Politics and decline.

Local politics are getting interesting. A flyer recently arrived from the "North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce"

http://www.ndact.com/NDACT/North_Dufferin_Agricultural_%26_Community_Taskforce.html

pointing out that a group called The Highland Companies has accumulated over 6,000 acres of local land and suggesting that this was not likely to be good news. Today a DVD arrived from the company in question with a covering letter confirming that they intend to use the land for gravel pits and windfarms and to reopen a disused railroad; at first glance this letter seems a spectacular public relations own goal but perhaps the video somehow makes the idea of industrialisation other than ghastly. I fear that we're going to have to become radical environentalists and go Monkey Wrenching the windmills.

Meanwhile, developments on the poultry front offer a horrific vision of the future. The old cock has been usurped and banished. He's been driven out of the coop by the younger ones and now lives in the tack room.


Only the oldest and slowest hens now fall prey to him. He's lost some feathers, his comb never recovered from the frostbite, he's generally past his best. He's only alive because we throw grain to him after the others have gone to roost.


Who will throw grains to me, I wonder.