Urban Sprawl

p and I went to Brampton yesterday (Saturday) to visit a friend to get financial advice from him. That was lovely, we had a nice lunch and got some good advice.

We then decided to go for a drive up Highway 10 as I wanted to see my old barn where I used to ride during high school and p wanted to see an old victorian farmhouse he almost bought with his ex-girlfriend.

I knew Brampton has grown, but it flabbergasted me to see just how much it has grown. Then we drove by the farm and turned around to come back. I am really depressed about this - there was a sign to the south side of what used to be the outdoor ring that had all the jumps in it. The sign said 10.1 acres for sale. It looks like whoever bought the farm from Lynn is selling off some of the property. I also didn't see any horses in the big pasture which looks very overgrown. A lot of work appears to have been done on the house which in my riding days was in terrible condition. I think Lynn spent whatever money she had on the barn and the horses and didn't really care or have enough cash flow to do anything about the house. But it makes me really sad to see them selling part of the property because I know that means a subdivision will probably be built there. And even if the new owners of the property actually do have horses if a subdivision goes up they'll get kicked out eventually because of people complaining about the smell.

I am really upset about the farm - I'm not quite sure how to express how awful and sad it makes me feel to see this happening. And, as always, from the days I was a teenager and living in Brampton, I despise the fact that greed rules and some of the best farmland in Canada, possibly the world is being ruined for crappy new housing and that there are no controls to prevent it. I do not want to be dependent on other countries for my food. It's just wrong. And I so wish I had known that the farm was being sold and that I somehow could have figured out a way to buy it.