Danny & Dennis 149 x 365
My (twin) brothers-in-law, Danny and Dennis have been farming just outside Elgin, Illinois all their adult life. Before that their father farmed some of the same land. In less than two years most of the land they farm will become a subdivision for the rich. Their landlords are selling out.
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And I'm always afraid to say this aloud for the obvious reasons, but when everyone's living longer and still insisting upon breeding, what else can possibly happen?
I grew up in Westminster, Maryland, which at the time was RURAL with lots of farms around it. I don't even recognize the place when I go back.
I feel for you, for the farmers, for the land...
And still do.
It breaks my heart everytime they break ground for another subdivision.
Yes it is depressing. My father grew up on a farm close-by that will soon be a million dollar McMansion, Starbucks or wine bar. When my brother and I were small we'd have to accompany our parents and grandmother as she was driven past her old homes. (They never owned land until the last farm, always renting.) We hated it, but now I wish for those days back, when we could take a "Sunday Drive".
Indigo, it is more than living longer and "breeding", I think. I've done no research, but I really think that there is enough existing housing to go around without having to encroach on the farmland. I refuse to believe that my having two children is the cause of these farms to be paved over and built upon.
My brothers-in-law, regardless of our differences, were good farmers. They used best use practices whenever they could - no-till farming, winter wheat. Their children will not be able to drive past their old house and say, "mommy or daddy grew up there".
Cedar, we used to do Sunday Drives too!
I've never heard the phrase/word "exurbs" or "exurban" - can someone explain?
As for Sunday Drives, the next few years may be the last time we can actually to it and see something we recognize. I'm taking care of my dad for a week in June and plan on taking him on a tour of his old stomping grounds.
And IB: I live in a city that's been abandoned. Lots of Eastern cities have. PEople don't have to move into the farmlands. They can come back to the city. They can have lovely neighbors and park in back and walk to church, the store, the park.
Exurbs aren't around every city, but St. Louis sure has them. 45 minutes from downtown there are new subdivisions of soulless houses. And St. Louis city has less than half the population it once had.
I could go on and on. Nate--I grew up in one too. Which is why my daughters won't.
I love cities, and they make sense environmentally. I love the country too. Not so much the in-between, which is the point of the discussion.
I once was made to feel better about not being able to afford the "green" insulation (as opposed to regular insulation that is blown in) for my old house when I read an article written by a woman in a sprawling old farmhouse who was talking about how impossible it was to green it up, but also making the argument that by NOT building a new house, that was an environmentally correct choice too.
I do think we're all on the same side here.