Herd Mentality

I spent a lot of time walking around Auckland yesterday and I was amazed at the similarities between it and the farm.

At the farm, the steers gather for the morning coffee klatch, the noon break, the afternoon tea, dinner, and then snooze. They wear basic black and seem very content to circle the tree butt to nose so each of the four directions finds a steer with the tree as the center of the compass.

This basic black theme is repeated in the endless stream of cafes with black-clad patrons sitting there for morning coffee, noon break, tea, and dinner. I assume they go home to sleep. I can't  figure it out. New Zealand is dazzlingly gorgeous with thousands of greens (trees and bushes), blues and grays (water from two oceans plus a multitude of rivers and streams). And yet the Kiwis dress in very muted colors - black and gray.. I stand out like the proverbial sore thumb. I wear Khaki, Red, Yellow, etc.

Now the sheep also cluster. They are several colors but the overall theme remains the same. Gather under the trees, exchange all the gossip, snooze, and occasionally amble off for a few blades of grass. The real difference between the two herds is that one talks incessantly to the other diners but also talks on the cell phone at the same time. How do they do that? Don't the real live humans at the table resent the extra conversations? Actually probably not since they're on the phones too. The four-legged herds seem to be more contemplative; more ready to watch the world go by. Probably not an ulcer among them.

All our livestock is doing well. The steers come when called, go through gates as if sirloin steaks wait for them on the other side (oops, well you know what I mean). The sheep also have chilled out. I can walk through the paddocks with only a few heads raised and a few perfunctory semi-ambles out of my way. Except for the ram, of course. It is a duel to the death between us two.

My garden is finally in. Just in time for the drought which seems to have started this past week. It is a seasonal thing and each year there are dire warnings that this will be the worst drought season yet. If what is happening in Texas is any indication, this year the doom and gloom guys could be right. Anyway, I have volunteered to give up one shower a week so that I can use the water to nourish our plants. Not too much of a sacrifice for me but a definite sacrifice for those around me.