Book 2: Chapter 11 On the Farm

It was Tuesday morning and after a relaxing weekend, Dovic waited for Hibiscus to gather her things up for school. Tumbarumba came over to him and explained that it was Melbourne Cup Day which was a public holiday so there would be no school. Dovic wondered what having a cup day was about and looked puzzled.

“There are horses racing this afternoon and so people dress up and go and see them. It’s been going on for years and years and is on the first Tuesday in November” explained Tumba.

“Are we going to see the horses race? Is Boston in the race?” asked Dovic and Tumbarumba laughed and explained a bit more. “No, Boston isn’t in the race. It’s for special, fast horses who are trained and raced and are very important. Boston is Hibiscus’ horse, but she doesn’t race him.” Ronnie heard the two talking about horses and piped up, “Remember that time that I pretended Milly was a horse and got to ride her for a bit?” and they all chuckled at that memory.

Tumbarumba, Ronnie and Dovic were put in the back seat with Milly and they went for a drive to Lyrebird Park where Boston was agisted by Uncle. The sun was out shining, the sky was blue and it was a perfect day to spend at the farm. When they first arrived, they sat down and had some morning tea with Uncle. They ate their vanilla slice and licked the icing off their fingers while cows in the paddock mooed loudly, kookaburras laughed, and the sheep grazed in the front paddock.

When Boston came to greet them, Hibiscus handed him a carrot and he ate it quickly and tried to look through her pockets in case there were any more. She patted him and spoke quietly in to his ear and then Uncle gave them a seat to watch the horses play. Tumba was delighted when Uncle put him on Boston’s back and gave him a ride. He gave out a “Whoop, whoop” and cheered. Ever since he had seen the brumbies on the snowy mountains, he had wanted to ride a horse.

After Dovic and Ronnie had had their turn, they went down to the dam and climbed into the tree. Uncle would throw a stick into the dam and the dogs would dive in, retrieve the stick and swim back to the bank and drop the stick so it could be thrown again. When Milly shook her water out all over Hibiscus, she squealed and Dovic, Ronnie and Tumba were glad they were safely up in the tree where they couldn’t get wet.

During the morning on the farm, they went for a walk, climbed over the rocks, played hide and seek in the long grass and used up a lot of their energy. The dogs tried to help Hibiscus find Dovic, Tumba and Ronnie. (Can you find them?) When they were in the haystack, they rolled all over it and Ronnie did a headstand, accidentally burying his head in the hay. At the next dam, they sat watching the dogs go for a swim and shrieked when Milly shook herself all over them. Hibiscus laughed but because it was a warm day, they dried out in no time.

As they explored the bush, they came across a skull. “Oooh,” said Dovic, “What is it? Is it a wombat, is it a kangaroo, is it a possum or is it a rabbit?”

“Look at it’s teeth!” exclaimed Ronnie as he turned it over.

“It looks like a ghost when you turn it this way,” commented Tumbarumba and when he looked at Dovic, he added, “You look like a ghost! You’ve gone pale. Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” replied Dovic and he did not want to admit to being scared of the skull.

Up ahead, they climbed the fence and sat looking out over the paddocks. Uncle pointed out the direction of the school to them, although they couldn’t see it as it was over the hills and far away. All too soon, it was time to head back and they chased the dogs down the hill, although Ronnie mostly tumbled and rolled down the hill.

At one of the parts of the rope course, Uncle gave Dovic a swing on the rope. Ronnie and Tumbarumba looked on and wished they could have a turn but they ran out of time. Before they left, they picked a few lemons, some lettuce and snowpeas and looked at the aquaponics system Uncle had installed to help the vegetable garden grow.

On the way home, Dovic, Ronnie and Tumbarumba curled up next to Milly and the four fell asleep for the trip home. They couldn’t wait to tell the others about their adventure at the farm.

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Thanks to Warren Williams from Lyrebird Park for the use of his property and his assistance in the photography for this chapter. https://lyrebirdpark.com.au/