I'm just going to say it ..

I never wanted to live in the woods.  Especially not the PINEY woods.  You can't GROW anything or GRAZE anything under the shade of pine trees.  My horse still lives about 40 miles away.  You can't see the sun rise ..  or set.   The ground is uneven, and there is so much to trip on.  Hoses get snagged on every tree, stump, youpon.  All those trees are REALLY generous about "sharing" their leaves and branches....  all over the yard and everywhere, creating great places for scorpions and snakes to hide.  They are great places for spiders to make their webs in between .. at just the perfect height to catch you across the face.  Trees make great hiding places for all those chicken-eating predators.  Nope.  I never wanted to live in the woods.

Having said that ... I'm discovering a certain beauty in the woods.

Leaving 50 ft or so of heavy woods at the front of your property is a GREAT buffer for all the nosey neighbors that are just itchin' to know what you're doing up that windy little driveway.  Although I love watching the sun rise, it is nice to have a couple more hours in the morning to enjoy the front porch, before the sun starts beating down in the front yard.  Shade is a good thing in 90+ degree weather.

Birds LOVE the woods.  We have hummingbirds, tufted tit-mouse, carolina wrens, carolina chickadees, cardinals, blue jays, various kinds of woodpeckers, several varieties of hawks, and lots of buzzards.  I love listening to and watching the birds in the mornings and evenings.

Deer love the woods.  We frequently see deer passing through.  (Ask me again if this is a positive when they discover the little piece of land me managed to grow a garden on.)

When a storm is brewing, there is something kinda magical about the noise the trees make when their branches are banging and brushing up against each other.  (Of course, the whole while, they are "sharing" their leaves and little branches all over the place!)

I have discovered that it takes less sun to grow some things in a garden.  We did manage to plot out a patch of garden on the south side of the house that gets full sun for several hours during the day.  We have eaten okra and cucumbers out of that garden already.

I know in time the ground will become more level, as we remove all the little stumps, vines, and youpon.  I know in time we'll have an area in the back that will be somewhat pine tree free and able to grow a little grass.  I know in time that I'll be able to step out the back door and see the prettiest horse in the world staring back at me.

I know there is beauty in all of God's creation .. and the beauty of this piece of woods is where I call home.