However, I'm not so sure about the ridges being for rich people only. I captured this shot one moring while at GFM. There are lots of bungalows on the hillsides, but they're not getting the best of the view...:-)
http://www.oksne.net/paw/linville.html
Can you tell something more about this building, Tom? It looked so bizarre through the morning fog from GFM.
Family farms are the cornerstones of many a family feud, that's for sure. Through my wife's family I have unfortunately witnessed that pretty closely. Since it's not fully settled, I think I shouldn't speak too much about it, though. The farm where my mother grew up was recently sold too, but the land was already sold one generation ago to a neighbouring farm, so that wasn't so much of a trauma. The house was old (IIRC, 90 years), so it needed quite a bit of restoration.
I quite like the concept of hobby farming. It's probably the only way to preserve parts of the old cultural landscape. There are lots of good things to be said about the old cultural lanscape, both from a biodiversity and a photographic perspective...:-)
Jostein
----- Original Message ----- From: "frank theriault" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 7:58 PM
Subject: OT: Selling the Family Farm - was: PESO Vanishing America
On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 13:36:10 -0500, Graywolf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:Fire your local taxing authorities!
Seriously, all those folks can see is they can tax, homes, condos, and
apartments at the same rate as a farm. And where there was one farm there can be
many thousands of those. So the raise the farmers property tax rate until he has
no choice but selling out. It is called progress.
That is also what has happened to many small private airports.
Major paper companies that used to keep millions of acres of forest (and often
allowed folks to use them recreationally at no charge) have had to sell the land
for the same reason.
Here in the mountains it is well off people who want a nice place with a view
who build their million dollar house on a ridge. Ruining the view for everyone
else, of course.
But one of the unfortunate facts is that it is almost impossible to make a
living off of a family farm anymore. That has been so for for a few decades. The
only things that work are huge agibusinesses, and hobby-farms; they are pretty
much the antithesis of each other.
Back in the '70's, one of my best friends in high school used to live
on the family farm, which had been in the family for three
generations. As the city grew, it encroached on the farm. Family
farms became less and less profitable, and my friend's dad finally
gave in, and accepted an offer from a developer for the land.
Some other members of the family who had already left the farm tried to block the sale in court.
My friend's father "won", but after all the legals, he got enough to
buy a nice, if modest, bungalow in town free and clear, and enough to
retire on (he was in his late 50's at the time). No great legacy for
the children. Just enough to live on for a few years.
There's now a great huge shopping mall on the former Shuh farm. The developers and everyone else made huge money on the deal. And, all that's left for the family now is a nice house in town. Maybe they were lucky to get that much.
cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
