JeepDude wrote:Good posts and sorry it has been some time, now lets move on to something that I'm sure will catch everyone's attention, what about protection? I want the land to be secluded enough not to have to worry about this, however if the event ever arose, what would you have for protection. Not just talking small arms, I'm first talking about how to avoid the situation all together (for example, build a false house and burn it down to the ground so no one sees it as any means to explore any further, or knock a tree down and make it look natural, land slide, etc.) then if the situation couldn't be avoided what would you do in regards to getting the family to safety? (for example, escape tunnel to even more secluded area) and if that fails then what kind of fire arms, explosives, traps, etc. Let your mind go wild here.
Thank you all for your posts, keep them coming, these ideas will not only help me, but may help someone else out in the future.
JeepDude
I was idly musing along these lines one day, and had a few ideas spring to mind- feel free to use them if they seem sensible to you.
People explore most often when something grabs their attention. Avoid notice, and you avoid curiosity.
ETA: I am basing these on standard construction practices, in other words, a regular house, a normal barn, etc. An underground bunker, earthen bermed home, etc. would have different options available.
A farm is usually surrounded by forest, or at least brushy land. And, not all of them are led to by a paved road. A fence line along the roadway could be "encouraged" to grow barrier plants, thick enough, and tall enough, to discourage curiosity. A gate across the road could be built, supported by a wheel at the end, and a "box garden" along the front bottom- plant the same barrier plants, and develop a turn around of worn ground in front of it- your closed gate will look like a dead end with a turn around, or cul de sac, surrounded by an unbroken barrier of nasty thorns and brush. encourage some more of the same behind the gate, along your road edges, of course, and it will take on the appearance of the same sort of spotty growth locations as the wild land would have naturally. An alarm system situated behind the gate would give advance warning if it were to fail to deceive a passerby- and it would also tell you that they were determined enough to get past it to explore, discover, and open the gate, despite the overgrowth.
Borders can be formed with conifers- plant them in patches around the house, barn, etc, in a way that provides no straight line of sight through them to notice the house. Most conifers grow to a good height for this in just a few years, and can also protect the house from high winds in the winter, and the sun in the summer. My own preference is to have pines to the north and north-west, with hardwoods all around the other sides. This allows sun to hit the house during the winter, helping to heat it. (Hardwoods lose their leaves in the winter, and with them, their shadow. The conifers retain their greenery all year long, providing a screen all year long.)
Open meadows are a pretty normal thing to find when walking the woods, more so in some areas than others. If you develop barriers formed of natural things to the area, the change from woods to meadow will seem perfectly natural to anyone bushwhacking their way through the area, and without signs of cultivation, there's no reason for them to suspect anyone has been developing the area.
Paint your buildings in colors that blend into the surroundings. You don't have to camo up your walls and roof, but if you surround your house with pines, a semi dark green would be a better choice of color than a white or red. Allow the screening trees to break up the outlines of the buildings, and the color will make it seem to disappear, unless you know to look for it.
Shingle or roofing colors can be chosen to match closely to the surround ground cover- it's not a fool-proof system, but the breakup of the shadows caused by trees, and a good selection of colors, and the buildings will be tough to spot, even from the air.
Avoid running heat sources as much as possible- the smoke from a fireplace or furnace will rise well above your buildings, and become a beacon to the curious. Keep fires small, and as hot as possible- this lessons the amount of visible smoke, and uses the fuels as efficiently as possible.
If possible, try to avoid using the same path all the time- the more you can keep traffic patterns looking like game trails, the less they will be noticed as anything else.
Noise discipline is important, no matter how far from other people you may THINK you are. Shots while hunting can be heard for miles. A tractor, if nothing man made is drowning it out, can be heard from as much as a mile away. Dirt bikes can be heard a very, very long time approaching before they ever come into view, even through dense forest. Children love to play, and can become noisy- this is normal, and healthy. However, you will need to impress upon them the need to keep noise down, and to pursue quieter pursuits for entertainment, like fishing.
Avoid hanging things up like wind chimes, or pie tins around the garden- not only can they be reflective, attracting attention, but the noise is in no way normal or natural.
I'm sure there are other aspects to consider, but these are some that I thought about.
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