Several years ago I was working with some techs from Japan. Somehow we got on the subject of homes, etc. One asked me how big my yard was and I told him 1 acre. They were VERY impressed and insisted that I must be very rich to own so much land... Everything is relative I guess. I'd be tickled with 100 acres or so of my own.

Ah,
Did someone say hunting? OBone, being from Pace, where I was also looking at IP land, you would understand the importance of this one item, 5 covies of wild quail. Last Saturday when I went to the farm you could hear the Bob White call eminating from three different areas of the farm in the early morning. The place has a lot of game including turkey, fox squirrels and deer. The farm is north of Crestview about an hour from Destin.

When I take delivery of the tractor on Friday I will start on the tractor barn foundation. When I get the metal Barn erected and the fence installed I will start planting bird fields at the edge of the pines. The pecan trees have been neglected so I will also clean them up underneath, spray and fertalize them, plus prune out the dead limbs (smoker fuel). There are about a dozen pecan trees that are two to three feet in diameter with four or so that are four feet plus. All but a couple are real nice trees. I have a second pond to dig, about 3/4 acre, and the lower 1/2 acre pond to clean out. The land has sat fallow except for the planted pines for about 30 years.

Yep I will have a bit of work to do in the coming months. Before I build the house, I will build a shop with a metal shop on one side and a wood shop on the other, setup for 3 phase power. I have a 3,000 lb knee mill in MS that I need to go get. A metal lathe will set up the metal shop. I will move my duplicator, band saw, other saws and sanders to the wood shop and be good to go, without blueing. In this same building will be my reloading room, at the end of the new 200m range, which is now in place as a double row clear lane through the pines to an existing rise. The dirt from the new pond will make the berms. I will build a bench inside the reloading room to shoot on or from.

Oh, this was not an easy sell to the Mrs., she is a city girl, so the country was a bit scary for her to start with. But, I know my lady and she will love it in a short time. She already likes the idea that we bought a place, so the next step should be just ok, course she is no further from the G-kids which helps.

Thanks for the congrats.
Best,
Ed

You found a place around Destin that has a mound? Something higher then my knees? What is it? A long forgotten kid's sand box?

It'll be easy to find the spent bullets. Just sift through the sand with a piece of screen...

Ok Bushy,
The farm is north of Crestview, about 5 or so miles from the highest point in Florida which is 345 ft. That land in Okaloosa and Walton County near the Alabama border is all rolling hill country. Destin is about like a pancake all right, flat with white sand, not much else except high rise buildings. But we do have some nice beaches, voted best in the US, and real pretty water, similar to Grand Caymen.

The farm is a very different place.
Ed

PaulS wrote:

Being the owner of 147 acres, I am thinking that in order to really be on your own you need to have at least 640 acres.

I suspect it varies greatly depending on the location. Weren't the pioneers settling the American west given 60 acres and a mule based on what was needed in the East to support a family? Most settling the Great Plains of course could not make it with this. On the high plains, I suspect even a section might not be enough.

I'd give my left gonad for 100 acres of ground. I spend several hours a week watching land sales to find something. Right now I'd love to increase my .25 acres of ground to even .5 acres ... but man its horribly expensive. Prices have come down a bit from their highs of $360k per .5 acres, to a mere $299k per .5 acres where I live.

Remote "recreational ground" ie: cabin / hunting / shooting property runs around $15k per acre on the low end up to 100k per acre on the high end, thats way too much for "recreation".

I wonder how prices long term will be affected on ground like that due to fuel prices... people wont want to spend the money to drive a few hours to cabins + paying the mortgage, upkeep etc etc.

PS: Example of insanity:

www.ksl.com/index.php?...cat=&lpid=


-DallanC

Dallan,
You folks have about the same problem we have, the dirt is dear and it is getting worse by the generation. I have customers that live in remote locales that dispair for their children because their kids can not afford to live where the family has always lived. People trying to get away are driving the prices up like crazy. Our dirt here, up in the country, runs 10k to 15k an acre if it is nothing special. Add big hardwood trees, a creek or pond and it gets real expensive, real quick. Salt water dirt is insane, it sells by the front foot. A nice waterfront lot with 5 ft deep water access to the gulf can easily bring 1K a front inch.
Ed

I've seen wooded hunting land (turkey/whitetail - without harvest-able timber) sell for $1000 per acre as recently as a year ago in Pennsylvania. If it's part of a sub-division, has a cabin or you want power, developed water etc it will of course cost more.

Did I read that right Mr. Dallan? $300,000 for one half acre?

Then this won't make you very happy...A quick preview of my 7+ acres that I paid $115,000 for and is my retirment dirt.

That is a pretty place Bushy. I know you are very happy, compared to being stuck in the USSRC.

I do not as yet have ground pictures of our place, but I do have a Google Earth Plus picture.

In the picture the lighter green is hardwoods. The blobs of light green right in the middle are three big pecan trees. There is a line that extends left or west from the pecans, if you go past the light green N - S line and up a little there is huge pecan tree that is about 5-6 ft in diameter. The left side is a dirt doad, the bottom is a paved road, above the paved road is a 20ft wide single wood pole power line easement. The pond is at the bottom center.

Saturday and Sunday we worked on the temp fence and the two entry gates on the dirt road at the driveway (upper left), plus we put up the batter boards and box bladed the barn foundation area. This weekend I will finish the foundation grading and order the barn out. Monday the dozer will arive and will start root raking the fence rows on all four sides. The rural areas around here are real bad to attract illegal dumping, so a fence along a country road is a must.
Best,
Ed

This is the only photo that I have on this computer that shows my place. This is from the back porch looking southwest toward my hay shed and cattle pens. I like having no neighbors as far as I can see.

Cary

I found another one with one of my tractors and part of the garden. It does show some large oaks and grazing land in the background.

Cary

Bushmaster wrote:

Did I read that right Mr. Dallan? $300,000 for one half acre?

Yes that is correct. And I used to live in a little out of the way town where most people drove a tractor around... now its been discovered and all the rich escalade driving types all have to live here. $300k for half an acre is the current rate for average building lots. Premium lots like up the mountain a tad with a view can hit over a million for half an acre. Ah well at least I got my .25 acre piece of ground while it was cheap, 12 years ago. I could not afford to move here now.

Quote::

Then this won't make you very happy...A quick preview of my 7+ acres that I paid $115,000 for and is my retirment dirt.

Keep posting picture like that and I'll be your new neighbor... think of the trouble you'll be in then!

Side note there is some cheap ground here in Utah... but its 120 miles from no-where and makes the Australia outback look like a tropical forest. Seriously sagebrush and tumbleweeds wont even grow there. That useless stuff still sells for $25000 per 60 acre parcel.

Ah well, at least we have national forests we can use for a mere $60 a year for camping and shooting (getting harder to find places to shoot through)


-DallanC

SwampFox,

Is it just me or does anyone else see the outline of Elmer Fudd shooting a gun?


-DallanC

I sure am glad I live where I do.LOL Don't know how to put a photo up,land here is still 1,000 an acre for heavy timber