the 8747 house: Here's a shameless sales pitch in these challenging economic times.......

Here's a shameless sales pitch in these challenging economic times........I've got some fantastic river-front property I'd like to sell you.....39.25 acres on State Highway B....overlooking the James River and Panther Creek......sold in its entirety or Tract 1 (12.35 acres), Tract 2 (13.42 acres), or Tract 3 (13.48 acres) for $12,000.00 per acre. Currently listed with Bob McCroskey Real Estate www.mccroskeyrealestate.com

The first time I drove Jason Mitchell out to see the house site, I told him that my original plan was to sell at least one Tract and use that money to build my house. The older I got, however, the more anxious I became to "get on with it" before I got run over by a truck; and I had now decided to get a loan and build the house anyway, with the hope that the land will sell at some point. I had never given much thought to who might buy the land......I just wanted to SELL it. Jason asked, "Have you ever thought about developing that land as one of Springfield's first GREEN areas for contemporary, sustainable homes?" Wow. What a concept.

All of these years, spending every free minute of my time either down on the gravel bar, paddling up and down the river in my kayak or inner tube, hacking sprouts and thorns to make trails along the bluff, camping in the field to watch the meteor showers, fishing for small-mouth, watching the heron, eagles, wild turkey, and deer....dreaming about the house I would build someday.....all with a casual disregard for what kind of neighbor I may eventually have. Huh. Once again, it was all about me, me, me, me, me.

I'm not quite smart enough nor available enough to do justice to Jason's suggestion, but it sure would be nice if someone else would take up this eco-friendly gauntlet and run with it. I have made a lame, but very earnest, attempt to honor this "green" endeavor (called WOODSIDE) by drawing up a document entitled "PROTECTIVE COVENANTS AND EASEMENTS" to be considered by prospective buyers. It's not the most thrilling reading, but it does include a very clear purpose that recognizes "the privileges and responsibilities that come with living aside the James River and the Panther Creek and their supporting ecosystems" and the statement that "the owner of each tract is encouraged to apply the practices found in the attached CHECKLIST FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION (www.BuildingGreen.com) to the building of any structure on their land and/or to the maintenance of their acreage as a whole.

The way I see it, land is a darned good investment in these economic times.....it's difficult to find a place on a river where a person can build a house.....and I could sure use a neighbor to help finance this project and to boss around with a bunch of covenants.

(These covenants do not necessarily include the playing of loud music. Especially Bob Dylan, Ozomatli, The String Cheese Incident, Widespread Panic and even The Legendary Shack Shakers. I HATE THE EAGLES.)