Dispatches From the Farm Upstate
7th October 2025
It’s easy to tell urban and suburban settings apart: suburbs are just a part of the city that’s dominated by single-family homes and manicured lawns. Rural living, in contrast, isn’t about construction style; it’s about access to services. In a rural place, you’re not getting municipal water or sewer, you have no local police department, and fire or EMT services might be a long way away.
Rural jurisdiction is funny too: you no longer have to deal with city planning departments or HOAs, but it’s not the bargain you might be hoping for. You probably need a permission straight from the state capital to build a septic system or dig a well — and if you’re unlucky, you might get a visit from the feds, too. The much-politicized Sackett v. EPA decision involved a family who bought an unassuming rural plot to build a single-family home, and ended up getting pulled into a decade-long fight with the federal government. The fight was about regulatory power, not the (near-zero) impact of what the Sacketts wanted to do. When the family finally prevailed, half the country gave them cross looks.
The need to interact with such distant and incomprehensible bureaucracies is probably to blame for the siege mentality among some rural populations. When a regulator in Sacramento decides it’s time to ban gas-powered chainsaws or leaf blowers, it’s good for the suburbs, where such equipment is a nuisance, and where batteries are usually enough. At the same time, it’s preposterous to those who own a forest and need to keep tree diseases and fire risks in check. We bought a top-of-the-line battery-powered Husqvarna saw; it’s great for small projects, but woefully inadequate for more serious forestry work.
Government employees have long noses and just love to stick them into YOUR business.