Acreage can be a pretty deceptive thing. Twenty-five acres of a Kansas wheat field looks like nothing. (“Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!”) On the other hand, it’s possible to achieve a surprising amount of privacy on just 2-½ acres in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains along the scenic Illinois River.

Maybe these examples will help put it in perspective:

• 2-½ acres is 108,900 square feet.

• If it was flat and square, it would measure 330 feet by 330 feet. (Believe me, NONE of our lots are flat OR square!)

• That’s the equivalent of two football fields AND both end zones each. (Go Sooners AND Cowboys!)

• It can be covered by $1,045,440 in one-dollar bills. (If you were so inclined. Seriously.)

• In Iowa, it can produce 375 bushels of corn. (If you REALLY like corn.)

• Under ideal conditions, you can graze a couple of cows or horses. (We know. We tried.)

Now you need to know that the development was originally laid out according to topographical maps, so the lots typically run from high point to low point. (High point would be the center of the ridge where the road and most of your more level area is down to the center of the valley below, which could be 300 or 500 or 700 feet down the slope through the trees to a spot where you could hear someone yelling at you, but certainly not be able to see them!) The purpose of this exercise is to point out that 2-½ acres of sloping, heavily timbered forest is actually quite a bit of ground. If you need more privacy than that, you’re probably thinking about doing something illegal (or you’re a nudist). In either case, you probably won’t be happy here. Oh, well. Too bad!