Traveling one of life's great pleasures

There is a lot to see in the world, and traveling is one of the great pleasures. It is always revealing to see places and people and things that are not the same as what you see every day.

Travel farther and you can observe the great differences in the world, as well as the remarkable similarities.

It’s not hard to find marvels of construction and wonders of art, especially in the more urban destinations. These things are magnificent and I recommend them fervently, but there are other wonders out there that not everyone pays attention to.

Between the cities and the monuments, usually seen on the journey between destinations, there is where you will find the high points in a farmer’s vacation.

(I know that I just used the term farmer and vacation in the same sentence, and I know how little that makes sense, so let’s suspend our disbelief for a few moments, and if need be, consider this anecdote in the hypothetical.)

“Look at that (insert crop here)” is perhaps the most common phrase heard when farmers travel. If on a trip through northern Italy, the farmer will happily stare out the windows of the train, perfectly content to admire the agriculture that goes by. There are familiar crops, in either a better or worse state than at home, and there are strange crops, admired for their novelty. All are viewed with a critical eye and a peculiar glee.

Eventually, though, the fields run together and even the farmer can grow tired of his fascination. At that point, equipment becomes of interest.

Tractors of unthinkable colors and bizarre configurations can be found as well as familiar machinery that seems unbelievable far from home.

Sometimes, and these are high-points, you get to see a combine wade through the tall, thick, beardless wheat of an English field, or see that poison-green grass of Switzerland get raked and baled and ready to feed all the cows with bells on.

Sometimes you see a tractor in traffic, surrounded by tiny European passenger cars.

You always see something different juxtaposed with something familiar and you’ll hear about lots of green fields from the traveling farmer.

Audra Brown writes about life on the farm. Contact her at:

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