These folks are fiercely independent Americans and they want no truck with "government" and they want to have their guns at the ready. These people do not recycle and do not believe in climate change, or understand it. T.V. plays constantly in their dimly lit homes. In many cases their yards are full of trash and plastic.
And yet, these folks have many wonderful values. They take care of each other, and on many occasions they take care of us, whose values are wildly different. Some of them are truly caretakers of this land.
We call these folks "rednecks", though actually my neck is redder than most because I am outside most of the day. This term really is about education, or the lack of it. O.K. It's about the vast ignorance so many of my fellow countrymen have.
For years we tried to buy a contiguous sixty acres from an old and cranky guy who owned it. After having put in a lot of effort and money to have it surveyed, and a lot of energy removing trash from the property, he finally refused. We were planning to give away two thirds of it to his daughter, and to the man who put major work into restoring this land. This was disappointing, but we went on.
Some years later, we decided to place all our land into a conservation easement. This means that nothing more than what is here can be added to. We cannot build anything more on our 300 acres. This land can continue to be a wildlife corridor from the Withlacoochee River, through the Green Swamp. Annually, the water board comes to check on how things are going here. When and if we sell this place, the easement goes with it. We liked thinking that this paradise would be forever.
Since we made this decision we have enjoyed the burgeoning of the wildlife here. It is truly the peaceable kingdom where every imaginable Florida critter and wildflower thrive. I drive on our mile long driveway to get the mail and see bobcats, many deer, wild turkeys and every kind of bird. It was a good decision.
But now we are revisiting the desirability of buying that contiguous sixty acres. Over the last ten years, (who knew?), we became close with a family, all scientists, who more and more frequently came out to visit. We formed such a strong bond with them! They really "got it"! They helped in the work of the ranch - mowing and clearing trees, working in the gardens. We share meals, love their kids. They have become a very important part of our family.
They love this place so much they want to have a part of it for their own. They got a windfall and promptly offered a juicy contract on that desirable sixty acres ( a lot of it is swamp, but to herpetologists, so great!) And that crusty suspicious redneck family still holds out! They never use it unless it is to shoot stuff!
The in-law son, Mac, now approaching seventy has Parkinson's. He's our ranch manager, owns the herd of cows and is here every day. I love him beyond the beyond and we would do anything for each other. If our younger friends could buy into that land, it would benefit everyone, especially Mac, in so many ways. If our "new" family lived here it could be such a win-win situation! The pastures could be mowed, fences fixed, the cattle pens repaired. We old folks could be staying here for a long time.
But these folks still say "No." They are not thinking about the welfare of Mac over the long haul. They are not thinking of Mac's wife who may need the money, and certainly they do not think about the stewardship of the land. These folks freely strew trash around. Makes me nuts!
It's hard being neighbors here! Stay tuned. There is always plan B, and maybe plan C.
No comments:
Post a Comment