What's Your Nature?

Become a Nature Up North explorer to share your encounters with wild things and wild places in New York's North Country. Post your wildlife sightings, landscape shots, photos from your outings, and even your organization's events!

A Hiefer Named George

Posted by Gabriel Cole,
North Country explorer from Wallingford, PA
March 11, 2015

This is the second of two images taken at Bittersweet Farms in Heulveton, New York. This picture is of a heifer calf named George who passed away about 3 weeks ago. I am not exactly sure why George died. She obviously had health issues of some kind, but I am not sure if Brian, the owner and proprietor of the farm, knew precisely why George died. Natural History: Bittersweet Farms is an organic farm owned and operated by Anne and Brian Bennet. They raise chickens, eggs, heritage breed turkeys, Tamworth hogs, Scotch Highland cattle, St. Croix sheep, vegetables, herbs, and greenhouse transplants. They sell their products at the Canton Farmers’ Market. Bittersweet Farms has existed for fifteen plus years with Anne and Brian as the owners and operators. Additionally, Bittersweet Farms is located in rural New York and is surrounded by other farms and has lots of land for the animals to roam and live happily.
I decided to incorporate this image into my photography project mostly because George had passed away. George’s death illustrates some of the realities of life that people sometimes forget living the sheltered lives that we do. At Bittersweet, animals die and in a sense get murdered every day because of disease or hypothermia, but also for the benefit of Anne and Brian so that they can make money or eat.