Taking in strangers can be a perilous business at times, it’s easy to feel invaded and abused. I have decided to set a few rules about who I take in as wwoofers, having had some very bad experiences recently with some spoilt brats from America and a trouble-making young woman from England – wwoofers ganging up on me in my own home is the last thing I want or need! They can always leave, I don’t have that option. Now I have finally managed to clean up, get the chewing gum off the sheets and had a bit of space to myself, I realise where I went wrong. I should have realised that a teenage couple was likely to bicker constantly…and help themselves to whatever was in the cupboard …(but how could I know that they’d be too scared to venture off the verandah except to visit my neighbour and I’d have them totally in my space all the time?) So there I was, feeling like I had committed myself to looking after someone else’s kids for a month and trying to get them to work to pay for their bed and board. While they were charming and interesting young people, happy to talk for hours on end, they were not suited to working as wwoofers. Everything had to be done over at least twice, although the boy did try to do good work. They ended up appearing to expect me to follow the example of their family and friends in financing their travels by allowing them to stay for free. Because they hadn’t bothered to confirm their arrival, I’d taken on other woofers …so then I was running around trying to supervise three or four jobs at once – nearly went crackers! Next time I just say NO to anyone under 21, no matter how cute they look - and only allow people to stay for a few days until I know how its likely to work out! It’s just too exhausting – and after all that, they left with no notice, snuck off on a whim when the sun finally came out, leaving a very bad feeling (and a kitchen without a sink – yet another unfinished job …and now the bush turkey is having fun breaking my crockery out there in the bathroom where I have to wash the dishes now.) I have to ask myself how I allowed this to happen …and how to avoid a repetition…
Fortunately not all wwoofers leave me feeling so bad, I have had hundreds over the years and most manage to enjoy their stay in this beautiful valley, and to leave pleasant memories and a few less weeds – some have done some amazing work here. Stevie, who stayed with her daughter Tiff while the young Americans were here, has done the most beautiful tiled wall in the bathroom – it is absolutely delightful and I think of her with gratitude every time I see it. And there are countless other people who have stayed and whose memories warm my heart.
As well as looking after teenage humans I have had a teenage bird to care for – a baby currawong whose nest fell down along with the branch it was on. Having done the Wildlife Rescue course recently means I am now allowed to care for wild critters, although I only want to take on birds, because they at least sleep at night. Hannah had an orphan currawong years ago called Wong. He never flew - his feathers never grew properly because we didn’t know they need extra calcium, so this one is Wing – and s/he can fly!
It’s been a learning curve and so far Wing has grown well, which makes me proud. S/he spend daytimes up in the trees now, coming back for feeds and then locked up in the cage overnight to stay warm, dry and out of reach of the carpet snake who lives in the roof. The aviary Margaret and I picked up blew down the hill in the last big storm so now I have to figure out how to get it back in place…it weighs a ton… and Ewen, my neighbour, has been a bit grumpy lately so I don’t know if I should ask for his help…maybe I’ll wait till he comes over with his washing…
Tara had some truly professional pieces in the latest Nimbin Fashion Show – I was so proud and smiling so much that I neglected to press the start button on the video camera – but here’s a photo…She is doing so well in everything these days…There’s been a few big storms lately, quite exciting to watch - but I am glad that Xav is coming to cut down some trees. There has been another death in the family as Brian, Xav’s dad, passed away last week after a long struggle with cancer. I am glad that I am here for Xav at this time and have decided to stay on next year – this means I can spend more time with Murayah and Aidan who are getting to a good age for me to granny - and they are so lovely. I will also keep fixing this place up and do the Masters of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development by correspondence from ANU – it is probably the only opportunity I will get to do a masters degree and they will give me some credit for the units I have done for the native title stuff I have been studying this year. I hope to be involved in some local native title projects too.
I have decided to resign from the Board, too much petty provincial personality politics, and instead put my energy into organising Bush Dances and café sessions here to bring people together – we had a brilliant café last Friday night after the young woofers left, lots of people turned up, the night was balmy and a small group of musos had a great time playing irish tunes. Stephanie, George, Sophia and Nicolette worked hard cooking and serving and I did a bit of cooking too and the PR – I enjoyed it thoroughly and so did everyone else - it was a great success and we’ll do it again every month.
There was also a huge fundraising gig for Ted Cox, who is about to go off for a bone marrow transplant for leukemia,. At the Hall last weekend hundreds of people raised $14,000 having a lot of fun – an amazing, inspiring effort. Last night was the Nimbin Women's Dinner where I played ukulele and did some incredibly silly things on stage whilst dressed up in dozens of breasts ... but there's no photos yet...it was a lot of fun though...
Our Lisa is now in Tasmania - and we miss her! Still, it's another place to visit when I can afford to ...
