I wasn’t really in the mood to write yesterday, but I am now, even if it doesn’t last long.

As I was saying about Dan - he says he knows most people around here and he too, isn’t happy that the lot behind us was split into four properties. He says there’s an older woman next door, her daughter, her daughter’s husband, and their 5-year-old son. The couple works in Casa Grande while the older woman watches the boy. The daughter had a fiancée die nearby in a car accident years ago.

Tom, who talked with Dan more than I did, said he was nosy and talkative, but at least he found out the phone prefix out here. The stupid phone company had the nerve to suggest we ask someone out here about prefixes after swearing they have our address in their records and telling us we’re in Stanfield, a little town nearby.

Anyway, Dan, who’s from Indiana, and who goes there during the summers, says next door watches his place while he’s gone, and that they’re nice people.

Where did all this friendliness come from? You mean, there really is such a thing as quiet and friendly neighbors in Arizona? Wow! Although I don’t know how quiet behind us will be once they get settled in. We’ve seen and heard two of the little boys that’ll be living there (why are there only little boys surrounding me?). Although we were too far away to tell for sure, I think they’re white, and I also heard a guy call out to a Matthew. Not a very Hispanic name.

Once they get settled in, though, as well as the rest of the people who are gonna be on that lot, I thank God they won’t be three feet away, cuz there’s gonna be a ton of screaming and barking coming from there. I know it.

We’ve seen quails, roadrunners, lizards, and about half a dozen coyotes. Tom’s seen a couple of jackrabbits, and earlier, when we were returning from Denny’s, our headlights picked up some furry rodent. Maybe a gopher? Fortunately, we have yet to see a snake here, but we did cross paths with what we’re pretty sure was a baby tarantula out on the road towards the back of the property. Tom stepped on it and killed it.

Dan says the high-pitched yipping we sometimes hear isn’t dogs - it’s coyotes. He says he has three dogs that are penned, cuz people here shoot loose dogs. Not fast enough, considering how many loose dogs we’ve seen. Since no one will take their dogs indoors out here, I wish they’d shoot any dog that was outdoors. I mentioned my not liking dogs cuz of their barking, and he said all you had to do was just get a good dog that doesn’t bark. I’m like, how? That’s what dogs do. Babies cry, cows moo, cats meow, and dogs bark. Some dogs may bark less than others, but there is no “good dog.” Not unless it was dead.

I’ve heard cows off in the distance towards the front. Cows make pleasant sounds, but they sure do stink! I hope this place doesn’t end up smelling like one big horse stall. Driving by these huge stockyards in Stanfield is miserable. Totally gross smelling.

God, I wish I had the computer to do all the writing I want to do! I miss it! At least I got to listen to my stereo today for a while.