I was walking back to my apartment after class, innocently listening to my Lullabot Drupal podcast. I was looking forward to eating a beautiful éclair, topped with whipped cream and strawberries.

All of a sudden, there was a shift in my normal Thursday walk home. Horns were honking and I saw a couple of people running ahead of me towards the intersection at the end of the street. Then I saw it- HUGE TRACTORS parading themselves down the street, horns blazing.

Literally, huge… I’m talking like Outhouse Orchards (if you don’t get the reference you’re not from North Salem :-p) sized tractors, and TONS OF THEM. I threw off my headphones and put Drupal on hold and ran up to see the procession with my own eyes.

Right when I got to the intersection, it began to rain hay. Yes, hay. I saw dirt on the ground to my left beginning to pick up and blow towards me, and for a second I felt like I was in a movie and I had to run away from some imminent danger that was about to take place. I only moved a couple of feet back, but this didn’t help, because hay began to fall down like a torrential downpour from a spewing chute of a tractor, and it landed all over parked cars, the sidewalk, bystanders, and my hair. I am still picking out hay particles from my hair and shirt.

The tractors were equipped with large signs and symbols, and now I know the reason why: they were part of the European-wide milk battle. To my understanding, prices of milk are dropping and government officials are trying to do away with production quotas, which would render some milk producers bankrupt. You can get more information about this here. Essentially, what I was witnessing was a revolt of the French farmers in response to milk production laws and regulations.

Because the tractors are driving down all the major roads, it took one girl two hours to drive to school today, whereas it normally takes her 15 minutes.

After the tractors had driven past where I was standing, all that remained was lots of hay, run over vegetable debris, and that smell- oh god, that smell… what was it?

You can take a North Salem girl away from Colley’s farm, but you still can’t escape that ole’ familiar stench of cow excrement.