tractor pull

Just after the parade in town, with fresh face paint on, I was whisked away to the Bullarto Tractor Pull out in the country. As my chauffeur/guide/friend for the day Paul put it, I couldn't have experienced two more diametrically opposed events in one day. And I loved them both. The tractor pull is just as it sounds, a gathering of vintage tractors having a pull-off, towing a levered weight and seeing who can make it the farthest, or even reach the end to make it a "full pull" (100 meters). It was great fun to watch the competition, getting feedback and commentary from Paul, and we both even got to announce a full pull, which is done loudly and dragged out as long as possible, wrestling match style. Paul was breathless and red-faced after making his proclamation, I was a little less powerful but no less enthusiastic. There were also beautiful vintage cars on display, and other events, including a mobile phone throwing competition for the ladies, and some competitive wood-chopping/sawing and sheep shearing. Really, couldn't have loved it more. It was the perfect day, sitting underneath huge eucalyptus trees on a sunny fall day, being surrounded by the noise of chugging engines and roaring chainsaws. Really, truly, authentically Australian.

Of course the brass band was there to serenade us all

Chucking mobile phones

Two-man saw vs. chainsaw

The sheep shearing (two of them) was just the start of a relay

See that saw-man getting ready in the background? He was next

And then some serious chopping

Before this man took over to finish it all

Pretty impressive

There were American models

And Australian. In a class all their own for the towing competition, truly powerful machinery

The weighted lever they pulled, more weight added the further they drove

The ultimate goal: full pull! 

A beautiful steam engine on display. Later in the day we caught it running and powering an old rock crusher

There they go!

Some of the drivers really made me feel like I was living in a Norman Rockwell painting

Cars on display

Even a few Triumphs! Really miss driving around San Diego in the TR250

Of course there was a portrait of the queen in the Bullarto Hall, along with tea and coffee and other treats

Bullarto is the highest railway station in Victoria, though now it only operates a tourist train between Daylesford and here

goat fest

Welcome to Bullarto primary!

Yesterday we all hopped in the van and went to the Bullarto school goat festival. There are lots of small scale schools around here, and Bullarto is one of them. Our little favorite Giordi attends (with 15 other schoolmates, really, really small scale), and so we were more than happy to support him and see what he's up to at school. The campus itself is a few acres of land out in the country, with a large communal classroom, art studio, kitchen, kitchen garden, goat pens, chook runs, and all sorts of other projects that the staff and students all help to manage. This particular exhibition was all about the agriculutral work the kids have been doing, and so we got to visit with the goats, chooks and ducks, and enjoy a wealth of their products. We feasted on homemade treats, and sampled some of the adorably tiny eggs from the chickens (among a startling array of baked goods from the parents). And they even put on a puppet show with a very strong moral of eco-awareness and respect for flora and fauna of all kinds. It was a great day.

Pasca getting her face painted as a pink dinosaur. I have never seen this girl sit so still and quiet for so long. Amazing. We should paint our faces more often!

Maisey's turn. These girls started a little trend, after them, all the kids wanted to be dinosaurs. And they all looked pretty amazing thanks to Kristeena, one of our many Daylesford artist friends. 

Then we said hello to the goats. These were two moms and their kids. 

I was pretty interested in them, asking lots of questions and fantasizing about owning one, and the friendly girl working with them let me take one out and have a cuddle. Her name is Estella, and she's only four weeks old! So sweet. 

Just a sample of the goods on show and for sale. Local products are heavily marketed here, and this was from a woman who keeps her own sheep, shears them herself, and spins her own yarn for crafts.

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Our source for all things delicious and goat related.

 Doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing, afternoon tea is a must. And this is my daily uniform: jeans and work boots. Practical, comfortable, perfectly rustic.

Some of the school chooks. The kids take them to fairs and shows and have won a lot of prizes with them.

Some of the rare duck breeds. Blue Swedish, maybe?

A bit of the puppet show, with Giordi on the far right. 

 And giant owls!

And truly giant wombat, manned by the teacher. The show even had a few songs that the kids wrote. We were all thoroughly impressed.