Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Decora, IA

The whole way up here, I kept saying, "Why have I heard of Decora, IA?" I knew it was something, but couldn't recall until we finally arrived.

Decora is the home of Seed Savers Exchange, a group who rescues heirloom vegetables, fruit trees, and flowers. That's interesting and all, but normally wouldn't have been enough to stick in my memory.

This face, you'd remember though.
I finally realized that Seed Savers is the home of 80 incredibly rare White Park Cattle, an ancient breed of cattle found in England in pre-Christian times. When white cattle are mentioned in Celtic myths, these are the guys.

I'd read about these cattle many times because that's what this city girl does--read obsessively about rare livestock breeds. I have to say though, they're even more amazing in person.

1 comment:

Larry said...

Way back in the eighties my ex-wife Betsy and I attended a couple of Seed Saver's Exchange annual meetings. The Decorah area is unlike the rest of Iowa, being a part of the unglaciated Driftless Area and all. Beautiful countryside, much like parts of New England and Wisconsin. I enjoyed seeing native white pines in the Midwest!