Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Change

We went for a drive yesterday.   Two miles from home we noticed big changes happening. 

An entire woods is disappearing.   Oak woods that have been there since before I was born....and who knows how much longer than that.  The land was in a trust and then the land owner died and left it to some college someplace who apparently sold it to a cooperate farmer.   Center pivot irrigators will inhabit part of what was Native Prairie and the Oak Woods.
I was so angry last summer when they tore into the Native Prairie...such sadness for the Prairie Wildflowers that bloomed there...long ago there was a school and lilac bushes on that part of the property.

Now sadness for the Oaks that sheltered deer and probably some coyotes.  When I was growing up it was a shady pasture for cows.
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The property across the road has also been sold at least that is what the sign says...Far Guy's Great Grandparents Lemon lived and farmed there. I suppose those Oak trees will be gone too before long...part was Oaks trees and part farm fields.

Sometimes change can be good...sometimes us old folks that remember how things used to be 70 years ago should just accept change.
Far Side

32 comments:

linda m said...

I remember how things used to be. And I only like change when it is for the good. Around here developers take every piece of open land and turn it into buildings. It is so sad how much green space we are losing. No wonder why I see deer, fox and coyotes in my backyard - I live in the city. Yes, some change is for the good, but the older I get the harder it is to accept change. Hope you and Far Guy are healthy.

Sam I Am...... said...

Oh, but it is so hard to see nature torn apart like that. In my home town there are farms that still have wagon and stage coach trails going through their properties which they have left alone but those farms are selling too. The other nice thing is that they have saved several large prairies through the University of Chicago who come out each summer with students to study and document the plants etc. It is an original prairie that has never been touched.....like yours....very rare now a days.
I hope you are both well and glad you got out for a drive but sad to see the destruction.

farm buddy said...

I am very sorry for your loss of those trees. That is awful. Trust are supposed to save land and trees like that. And the college selling to some cooperative farmer...disgraceful!! When there was the threat of gas drilling in my area about six years ago, I put my farm in the Grassland Reserves Program, which will stop development of any kind on my farm forever. All grassland and woodland is supposed to remain untouched except for grazing of livestock and harvesting hay. Those are the two options. I can't stand the idea of someone in the future wreaking my farm!! Some land nearby me, owned by someone else, was aggressively logged off a few years ago, and I was heartbroken. Horrible for songbirds and other wildlife.

DJan said...

Every year when I go hiking in some of my favorite places, I see more and more areas have been clearcut, all the trees gone and nothing left but branches. I think of the animals and birds that thought of the place as home and feel so sad.

At Home In New Zealand said...

Accepting change because of 'progress' doesn't stop me feeling very sad when I hear about this sort of wholesale destruction. The human race as a whole is destroying nature, destroying the living world around us. Sometimes I wonder what sort of world future generations will be living in.

Dawn said...

I always feel a big pang of sadness when I see land that I've enjoyed turn into something commercial. My mom was the same way. There was a favorite vacant lot on a corner where flowers grew, she enjoyed it for years, and then suddenly it was a drug store. She was heartbroken. I think it's normal to morn the loss of places that you've watched for years. Sometimes change is sad.

Red said...

I don't like destruction of native habitat. native habitat isn't made anymore. We lose it and it's gone forever.

Araignee said...

That is so sad. Same here. Even though I am only 30 minutes from the White House in DC we used to have plenty of open space down here by the Bay. Now it's all storage facilities and strip malls. Araignee

Sara said...

It is always sad to see a pretty piece of nature cleared for construction of something. The original owner would probably be sad.

Tired Teacher 2 said...

Windbreaks not only provide shelter for animals, they keep the topsoil from blowing away. Sadly, corporate farmers don’t really care, they’ll move on to other land after they’ve raped this section.

gigi-hawaii said...

Oahu is becoming more and more urbanized. Sad what we must experience in the name of progress.

Terry and Linda said...

I HATE CHANGE LIKE THAT!!! HATE IT! We have outstandingly wonderful farm ground being sold to developers because the KIDS WANT MONEY! SUCKS!

Betsy said...

My goodness this post hit a nerves with every single person who has left a comment. And I feel the same as they do. In the past 2 years they have cut down acres and acres of pine trees and other native brush within minutes of our home. And now mountain lions, bear, coyotes and other animals are in neighborhoods looking for shelter and food. And people can't figure out why! It's because we taken their homes away. There was a baby bear up my next door neighbors tree last year. It was terrified. Who knows what happened to it's mother.
They built a new Costco and auto dealership where those woods were along with a new 4 lane highway complete with a 6 lane round about. I'm so sad about it all.
Blessings,
Betsy

Jeanette said...

That is happening a lot in my area too. The downside of a good economy I guess. Makes me sad to see though!

Sue said...

Being a senior myself, I find change hard to deal with especially when it deals with woodlands and wild life.
Thanks for sharing.
Blessings,
Sue

Debi said...

It's always hard to see nature destroyed. So sad.

Pauline Persing said...

I'm sad that you are losing your prairie flowers and the oak trees. It is a big thing to have prairies in Ohio. Ohio never had many prairies and they are precious.

Susan Zarzycki said...

I agree, that kind of change is upsetting and hard to accept, especially when it hits close to home and some of it used to have family ties.💖

Cynthia said...

That’s sad. So many of our natural places are succumbing to construction and it always involves cutting all the trees down. We need those trees for quality of life in my opinion. I guess corporate farm fields are more attractive than the condos and huge medical facilities going up on the coast here.

Granny Marigold said...

I'm pretty sure that the original person who left the land in trust did NOT mean for this to happen. It's really too outrageous. Like Beatrix Potter did in her time it would be great if someone with money to spare bought up these parcels of land with native prairie and old trees and made very very sure they would not be sold off in the future.

Bonnie said...

Sometimes change is really hard for us to see, especially when it involves cutting down trees and destroying what was a beautiful, living home for so many plants and animals. I'm sorry you are seeing this in your area.

Rita said...

Changes to the natural habitats are hard for me, too. I've seen it here, too. So much construction in the area. Keeps expanding and expanding. I feed the partridges and jackrabbits, but have no doubt that eventually they won't be around here anymore.

The Furry Gnome said...

It's still hard to accept sometimes.

diane in northern wis said...

Wow...things can happen fast can't they? I'm sorry that you're losing your woods. New developments aren't always for the best, are they? May your area bring you other things that you can be happy about in the weeks to come. Stay safe and stay well, you two.

Linda Reeder said...

It's even harder for you when you have such a long history in that area. I'm still not happy about the giant houses that were built next to us a year ago and took away my sky.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Some changes are good some not so good and some are down right terrible

Maebeme said...

What a shame! People might call me a tree hugger but I hate when I see trees and natural prairie eliminated for the sake of a few more acres of land.

Take care and stay well!

Gemma's person said...

I'm with Sue on this one as well.
Hard to not get attached to things. They spark a good memory, we still have the memory at least.

Jacqi Stevens said...

It is astonishing how quickly machinery can clear away a piece of land. Someone near here wanted to sell their walnut orchard and called in one of those outfits. Before we knew it, all the trees were yanked out, ground into sawdust and hauled off. All that's left now is bare land--and it's been bare for much longer than it took to clear it away.

Diana said...

I've never liked change when it has meant the loss of nature and history. As I got older, though, I realized that probably every person throughout time has gone through such changes. I guess it's inevitable. But it doesn't make the heartache of the loss any easier for us to know that. There used to be a huge apple orchard northeast of our city when I was little; our classes had field trips to it every year when I was in elementary school... now it's a playground with houses all over the area. Hope you guys stay safe and stay well!

Val Ewing said...

When I was a child we moved to a house with fields across the street from us and fields behind us. Then the houses crept up one by one in the early 60's. My sister and I plotted like young kids to blow them all up to get rid of them off OUR playground. Alas, a suburb was being built and we mourned the loss of beauty in a few short years to ugly horrid houses.
I get it.

Victoria Zigler said...

These are sad changes.