The graph I couldn't unsee.

A letter from the farm – April 2026.

Hey there,

How has your last little while been, flying like mine? Easter feels like ages ago. Maybe the Easter bunny can bring more chocolate next time – make the Easter break feel like it lasts longer!

April in the NSW Riverina brings beautiful seasonal change. Where March was still hot and dry, April has cooler days, crisp nights and even the odd frost. Deciduous trees are changing colours and true autumn weather has arrived to enjoy.

Do you have deciduous trees changing colour too? I forget that in a milder climate the leaves don’t get the same changes. Butter yellow to fire red and everything in between is my version of autumn colour in The Rock, NSW!

The April landscapes change from dry grass paddocks to germinating winter crops. We have paddocks filled with ewes and new baby lambs, as do many of our neighbours. Like us, many farmers will be slowly driving through their paddocks checking on lambing ewes. It is a fine line between not interrupting nature but also not allowing suffering.

Our machinery has returned to the sheds after sowing our winter annual crops. This year we have sown last year’s oats with the hopes to graze, then allow to mature and harvest again. We have also sown a mixed species crop with the sole purpose of grazing in spring.

School holidays filled the majority of our April for us and this time Joel and I adjusted our focus. I had read an article earlier that offered food for thought that I couldn’t let go of. You know what I mean, when you keep thinking about it over and over again? It was a graph showing how we spend our time and in particular time spent with our children.

It was almost a perfect bell curve where the line dramatically increases in our mid 20’s then dramatically decreases again in our 40’s. An incredibly short time during which we are our children’s entire world. About the same time that we are hustling: working hard to build a career, dreaming of owning a home, trying to make our mark.

It reminded me of that saying ‘the days are long, but the years fly by’. Joel and I are at the top of the bell curve. For now, we are our children’s entire world. According to the graph, we are at the maximum level of hours per day we will ever spend with our kids.

I will mention here that some days those hours feel like a heavy load. You’re allowed to feel like that too, or remember feeling like that or even bank this feeling for when it’s your turn!

So these holidays we changed our focus. We took a little more time to enjoy our family. We noticed those little moments that could otherwise be missed by being busy. You know the smile or laugh that fills your heart? Where 99% of the day you are going through the motions (adulting) and then you get that little nugget of gold that makes it all worth while. Not everyone is lucky enough to see what is hidden in plain sight!

I feel lucky to have read this article by Sahil Bloom and seen the graph. It changes the way I value my long heavy days. It makes me acutely aware that the years are quickly coming to a dramatic decline. I don’t have enough time in my day today to achieve everything on my to-do list, but one day I think I will miss it.  

What about you? Do you see what is hidden in plain sight? Do you notice those moments that fill your heart? I hope so. It makes me happy to think that you might notice them too.

Until my next letter,

Sending love from the farm, Em.