Thinking time… waiting to land the big one

I bought a fishing rod some time ago. It has pride of place in the garage: behind the golf clubs and the market BBQs; it sits next to the ice freezer, on top of the 30 odd bright yellow eskies that we use at the farmers markets; which, in turn sit behind the umbrellas and the six gazebos. You might think we have a big garage, but we don’t. We, I mean I, don’t see the point in trying to use it for a car anyway; we would only have to move the trailers out of the way.

I like the idea of fishing; bringing home dinner and providing for the table really appeals to me. It just hasn’t happened yet. Who knows why … maybe it’s the sight of the other fisherman getting in their cars as I pull up; maybe it’s the stiff onshore wind that has me ducking for cover (and trying not to receive the pilchard in my head seconds after I cast), or maybe it’s that the tide is so low New Zealand seems only a short walk away. But I don’t mind really, it’s the getting out in the elements that I like; in fact, the worse the weather, the more I like it. Standing on the beach in my wet weather gear, blinking the rain away while trying to tie a knot I once saw in a book, somehow gives me a lot of pleasure. And the best thing is that there is nobody else there; it gives me time to think.

Recently I’ve been thinking about our Pasture Fed Hams. We grow some of the pigs on our own farm and we are helped with numbers from other farmers who grow their pigs in a similar manner to ourselves. Our pigs are always outside in the paddocks enjoying their time in groups. We have top quality pork and with our own smokehouse we produce the best Christmas hams. Together with John Meredith’s Thirlmere Free Range Turkeys, they are selling fast. If you would like ethically raised produce on your Christmas table, you need to order now. We will sell out well before Christmas.

For me now, it’s back to the fishing.

How about you? Where do you like to do your thinking?