The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines fodder as 1) something fed to domestic
animals; but also 2) inferior or readily available material used to supply a
heavy demand. Further examples are given
related to crafting language such as “cheap fodder for novelists”.
Seven times a year, I drive my trusty Tacoma
approximately 20 miles down to a neighbor who operates a successful cattle farm
to purchase 9 bails of quality alfalfa hay.
It is an enjoyable task.
The
drive itself is a beautiful one regardless of the season. The farmer is a cherub-faced fellow whose
smile is welcoming and we chat a wee bit about the weather and his daily
operation. I admire his jovial manner
and his seemingly happy existence.
Upon my return to the our barn this past trip, I
asked myself, “Why am I continuing to buy fodder for five goats whose only
benefit to me is a twice daily chore of speaking to them and seeing their
grateful eyes as they wait for their meals?”
But then my thoughts spun out to a greater
existential question, “Why do we choose to do anything that we do?” Why do some folks run a cattle farm, while
others practice law? Why do some folks
play golf, while others play banjo at the local bluegrass jamboree? My answer for now is: to observe, to create,
and to protect beings under my watch.
Take that for fodder for thought and this:
We live on an amazing planet where, according to
scientists, there are approximately 8.7 million species. Homo sapiens is one, and yet we have developed intellectually to be able to have
command over all others and to discover that we inhabit a world that is only a
speck in a universe that is expanding into infinity.
Now there is some fodder to chew on!
So for now, I take pleasure in a bit of labor
providing fodder to goats and other creatures that may be reading. I also leave you with words from Wendell
Berry.
CPW
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