Ironically, it was in the same general area as the leaf picture. These cows, like so many of my subjects, have a story.
They live on a farm that used to be on a sleepy regional highway just northwest of town. Then one day, some construction workers rolled into town and turned the fields across the street into a Wal-Mart. Before long, a bunch of other big box stores popped up in front of the Wal-Mart, and the neighbourhood was sleepy no more.
Our bovine friends watched as the road was expanded and traffic levels increased to urban levels. A year later, the construction crews returned - this time to the cows' side of the street, basically to the left of this photo - and put up a Sam's Club (yup, Wal-Mart wants BOTH sides of the street, it would seem). Traffic increased yet again as the area continued to be paved over - or is that under?
Fast-forward to today and little has changed. The cows are still there, living as they do mere metres away from zooming traffic. But the ominous zoning change sign has gone up in front of the farm.
The last time we were in the area, our kids waved excitedly at the cows, enthralled that they could experience a real farm so close to home. I paused and tried to record their reactions in the deepest recesses of my mind, for I feared moments like this would soon vanish from my family's reality. It is almost a foregone conclusion that pretty soon the farm will exist only in our dimming memories. This, apparently, is called progress.
Yes, it's a shame how nature is pushed to the out skirts of our day to day lives. We have been looking for a home/hobby farm that is close enough to everything so as to not isolate ourselves and the children, yet far enough from the zooming traffic. Unfortunately it's getting harder and harder to come by in our neck of the woods too.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note, I love the cow shots. I have a large dog (Newfoundland), because of both her size and colour, I sometimes call her a little cow (usually after she has 'played' with one of my plants)!