She is right but she is getting the big government she supports. Deserves it.
Been running this problem around in my half empty noggin and have a few suggestion for MO that comes from my life and the buggers that wanted to take my property at a low price to make a good amount for them selves.
MO first thing you need to do is to get rid of any roosters, only thing worse then roosters are male peacocks , Libs don't care but the Cons. that have to get up early to go to work or want to sleep in on a Sat. may not be too happy being awakened at false dawn.
Check out the neighborhood for the regular street folk, You only need two or three and offer them a home made baked chicken dinner, just Kill rooster, pluck and bake with a few potatoes a carrot or so and a big onion.
Show them what you need done, perhaps 2 hours of work, feed them and they will be back in a day or so looking for another 2 hours work for a good hot meal.
Get the workers to go on a search for pallets in good shape, take them apart and when painted, yes you have to buy the paint, will make great little fences to enclose any number of things.
Important is to listen to the ideas the street folk have, never know what the older ones did in a before life and they may need to visualize what they can still do with pride. You want a fence in a south east corner but it is suggested you place the fence to a north east corner, go for it and keep your big butt in the kitchen cooking for the hungry men.
Far as the city goes, as long as you can show you are making improvements even to the point of bugging the city codes and you need to pay $10.00 for permission to do something small as in replacing front or back steps, keep on top of it.
Some folks may see your property as an opening to move in and get you out in order to make much money building an apartment house on the 3 lots you own, one where the home is and the two you bought for your farm.
I ran into this 30 years ago, all kinds of stuff in the works for the city movers and shakers of a big city. No problems until the community decided to move in a HOA that I and other saw as stupid as we owned our homes.
We had bought our homes at drop bottom prices and paid off the bank loan in 5 years and saw no need to pay anyone for anything but the tax collector and our insurance company.
