Professors Paul and Paula Swatman retired from fulltime acadmic work at the end of 2009.  We bought 20 Acres of cow paddock in the Huon Valley and spent 2010 building a house and the basic infrastructure of a small-acreage farm.

We then began a new phase of our lives:

• continuing research and academic life to some degree

• continuing to contribute to industry, government and the community as consultants both professionally and voluntarily

• as farmers raising cattle, sheep, chickens, fruit and vegetables both for sale and to eat (we occasionally wonder what our earlier selves would have said if they were asked how we might spend “retirement” – we’re pretty sure this wouldn’t have figured strongly in the guesses)

• designing and building furniture (another surprise)

• flying Ruby the Foxbat (who’d have thought?)

• and who knows what else, in the future