Windsor, Nova Scotia – Welcome to Farm Land – Part I – Travels and Adventures of Joyful Stephanie

I drove to Windsor to spend the day with my friend Liz!

Windsor is a farming town with a history that dates back to when the Mi’kmaq people used the land many years before European discovery, the Acadins lived there and then the land was a central area of the Expulsion of the Acadians by the British, and later Windsor claims to be the birthplace of hockey!

Liz’s family moved from Yorkshire, England to Nova Scotia and started a horse farm. They now live in a beautiful home in Windsor on a hill that overlooks their property and their barn with their family of horses within! They’ve hummingbird feeders hanging on the wraparound patio. I managed to take a picture of one!

Liz and I went to visit her partner, Sam’s family cow farm. His family is from Saint Pierre and Miquelon who moved to Windsor and are generational meat producers in the area. His cows are farmed to supply meat to local restaurants. My main questions of many was do the cows sense they are going to die? Are they scared? His answer is a stressed cow means adrenaline in the muscle making the meat tough – a relaxed cow makes more tender meat. His cows are not stressed before slaughter. I have more information about the number of cows he has (he has two bulls), the breed, etc…. on its way from Sam!

Liz, Sam and I walked through the fields as Sam shared his vast knowledge of cows with me.

What I do remember is how strong the cows are, that both female and male have horns – horns are a recessive gene, he does not have guard dogs because the coyotes in the area wouldn’t dare try to attack a weak calf because he has so many cows and the Avalon River borders his many acres of land. He is able to approach his two bulls – something that is not usually done.

I asked how he is able to not become attached to his cows – he says he doesn’t name them.