Spring — Headwall Station: Sunday — Dinner

Spring had arrived in the valley. Trees burst from bud into flower and everything started to take on the same shade of bright verdant green. Birthdays in Hundeerde were marked by birth-season, rather than by specific day. With the arrival of spring, tonight it was Lewis’ turn to be remembered. His choice for dinner was build-your-own burgers and chunky farmhouse wedges, seasoned with Charlie’s very own special mix of herbs and spices.

Winter — Headwall Station

Grandpa Jake stamped the snow off his boots as he came inside and hung the Hundeerwagon keys back on the hook. He and Daan had been up since dawn assessing the road. It had snowed all night and it was still snowing heavily. No-one would be going anywhere; the road was completely impassable, even for the six-wheel-drive Hundeerwagons.

Angus, also up since dawn, had his nose pressed against the window, making quite the foggy smeary mess. He was beyond excited. By the time the rest of the boys had come down for breakfast he was practically vibrating through the glass. Nobody had told him it might be a snow day, but he just seemed to know and he couldn’t wait to get outside and play in the snow.

Fifteen expectant faces at the breakfast table were awaiting Grandpa Jake’s verdict.

Veldmeer High School

Tuesday — Morning Period

The bell rang and the general stampede of seat finding was underway. Lewis had already found a seat next to Hans near the front. Seb and Raven worked their way down the room and found seats together, towards the back. In the empty seat next to Seb, a blue heeler sat down. He clearly considered that school ties should be left alone to do their own thing, along with shirt tails.

He turned to Seb his mouth open just a little and his tongue in mid pant.

Veldmeer High School — First Day of Term

The week following the Harvest Dinner, the first day of the new school term was rapidly approaching. It had been three years since any of the boys had attended school. Some of the boys could not wait to return to school, while others were a bit more apprehensive about the whole idea. Rupert’s biggest concern had been whether the school uniform pants had tail holes in them or not. Grandma Bella had been able to reassure him, that the school had arranged for a bespoke set of pants to be made to suit human specifications. No tail holes. Rupert had been visibly relieved at the news.