Page 68 of A Country Practice Christmas
‘I’ll finish this job first.’
Keith Urban, who was down in the dumps after I disconnected his Zoom call with Gordon last night, wags his tail.
I’ve resisted the temptation to follow the laneway over the past three weeks. What if Cameron was there? What excuse would I have? The land slopes gently downhill towards the house, sheds and yards. A sharp fork to the right must lead to the land that borders the mine.
Cameron, blue shirt, jeans and Akubra, is on an excavator digging a ditch, but by the time I’ve parked the ute, he’s striding towards me. Our shirts are navy and we’re both wearing worn blue jeans. Same hat and long black gumboots. If hewasn’tCameron, if he didn’t make me feel awkward and uncertain and confused and defensive, would I joke about our matching clothes?
‘Hey.’
He looks me up and down andalmostsmiles. ‘Morning.’
Keith Urban, immune to awkwardness, gallops across the gravel to Cameron, who crouches and ruffles his fur.
‘How are you going, mate?’
‘Is it okay to bring him with us?’
‘I brought the cows and calves in this morning. There’s nothing for him to do.’
‘Keith has no idea about herding.’
When I smile, Cameron’s gaze goes to my mouth. ‘Thanks for coming.’
I clear my throat. ‘You moved your horses. How often do you ride?’
‘Not often.’ He frowns. ‘I can show you the horses.’
‘We’d better do the cattle first. How many are there? How old are the calves?’
‘Two hundred and ten cows, two hundred and six calves, six weeks to four months old.’
‘Have you separated them?’
‘I’ll wait till we’re set up. It minimises the time they’re apart.’
‘I wish all farmers operated like that.’
‘It wouldn’t be like this up north, right? Cattle come in from all over.’
‘In remote regions of the Northern Territory, they dehorn without pain relief. Particularly with older, often feral cattle, it’s brutal. Some die.’
‘You’ve seen that?’
‘We have to document the problems to change how things are done.’
‘You don’t make it easy on yourself, do you?’ He puffs out a breath. ‘My cattle don’t have horns.’
‘I haven’t done much of this type of work, sorting, castrating.’
‘Tell me what you usually do.’
‘When cattle are in stressful situations due to dehorning, tagging, castration, even vaccinations, I take blood and other samples. Then I do comparative studies of stress levels, pain responses, recovery times and mortality.’
In the early morning light, his eyes are bright and green. ‘Then what do you do?’
Am I standing at the front of the class and telling them what I did for homework? I desperately want to shut up, but he’s asked a question so …
‘After doing literature reviews and writing scientific papers with hundreds of footnotes, I make recommendations.’
