Location of the pipeline.

Response to Daily Prompt: Profound

Actually, we absolutely and profoundly love to share our land with friends and family. We know that we are very honored to have such a farm…that began it’s existence as a dairy. My husband’s family has owned this land for well over 100 years and we are quite simply stewards…to keep it intact and safe and treasured for future generations. We take this important responsibility very seriously.

Our daughter and son grew up knowing that the farm is vital to our family heritage. They knew that many of our weekends would be spent over two hours away from our home in the city. They never resented the time away from friends…in fact, they totally embraced the idea of having a farm and understood what it took to keep it going.

When they were very young, they learned to fix fences, clear brush to make trails through the thick piney woods, drive the farm truck (when they were old enough), feed the cows, help work on broken equipment, help drive the tractor, call “Big Red” the Brahma bull over to have a little snack with pellets from their little hands, help build a bridge over the creek…you name it and they learned it. The lessons they learned were irreplaceable.

Our daughter is married now and as miracles (and help from up above) would have it…her husband takes the farm very much to heart. His grandparents had a farm when he was growing up and he loved his own family farm. Some people are just meant to be together! They take groups of friends down to ride four-wheelers and just have fun in the country. They spend some weekends helping my husband with whatever needs to be done. We sadly lost our son in a car accident when he was only 26 years old. Our son-in-law is such a joy to us…even more so when we watch him working so diligently beside our daughter.

We know that we are preserving the land for their future children and grandchildren. Unfortunately, a seemingly small portion of the land has been taken because of the power of eminent domain. The profound definition at http:/legal-dictionary states that eminent domain is “The power to take private property for public use by a state, municipality, or private person or corporation authorized to exercise functions of public character, following the payment of just compensation to the owner of that property”.

A part of our land was taken so that the Keystone XL (TransCanada) pipeline can pump crude oil 487 miles from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf Coast. The pipeline was steeped in controversy and concern for landowners. An article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram (March 29, 2014) reads: “Deep in the heart of East Texas, gently sloping fields, fertile cropland and willowy pine trees stretch as far as the eye can see. Horses and cattle roam the grassy land–sometimes just feet above an underground pipeline stretching from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Texas coast that has sparked an international battle over politics, the economy, and the environment”.

The pipeline portion that runs through our grassy land…so carefully preserved by generations…happens to be located at the top of a hill that gently slopes through a large pasture. When I first met my husband, I was totally enthralled by the view and the history of the land. I always thought that someday…perhaps when we retired…that we would build a house at the top of that hill. I could visualize the porch running across the front of the house. Thankfully, the time has come for our retirement. Unfortunately, the house on that hill won’t be built…can’t be build. Safety issues would be too much of a worry. Yes…there are other places at the farm where we could build a house…far away from the “boost to the economy” pipeline. Yes…we have a farmhouse that my husband’s parents built. But the imagined house with the wonderful view…just a plan…not a reality.

 

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