Should I or Shouldn't I? I Contemplate Lots 3 and 4

On this most recent trip up with my father, my main goal was to meet with John, who is my neighbor and builder, as well as the local saw mill operator. We got that taken care of and enjoyed walking the land and even firing a few rounds from my rifle and shotgun. What I didn't expect was the visceral response I had from seeing a total of 3 cars of people walking around on lots 3 and 4, who like me, were contemplating them. My offer was in at a maximum of $25K for the better lot, but as these were the only two left, the owner had become inflexible. Still, I felt protective. I felt the stillness and tranquility had been disturbed when these cars were parked right in  front of my land. That only added to my quandry. I talked about the value of the land with islandgirl who asked me, "how badly do you want it?". "Pretty badly", I had said. "Well then what's the problem", she replied. Problem? No problem. But I would be damned if I'm gonna pay a thousand more per acre for the worst two lots, after I got the good ones for so much less. But I hated the idea of anyone in my little secluded area. What to do?

Just before leaving, with the sun sinking low for 4pm, I asked dad to take a final walk on lot 4. "I'm not much for going down there again", said dad, but as I started out, he had a change of heart and followed. A critical look showed most of the nicer river frontage to be on my piece, and maybe only half that on lot 4, which is adjacent to mine. More of it was cut by ravines, a steep grade down to a brackish pool, and finally to the slow river. A large piece of rusty iron from an old bridge lays on its side in the dark water, along with a logjam of debris washed down in the last storm. A few nice spots exist, mostly at the top of the ridge close to the road, making lot 4 less desirable for river frontage or access, but also meaning any cabin on 4 would likely be up by the dirt road close to me. Lot 4 lost some of it's charm this time around.

Dad and I pressed through the low brush upwards to the plateau again and hit the crossroad. We walked down a bit further to have a quick look at lot 3 not even bothering to go downwards to the river frontage. We had seen it from the bend on 4. Passing the road frontage of 3, we saw the camping site the guy on lot 2 made. That's across the road and has nothing adjacent to me. He's on 21 acres mostly upland but does have a 20ft strip of river access. I have yet to meet him and his son but understand he's a good guy. They live in the Bronx says the broker, but others say he's from Jersey.

We came to 100ft from the end of the roadway where a sign hangs that reads, "No Tresspassing! Keep Out! Do Not Enter!" A rope across the path drives home the point. We're not even to the end of lot 3 and we feel uncomfortably close to a neighbor who doesn't seem neighborly. If his signs were not off-putting, his truck, cabin, garage, shed and blue tarp covered woodpiles are. Very visible. As we turned around to head back, a large dog began barking furiously but fortunately didn't cross the property line. Maybe he was tied up? Thank God!

Just before we arrived back at my jeep on the culdesac, dad and I split up. I climbed the ridge on my lot 8, situated on the west side of the peninsula. I came to the very top which is like 50 or 60 feet above the surrounding lands and is marked by a very steep western drop, moderate southern drop, gentle eastern drop, and my neighbor's lot to the north. Silence. A gentle breeze caressed the tree branches and from my high perch, I could make out the hills across the creek and surrounding valleys. I came up to see if this would be a good site for my wind turbine but something else happened instead. As I lay on my back in the pine needles, a good feeling came over me.

This was beautiful land. The other lots were not nearly worth the price being asked. I had gotten the best of them already and another wasn't necessary. A sense of peace came over me and I knew what I wanted to do.  Let my offer for lot 4 stand. Forget about 3. In fact, good luck to whomever buys it. With that good feeling, I set out for home and had once again discovered the serenity and wisdom of the woods.