Hi-dee-ho neighbors. I just though I should stop by the Electronic Front Porch (E-Porch?) for a cup of joe.

I'm doing really well these days. I've moved to the deep south now, and bought 20 acres with about 6 acres pasture, 1 acre house & lawn, 4 acres miscellaneous trees (including i acre that was a pond until th dam got a hole), and 9 acres of forest on a hillside (all hardwoods!). There is a creek winding through one side of the forest through a small valley (ravine? about 150ft wide) and down to a valley below. It used to feed a pond which was formed by a dirt dam across the ravine about 15 ft high, 30 ft wide, and 10 ft thick. About half way down the hillside, on the other side of the property, a spring feeds a second creek. The spring was once a cave (opening collapsed) and rumor is that there was cave paintings inside. Someday I'll have to re-open the entrance. I'm loving life in the country.

We left Calif due to murder threats, so things were crazy for awhile with trying to move in a big hurry. I got a tupperware whitewater kayak from my mother inlaw, but haven't had time to get it wet yet. I have to buy or build a paddle for it first. There is water and swamps all around me, and I hear there is a lot of whitewater kayaking around here.

I don't have much time right now, so it'll be awhile before I get to build a boat. I was really close to starting one in Calif, and had begun refurbishing my Mother inlaw's in exchange for her giving me her new, "too tippy", kayak. I felt bad about not getting to finish the job, but it was too stressful in Calif (I got tired of carrying a handgun everywhere). My belief in God kept me from really feeling fearful, but I felt it prudent to take safety precautions.

Once we get settled, since I do have a 50 X 100 ft barn now, I'll have to build a boat. I'm leaning towards taking Y'alls advice and building a boat bigger than a kayak (first). Once I get started on it, I'll, of course, return to the BBS more often. I really miss the stimulating discussions, and wish I had more time to spend on the E-Porch with y'all. I don't do as much CAD work on my new job, so I don't get all that "Multi-Tasking" time that I used to get while my computer was chugging away on my work (sometimes 90 min between clicks!). I miss all of that background time to spend here on the BBS, but I do like my new role alot. I'm still engineering space hardware, but now I'm spending more time on the shop floor solving problems (MRB). In the wimter, when it's too cold to work outside at night (though I am putting a woodstove in the shop/barn), I'll try to get some evening time to visit with you guys.

Someday I'll give more detail around the incident leading to us leaving Calif, but we're doing really well now, and don't feel as tense about our security (though we don't give specific info on our whereabouts).

Below should be a picture of me and the tractor (aka Kermit) at the edge of our meadow (if I still know how to post a link).

Take care, and God bless all of us,

-Mark Kanzler

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> Mark is alive and well and having fun with a new tractor. I still get
> email reports from him.