Proper Farm Gumboots

There's a time for being old school, and when it comes to farm gumboots there's pretty much one tradition here in New Zealand: Skellerup Red Bands. We have a pretty decent supply on hand at Struan Farm, for our use and for use by visitors. These would be (some of) them:

Boots of some sort are really needed for walking around a farm. Don't understand people who show up in jandals or heels, but guess they don't know any better or haven't thought about it sufficiently.

We gave Ella a pair of her own gumboots for Christmas, while Livy got bright pink boots on the theory that pink works better for a three year old. Ella recently lost hers up in Auckland, so was without boots during a recent visit.

And so John decided the time had come for them both to have proper farm gumboots (and socks) that they can leave here so they don't go missing in Aotea Square at the ice skating rink, e.g.

Seeing them both put them on was quite a moment, and one for Livy in particular. Something about trading in those bright pink boots for "proper gumboots," and leaving them here at the farm. It was a rite of passage.

 

p.s. these are not Wellies, that's an English thing. The story is that they're called "gumboots" either because they were worn by the Kauri gum diggers, OR that they were made of gum rubber, you choose.