the boys catch that sheep.


It was such a blessing to me to see her smiling, laughing and joking. The old Stephanie is still in there somewhere.