I don’t think I’m overstating things when I say the absolute cornerstone of productivity here on The Homestead is the yubba. Speaking kind of technically for a moment (bearing in mind physics is not a strength of mine and I’m not totally sure I understood The Engineer’s answers to my I’m-not-utterly-sure-I get-what-your-asking questions in preparation for this missive), a yubba is a unit of energy measurement; one yubba being equal to the amount of energy your body is capable of expending at any time plus, by all kinds of cellular magic and biological voodoo, the amount required to do the job at hand. It is, in effect, a measurement for the act of your body going into negative energy.

Homestead edict is pretty clear on the use of the yubba. As a rule it should not be employed by a solitary Homesteader, particularly when that Homesteader is the only person on site. Of course, exceptions exist such as turning on (aka yubba-ing) the over-enthusiastically turned-off vegetable garden irrigation tap because, well, thirsty vege can’t wait and a restorative little sit down (another Homestead foundation principle) must then be undertaken, but generally the yubba is a two-or-more-folk thing.

Utilisation of it also requires a pre-yubba symposium outlining the work to be carried out, allocation of tasks, order of process (often with a walk-through) and identification of hazards. A three-beat count-in, contrary to the actions of some folk (you know who you are), is also imperative. This allows all yubba-ers time to affect safe stature (knees bent, back straight, toes out of the way), have a quick internal rummage for any tiny hint of wayward yubba, and to check their grip – both physically and mentally.

This past weekend saw us yubba-ing up a storm as we clear the ex-Tiny-Housers Paddock in preparation for a visit from Ben the Builder (more on that later).

Yubba One: Moving the unbelievably heavy, surplus-to-their-requirements kennel into the dog run which, in turn, needed to be moved back a metre; now Shirley has a space to call her own in the dog run.

Yubba Two: Tidying the room created from moving the run back to create a trailer parking space and outside coffee area perfectly sited for shade, shelter and cooling air movement without the overhanging potential coffee pollutants of ripening fruit and bird perches (it happened only once, but that was enough)

Yubba Three: Relocating the Princess-built sleepout porch-and-annex (fancy!) to the vegetable garden area awaiting metamorphosis into raised bed tunnel house replacement

This week the weather has perked right up; just in time to welcome Sylvia Chicken’s one chick

and, with the accompanying high humidity, cause our first case of fly strike for the season thus leading to a small solo yubba on my part as I caught, wrestled, and annointed poor Luna Sheep.

After which the two of us had the required little sit down and I asked her very nicely to heal well and quickly…

and decided no more yubbas until next weekend.