But I've got a horse, some mountain land, and I've built my share of fence. It allows me to get in touch with myself. Witnessing the wilderness is more than a whim. Instead, it's an everyday reality for homesteaders like Moore. A small solar panel provides limited electricity for a lamp.
Water is brought in from a community well several miles away in plastic gallon jugs.
Waking up to a mature black bear checking the trash can for breakfast just 10 feet from his front door is an obvious contrast to making a living as a self-employed carpet cleaner in Phoenix. Chipmunks are regular company for orioles as they share the endless buffet provided by the cowboy poet and his wife. Hummingbirds return every spring on April 15. But then there were eight and Buzzard came late Plumb exhausted from his stingy old life. Alligator junipers provide shade from the late afternoon sun, and a branch to hang a propane lantern at night.