Howdy! Well isn't that a strange welcome from someone who has spent most of his young & adolescence far out in the bush (or commonly referred to as The Outback) and flood plains of western New South Wales Australia ?! The truth is, I am far from what would be expected from someone who has grown up in such a location.
My father, who is undoubtably my hero, worked in the large acreage agricultural industry that is typically found in my home region, being Merino sheep, beef cattle and various irrigated pastures and grains. This led me to being raised at an average of an hour and a half from any town, home schooled via the 'School of The Air' program, with dogs and horses for best friends and with 100% access to wild things, wild places and generally wild people.
My mother has been my school teacher; my doctor; my Google before Google; life educator; and will continue to always be there for me, as a mother always would. Being born in the Midwest of the USA into a ranching family, it is my opinion that she transitioned into Australian bushlife quite well. This is despite the Hay Plains being so flat you can see the curvature of the earth and having spent so much of her life in the rich rolling hills of the Midwest and the jaw dropping scenery of the Grand Tetons at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where my Grandparents still remain today.
I was, and still am a real 'Bush Kid' !! School of The Air offered me a childhood like no other. Class was held at a desk in the corner of my bedroom. My mother was my daily teacher, with a dedicated school teacher sitting on the end of a radio back in town and a whole band of other students on the radio, also at their respective locations - which was mostly other Stations (BIG rural farms). We would get a whole bunch of work done and then I would be straight out the door, either to assist Dad at work or into absolute heaven. I had access to the whole world it seemed. I would mess around and catch everything I could get my hands on or build some sort of contraption to assist in its capture!! I didn't have many pets really, I would just come home and proudly show off my daily bounty of lizards or turtles or fish or worms or spiders or snakes or moths... and once I had proven yet again my ability to handle these magnificent creatures, off I would run and let them go again!! Just ask my Mom... you will hear stories of Tiger Snakes (Worlds #3 deadliest snake) in ice cream tubs (no lid) being transported on the motorbike to be relocated from the house, and catching every spider I could in jars for identification (yep that includes funnel webs, redbacks, mouse, wolf and trap doors - 4 of which are in the World's top ten deadliest spiders. But, of all the creatures, my personal favourite was frogs. I love frogs dearly and assisted in several government - funded research programs into identifying and counting frogs in our region.
As a teenager, I attended Yanco Agricultural Boarding School until I graduated Year 12 in 2006. These formative years created a platform for me to jump off in any which way I please; however, they would always remain as a pontoon for me if ever the water became murky. I entered the workforce permanently, beginning with a trade as a Jackaroo working my way up the ranks in the agriculture Industry to positions of management, despite the occasional diversion... opportunities seemed to attract as a moth would to a candle. As would be in such an analogy, despite attempts and temptations to steer me away from my course, I set fire to them all. I have always been grateful to have been given opportunities, but a larger part of 'Being Caleb' is sticking to my guns so to speak, and trusting that my soul is leading me down the right path, even if I try to claim it as my decision!
Interestingly enough, close friends and close family would step in at this point and ask, "Well what is your course?" to which I now answer with "Being Caleb". I have always struggled with self identity... am I a farmer, a horseman, a farrier, a photographer, an athlete, a leader, perhaps even an ecologist, or biologist yet to be dignified with a piece of paper? Or have I been, and therefore still am, all of these things? That opens up a whole other conversation usually reserved for discussion around the embers of a low burning campfire. At the end of the day, I am just me being me, and that is a great feeling.
Now, I am at a magical period, where my partner and I are exploring pathways to transition all of our interests and desires into our own design of life. As my partner was born in Sweden, I am thrilled to have another location to explore because every time I go to a new place I am that same 'Bush Kid' ready to go on an adventure.
So far, I have taken my Farrier / Barefoot Trimming business - CT International Hoofcare to 7 countries on 3 continents. CT International Hoofcare has begun to expand into owner-horse education and rehabilitation. This has been a very organic process which I have found extremely humbling.
Varda Media is an equally organic venture. Originally, my vision was to document myself for business promotion, exposure, and more to the point, just to have fun and give others the opportunity to see what I was seeing (particularly family during my international adventures). This idea was tested, but I soon realised I didn't want it to be about me: I was not after fame - it just wasn't my style. However, I love self employment, I love witnessing risk and reward, I love surrounding myself with people doing something unique - following passion and true individualism in their dedicated fields of personal and business development. This is what I want to document, this is the adventure for me now.
Varda Media is produced by me, as intrepid a character as you, and will be available wherever you might be in need of its services. I wish to thank you for being here on my website and I invite you to please leave some feedback on one of my SOCIAL MEDIA links. I would love to hear what värda means to you.
Kind Regards,
Caleb Thomson
"Courage is being scared to death - and saddling up anyway"
John Wayne