The Times They Are A-Changing
Late last year I wrote about my farmer neighbor who was in the process of selling off his cattle herd. I’ve missed watching those cows and steers from my office window.
At some point in the last several months, the neighbor on the other side of us sold his herd as well. I didn’t miss them right away since they generally spent the winter months on the far side of the pasture where the farmer kept their hay and feed. But as spring approached, I started looking for the annual crop of calves only to discover there were none. In fact there were no cows at all.
After living in cow country my entire life, I find myself surrounded by empty pasture. It’s kind of lonely.
But I have a feeling I should appreciate the quiet while it lasts. As the farming business is dying off in my corner of the world, a new industry is taking its place.
Drilling for gas.
I’ve known for several years that we’re living on what amounts to the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Marcellus shale is the hot button topic in southwestern Pennsylvania. And it’s changed the countryside all around us. Find a hilltop with a lovely view, and that view will no undoubtedly include a gas rig or two.
I admit to mixed feelings about the whole thing. As a lifelong farm girl, I find the new industrial landscape abhorrent. But farms were dying out before this new trend hit. Gas leases and royalties have allowed many farmers to stay in business, buy new equipment, remodel their homes and barns. The running joke now is when we see a farmhouse or barn being fixed up, we say “Gas drilling money.”
Plus we’ve leased our own ten acres to one of the drillers. With times being tough, part of me would love to see them drilling here.
However, some stakes with pink flags have cropped up in the field outside my kitchen window. Surveyors have been mapping out the land belonging to the old farmer who sold his herd last winter and is now selling all his farm property. My world is on the verge of changing, and I’m not sure at all that I’m ready for it.
In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m NOT ready.
At some point in the last several months, the neighbor on the other side of us sold his herd as well. I didn’t miss them right away since they generally spent the winter months on the far side of the pasture where the farmer kept their hay and feed. But as spring approached, I started looking for the annual crop of calves only to discover there were none. In fact there were no cows at all.
After living in cow country my entire life, I find myself surrounded by empty pasture. It’s kind of lonely.
But I have a feeling I should appreciate the quiet while it lasts. As the farming business is dying off in my corner of the world, a new industry is taking its place.
Drilling for gas.
I’ve known for several years that we’re living on what amounts to the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Marcellus shale is the hot button topic in southwestern Pennsylvania. And it’s changed the countryside all around us. Find a hilltop with a lovely view, and that view will no undoubtedly include a gas rig or two.
I admit to mixed feelings about the whole thing. As a lifelong farm girl, I find the new industrial landscape abhorrent. But farms were dying out before this new trend hit. Gas leases and royalties have allowed many farmers to stay in business, buy new equipment, remodel their homes and barns. The running joke now is when we see a farmhouse or barn being fixed up, we say “Gas drilling money.”
Plus we’ve leased our own ten acres to one of the drillers. With times being tough, part of me would love to see them drilling here.
However, some stakes with pink flags have cropped up in the field outside my kitchen window. Surveyors have been mapping out the land belonging to the old farmer who sold his herd last winter and is now selling all his farm property. My world is on the verge of changing, and I’m not sure at all that I’m ready for it.
In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m NOT ready.
.jpg)
Comments
Personally, I'd rather see those cows back in our pastures.
NEVER SIGN A CONTRACT WTIHOUT A LAWYER LOOKING AT IT FIRST.
Becky, we didn't lease our surface property at all, so they can't touch anything here above ground. However, they can sure alter my view from my windows by putting in pipelines and such on the neighbors' land.
Kathryn, I suspect this topic will show up more and more in my writing as I experience it first hand. But the conflicting motivations definitely are the stuff of good fiction.