It is family land, so we don't own it all ourselves. But many of the other owners (uncles/cousins) live out of state and aren't especially interested in what goes on here. I wouldn't build a house on land I didn't own, but no one cares if the chickens forage on it.
The land isn't good for much, really--too rocky to farm, too hilly to develop, too low for a view--so that's why it's still relatively untouched. My husband is working hard to restore it to the mixed woodland & pine-oak savanna it once was. There are quite a number of very good native remnants, with surprisingly few invasives. We are very blessed to have this place, but it isn't to everyone's taste.
