Cows & Plants & Happy Days | A Vermont COVID Film | Part 7

Not knowing what the day will hold can be nerve wracking when you are trying to piece together a film and narrative. But sometimes, when you let go and just let the day unfold without any expectations…the best things happen.

That was the day we had when we headed “to the farm” to capture the update on the Skinny Pancake’s Shift Meals crew.

We ended up in Vershire, VT at Broad Acres Farm to witness the planting of a parcel of land donated by the owner, Nikolaus Horster.

The Grow Team From Above

It was a gorgeous day to be on the farm and take in the view. As we got some beauty shots of plants and drone footage of the land our attention turned to Niko who stopped by to check in on the progress.

His accent caught our attention and soon we were engaged in a conversation about all things local and global. As soon as we thought we had him figured out…he asked if we wanted to see his cows and come help call them in from the field to be milked. Uhhh…..yeah! Who knew that our day would turn from plants to global economy to food sources to beef and dairy farming?

Only in Vermont!

So, we slung our gear on our shoulders trekked up the hill and followed Niko into the fields to learn that calling cows is much like calling dogs…and they too, sometimes don’t listen because they are stubborn.

Niko disappeared from sight but we still could hear his high-pitched voice calling after the very vocal cows. Apparently they like to make it known when they are not happy with you. (I dated someone like that once). Well, Niko persisted and finally got ‘Mikey’ and the other girls into the barn for milking.

They were not camera shy and were very curious about who these two strangers with funny gear were. A few nibbles at the boom and a few cow noses to the lens that proved hard to wipe clean just added to the experience… I was enjoying my afternoon on the farm.

Niko shared his story and we shared ours as the smudged cameras kept rolling. No, we were not here to film cows or dairy or Niko…but we couldn’t resist. (hey, we are filmmakers who love a great story!) It was a welcome change to slow down and just capture the change of scenery and subject. I feel our next film coming on!

Totally enveloped in the moment we felt it hard to remember that we needed to head back home to look at our edit screens and not this amazing landscape. I started to puzzle why I wasn’t a farmer, but then I remembered it’s a lot of hard work.

We headed back down the hill to virtually high five the Shift Meals team and wish them well with their mission. A few more shots as the field was almost all planted, and we decided to wrap. With a pout on my face we packed up ol’ Dodgey and bid adieu to Niko and the team knowing that we would be back when the harvest was in.

words by Wendy E. Reynolds

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