Cows munching contentedly, milk flowing and even the odd machinery mishap provide solace somehow for the 56-year-old Cudgewa dairy farmer.

"I find it helps to have things go wrong," James says.

"Not too wrong, of course, but enough that you have to think about things and can sort it out yourself."

His wife, Elise, has taken to sharing photographs of farm life on Instagram - accompanied by some good-natured ribbing from her husband and youngest son Jake.

She's been on long service leave from her administration job at Corryong Health and has recently been more involved in the day-to-day work on their 283-hectare property.

"I've been getting the cows in and I always take a photo of the sunrise - they're spectacular," Elise says.

"Jake says, 'Mum, you don't have to put up a sunrise photo EVERY day!"

The love between them is palpable; their bonds wound more tightly together by the jagged pieces of grief.

On August 8, it will be two years since the Hills lost their 21-year-old son and brother Sam to suicide.

The death of this irrepressible young man with a great sense of humour and love of animals would come in the devastating aftermath of the Green Valley bushfire, which tore through the property on December 30, 2019.

Sam fought with his father, brother, mother and cousin Alex to save the dairy and 280 cows and heifers at the Bluff Falls Road property, where 90 per cent of the land was burnt out.

The loss of their beloved Sam has sentenced the family to "a lifetime of pain", James says.

"It's a club you don't want to be a part of ..."

Still they've marched on, the ebb and flow of the seasons and daily demands of farming providing a balustrade of sorts in the tidal wave of their loss.

"I don't see it as being brave," James says.

"Being brave is a choice - this is something we have to put up with."

The Upper Murray community has known great loss in recent years.

The catastrophic Black Summer bushfires coupled with the effects of COVID-19 and the deaths of five young men in 15 months have deeply wounded the tight-knit community

"We have lost so many sons - three boys to suicide, one to cancer and one in a light plane crash," Elise says.

"In some ways I feel there has been so much focus on the immediate family but not enough focus on Sam's friends or the ripple effects to the wider community."

Elise watched the Albury-Wodonga Winter Solstice online last year ... "I wasn't up to going".

This year the family and some of Sam's friends made the trip to Albury's QEII Square for the event that aims to bring the community together to remember, reflect and cherish loved ones lost to suicide.

"It was emotional but really lovely," Elise says.

"It gave me the drive to see something happen in the Corryong area - an opportunity for the community to come together to acknowledge all the sadness we've experienced."

Elise got talking with the Pitman and Penman families - who have also lost their dearly loved sons Joe (Pitman) and James (Penman) to suicide - to discuss the possibility of a local event.

"We share a group messenger chat and they came for morning tea recently," Elise says.

"Caz and Jon (Pitman) attended a Winter Solstice event at Wodonga Senior Secondary College (where Joe would have been in Year 12) and Caz said it was very special to be there.

"We thought it would be great to do something for the whole community here."

Elise approached the local high school and Towong Shire Council's recovery hub with the outline of an idea.

Amanda Pagan, the council's director of community and planning, was on the phone the next morning to offer support and funding assistance for the initiative.

"I think they were just so pleased because they know how much the community needs it," Elise says.

Together with the guidance of Albury-Wodonga Winter Solstice founders Annette and Stuart Baker, the 'Corryong Spirit - A Survivors of Suicide & Friends' community event was born.

The inaugural gathering will be held at Attree Park, Corryong on Friday, August 12 from 5pm to 6.30pm with speakers, music and food to nourish body and soul.

James says this is an event for anyone who has lost somebody.

"This is not just about suicide - it's about grief and loss," he says.

For Elise, it's about community coming together.

"I think we're all affected by this in some way," she says.

A wolfhound and a staghound (two of Sam's beloved dogs) still lounge by the Hills' back door.

In a nearby paddock stands a brightly coloured tree - Sam's tree - the bottom half painted blue and the top burnt black.

James and Jake painted the tree for the Blue Tree Project, which aims to encourage people to speak up about their mental health battles and check on mates.

The trees are a symbol to stand strong and be able to branch out to someone you trust, says 'The Unbreakable Farmer' Warren Davies.

"(Sam) was not just a statistic, but a loved son, brother, mate and member of the community," he says.

James and Elise are all too aware nine lives are lost to suicide every day in Australia.

"That's nine lives, nine families and nine communities ripped apart by grief," James says.

"When I die and if I go to heaven the first thing I'll do when I see Sam is punch him and then give him a great big hug!"