What’s in a name?

I recently took a different route home, and saw in the middle of a beautiful piece of farmland a sign: Pleasure Valley Preserve. Well. It wasn’t in a valley; apparently the farm is NOT going to be preserved; and the pleasure will likely all belong to the developer. Where does it stop?

“Berry Fields” read one sign near us when we first moved to our farm. I foolishly thought it was a pick-your-own berry farm.

Some blogger wrote about his theory that housing developments are named for that which they displace. Amusing, but not likely true. Another one I saw recently:

Heron Lake
“Affordable side-by-side ranch homes.”

I guess that means duplexes. Who pays upwards of $250,000 (I’m estimating, based on the area) for a home that 1) shares walls with another family; and 2) is cheaply slapped together drywall by a crew of underpaid laborers?

And I don’t think any herons were rousted from the lake cum runoff pond.