Introducing Rosie!

She is a Swiss Brown cow.  Johnny’s had his eye out for this breed for a while now.  Finally he found what he was searching for and the deposit was made and the collection date arrived. We took off in the morning, bright and early, as the trip was to be about six hours return.  I wasn’t looking forward to a long trip but it had its perks. We were going to experience another part of this wonderful country of ours. We were travelling inland this time. The miles rolled by and the minutes ticked on. About mid-morning we decided to stop to get some coffee and stretch our legs. The name of the roadside stop was called “The creepy Inn”.  I wondered why anyone would name a café this, hopefully their coffee was good. I thumbed through a pocket trader on the counter while we waited for our coffee to be brewed. One thing about small towns is that there is always sure to be a bargain being sold. This book impressed me with all its goodies for sale.  The coffee arrived with a lady who had a cheery smile. We paid our dues and left Creepy Inn to continue our journey. I smiled and wondered if others had the same impression as me.

We travelled on for a while yet and then reached the flattest and most desolate land I’ve ever seen. The dirt was red and there wasn’t much grass. I couldn’t imagine anything surviving out here. But sure enough there was something.  Miles and miles of the stuff. The roadside was littered with tuffs that had blown free from a carrier at some point.  After a few minutes I realised what it was.  Cotton fields!  Cotton was tough and could survive and thrive in the most challenging climates. 

Just short of two and half hours we passed through a little town called Millmerran. We contacted the seller and he arranged to meet us at the end of his road about half an hour’s drive from Millmerran. The terrain continued to be dry and mostly scrub. I couldn’t imagine how hard life must be out here. The seller of Rosie was waiting for us and took us back to his home. There I was ableto see an alternative lifestyle only ever heard of. His family lived in a few different containers. They harvested wind power and solar power and used a generator to do washing when needed.  They had a few chickens, cows and goats. We stood around chatting and we heard about how most of their neighbours couldn’t handle the rough climate and had moved out. Their two kids were home-schooled and they all seemed content and happy with life.  I marvelled at his wife and made a mental note not to complain so much. 

After the necessary paperwork was exchanged and final payment made, Johnny loaded up Rosie who was bewildered and frightened by now.  After a bit of coaxing and persuasion, she walked up the loading ramp into the back of our Ute.  I took one look at her and named her Rosie.  We waved goodbye and left these tough hardy people to make our way back home.  We diverted from the GPS signal and decided to travel back via Cunningham’s Gap. This was a beautiful scenic route and much prettier than the way we had come.  Arriving home in the dark, we were exhausted but happy.  Rosie quickly got associated with the rest of the herd and after making sure she was settled, we went inside.