First off, I found and bought 26 acres of land in South Central Missouri.  We have been living out here since the end of August.  First we were living in a tent, then, just as the poor tent gave up the ghost (ripped completely down the middle of the top) I bought a 14' camper.  We've been living in that since mid October.  Fortunately, the weather has mostly cooperated.

OK.  So the first night we were out here actually on our land, I was out in the tent with a dog, a cat, and a bird.  All three animals were in their respective kennels, stacked up outside the tent.  My brother had gone into town to grab us something to eat.  It was pretty much black as pitch - there were a few stars and I think the moon was up, so there was some light.

You don't know dark if you've been living in the city for years and years.  Dark in the country is a whole 'nother kind of darkness.  Frankly, I never got used to all the bright lights once they started lighting up the cities with streetlights.  I find the darkness in the country natural, and somehow comforting.  But that first night . . .

I kept hearing weird noises.  Sounded vaguely like - BEARS!  Ohhhhhh . . . but the sound moved off.  I later found out that it was actually (don't laugh now, I know of at least one other newbie person out here who has mistaken these animals for possible bears) - cows.  HEY!  I ASKED YOU NOT TO LAUGH!

Well, cow-bears not withstanding, I did have coyotes come up to the camp.  I think it was Samantha's yowling that brought them so close.  But once they realized there were people types about, they decided maybe it wasn't a free lunch after all and took off.  Samantha did get AWFUL quiet once she got a whiff of  them.  And stayed that way for the rest of the night.

The property next doors to ours (40 acres) was abandoned by the then-owners just about the time we got there.  Before they abandoned their place, they came over onto our property and dumped their trash and junk.  I know because we found magazines and letters with their name and address on it in the mess.  Not only did they dump their trash on our property, they also abandoned all their animals up there.  It was the cats we found first - or rather, they found us.

The first cat to wander into our property was Sassy, a small tortoise-shell longhair.  Next was Bear, a cream and white tom.  Then the kittens started showing up - Squeakums (he sqeaks, but is a mighty hunter of grasshoppers), quickly followed by another male kitten, Bolt, and Ginger Tom (or Bob the Cat, as my son Kevin calls him), a full-grown male.  Nearly last of all we found Wisp, half-dead and abandoned, lying limp and nearly dead on a chair left by where their camper used to be.  To weak to run from us.  The only one of the (eventually total of 8) abandoned cats that didn't come to us on her own.  And finally, there came Mocha and the last of the kittens, Wild Thang.  Kevin is the only one who has ever been able to lay a hand on Wild Thang.  I expect she'll always be half-wild.  Wisp is the smallest of all the four kittens.  Near death undoubtedly stunted her growth.

When we found Wisp, we also found 3 abandoned dogs - 2 part Chows and a Rhodesian Ridgeback.  The Chow-mixes turned feral, and one at least was shot after it killed a neighbors pet Pot Belly Pig.  I don't know what happened to the other one.  Missy, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, was so dreadfully lonely.  Her "owners" left her up there all by herself for weeks and weeks.  Finally, after much prodding by other neighbors, they came and got her - but were leaving her chained up on a 4' lead in an alley.  She was still miserable.  Well, eventually, we ended up with her, too.

So I ended up inheriting 8 cats (4 adults, 4 kittens) and a dog, to add to the one cat and two dogs I already had.  In order to cut off the potential future supply of kittens, the first thing I did was take the adults in for spay/neutering, and all of them for their shots and worming.  Now the kittens are old enough to take in for spay/neuter.  Wisp I'm worried about - she is still so small and thin, I don't know if it would be a good idea to spay her.  Wild Thang is a problem as I doubt we can catch her (I THINK she's a she, can't really get close enough to tell).  Bolt and Squeakums won't be any problem at all.  Mocha and Bear have dissappeared recently, and Squeakums bears the marks of a terrible battle - see the Possum Woes link below.

To make a long story short (too late!) I got power and phone in, got the well in but not the pump, got the foundation setup but not poured.  The truck that brought the gravel out sank axle deep in my pasture (a very unusual occurence here in Missouri, where so much of the soil is thin and stony).  The truck that came to pull it out sank as well, but winched the dump truck out until it was on solid ground, then used the dump truck to pull himself out as well.  Needless to say, they didn't want to come out and deliver the concrete until I get the road in.

Plans for this spring and summer include getting the pump in, getting the road in, and getting a pole barn up.  We will close in part of the pole barn for living quarters to give me a breather, and a chance to reorganize and make plans.  My brother is no longer part of this operation, as he has a serious relationship now and will most likely be moving to Arkansas.  He'll be helping me get the pole barn up, but past that I don't think he'll be available.  IF there's any time left, I'll be working on getting fenceposts in as well.