I have been in publishing a while now so I understand the power of the press, but I had a little reminder recently in the most surprising place. 

Vital shade for the stock.

It is, I think, a testament to our little paper’s popularity the number of times I am recognised by people who have read this column.  Whenever I go to our local butcher – great meat by the way – someone wants to have a chat about how the hens are doing and how many eggs we might or might not be getting. 

At the local Stihl shop when I take my lawnmower in we talk about what is happening at the duck pond or how the fence maintenance is going. 

However it’s one thing to be spotted  in your local area, and so in context,  it is quite another to be spotted on an international flight after a week of relaxing on a peaceful Fijian beach. 

As I sat down one of the hostesses approached with a smile and said “Eliza Dolittle.  Elsudoku.  You must be Brian.”  It turned out that not only was our hostess a fan of Rural Living, she had also entered the horse naming competition.  I’m not trying to show off – I don’t think it’s about me – it’s about the paper.  It’s really encouraging to have the feedback and know so many of you read it.

Speaking of my colt, Elsudoku,  he is thriving and growing into a lovely yearling. I’ll make sure we have a photo to share in next month’s Christmas issue. 

With the exception of my holiday in Fiji, I’ve spent the last few weeks doing spring maintenance.   As you may remember from previous columns, I have rail fences and they have a rather annoying tendancy to go green over winter.  This year none of them needed repainting but they certainly needed cleaning.  I applied liberal amounts of a great little product – Wet and Forget – and everything spruced up beautifully.  At the same time I made sure all the gates were in good condition.

You may also remember that a couple of years back I ran out of hay and vowed I would never let it happen again. So I’ve also been closing up my paddocks in preparation.  I’ve been making sure they are clear of dock, thistles and all other manner of weeds – which means resorting to spraying.  Spraying is a necessary evil if you want to have good quality, weed free feed for your stock.

It’s turning out to be a lovely spring and our property is looking lusher than it has in a few years.  Hopefully  this is a sign of a great summer ahead so we can all enjoy our lifestyle blocks.

See you next month.

• Brian Neben publishes Rural Living, and during the weekends is an avid lifestyle farmer.