So, besides being emotionally and physically satisfying, my ninety-mile bikeride was a short tour of the landbase I grew up on. This part of Upstate, known by some as the Rustbelt; is known for a depressed economy (hence the name Rustbelt, because factories and heavy equiptment has just been left to rust,) farming, especially lately grapes and dairy, the tourist industry (people like me coming to enjoy the natural wonders of all the lakes and rivers in the area,) and an increasing population of Mennonites and Amish. As aging farmers in the area retire or lose their farms to increasing prices of gas, equiptment, fertilizer and seeds, the Mennonites buy up each piece they can, and so now, Mennonite farmers almost outnumber non-Mennonites in the area.
For a little background, Mennonites are a religious group that often gets confused with the Amish, (but they aren't quiet the same,) that believe in living a simple, slow-paced life...they travel by horse-and-buggy or bike, most of them farm or make a living woodworking or building houses or a similar trade, they generally have very large families, homebirths (yes! I might be able to be a Mennonite-midwife...), the women wear simple dresses and bonnets, the men wear black or dark blue pants with suspenders and simple button-down shirts and a black hat, they send their children to their own one-room schools, they only attend school until the eighth grade, then they work for a few years (during which time they are encouraged to mingle with people outside of their own community and travel, both so that they can find a husband or wife that isn't related to them and so that they can experience life outside of their relgious group,) and save some money before getting married and starting a large family of their own; unless of course, they chose to leave the church, in whichcase they often will never get to talk to or see their own family again. Their rules are strict, but for the most part they live good, honest lives; they have healthy families, successful farms and businesses, and if you want quality, local produce, eggs or honey in this area, your best bet is to visit one of the many roadside stands run by the Mennonites.
So the good news first of what I saw, because I think, too often, as a student of the environment, I often focus on the negative.
1) Lots of farms that folks can no longer afford to keep running are growing back up into trees! Baby trees are taking over lots of little farms that have been abandoned or simiply aren't being farmed. That is an exciting upside of a depressed economy I'd say!
2) Lots of roadkill indicates lots of wildlife...and I saw lots and lots of roadkill, especially skunks and raccoons on my bike ride.
3) Some bird populations seem to be doing pretty well too...I saw quiet a few cardinal couples, some groups of Canadian geese, and a kingfisher by the Erie Canal eating a fish! Oh yeah, and hawks (I didn't see what kinds,) patroling wheat and hay fields for mice. (I love preditory birds! They are so fun to watch hunting! I want to be a hawk or eagle or ospery in my next life I think...)
4) I saw lots of other people out on bikes. Most where Mennonite kids, but that makes me happy too. I'm glad there is a relgious group out there that encourages that kind of environmentally-friendly travel (even if they are, at the same time, not being environmentally-friendly by having somewhere around thirteen kids each!) But the impact of each of their kids is considerably less then say, you or my impact, but still, thirteen kids is a huge impact.
5) I saw that it actually wouldn't be too hard to buy everything you need locally here, thanks mostly to the Mennonites, who, since they don't travel far typically, have a lot of small businesses to supply all of their communities basic needs right in the area. Everything from bike supples to farm-fresh eggs, honey, produce and homemade furniture and quilts can be found in cute little roadside stands and shops run by Mennonite families. So, if I do move back to this area, it is possible for me to live a somewhat-sustainable life. And if the Mennonite families survive without cars, well then, so can I!
Now the bad news:
1) There isn't really any "forest" in Upstate New York...nearly every piece of available land is a farm field. Here and there you get a patch of trees that passes for "woods" up here, but there is really nothing you could get lost in, except maybe in the Adorandacks.
2) Most of the farms are now growing GMOs (genetically modified organisms). I saw field after field with markers beside the road announcing that they where growing GMO corn or GMO soybeans...scary!
3) You can smell the spray on the breeze as you bike by many of these farms...yuck! I feel like I take in more toxins in the country then I do when I'm living in Portland...that's sad.
4) All of the bodies of water I passed where controlled by dams and/or they where man-made bodies of water like the Erie Canal or man-made ponds. There are no truely wild rivers in Upstate New York anymore, and all the lakes are controlled for the tourists by dams as well. Water level is calculated and controlled. That realization makes me want to cry. Lakes like Seneca, which was sacred to the Seneca Indians, are not allowed to swell and shrink with the seasons...I think we deserve all the Zebra Mussels and so on..we destroyed our ecosystems around here.
5) Climate change is getting really obvious around here. For the past four years, my dad, who is a farmer and closely watches these things, complains about "unnatural droughts"...as my sister, who lives thirty minutes away says "it won't stop raining!' Some parts of Upstate New York are getting a whole lot more percipitation then usual, while other parts are experiencing droughts they never had before. Each year, it gets more and more noticable...my dad is using the water truck more and more to water his crops, and might soon have to put in an irrigation system, and less then five years ago, nobody would have said drought was a problem around here, but now it is. A few years ago, my dad thought climate change was "complete bullshit" but now he's saying "something is changing" and "we've got to start making changes.." (This is a start, I'm glad my dad recognizes this...)
So I encourage everyone who has a few days to spare and a bike to get out there and explore your immediate landbase...it was truely an educational adventure!
Love ya,
Carrot
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