COON RUN FARM

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by ROBERTA HAMMER

Winter is the homesteaders' time of trial. Even here in Missouri—far from the Canadian wilderness and the blizzards of the west—there are times when we feel like shucking it. These are the days when the pipes are frozen, the animals need water, all the dishes are dirty and the light bulbs we're using to thaw the pump keep breaking. If only we had a hand pump instead of instant electric water, we wouldn't get into such a situation! Still, there's nowhere else we'd go and nothing else we want to do. We like it here.

Winter is grim because there's not much to do outside so we stay inside and read a LOT. And, now that the seed catalogs have come, we PLAN a lot. We plan far more than we'll probably ever accomplish but—after a few winters out where nature isn't scraped away by the street department—a family just naturally has more confidence in themselves and what they can do with their resources. They also have a better idea of what they CAN'T do.

Right now we live 45 miles northeast of Kansas City. We've lived on farms in two other locations in Missouri and we've looked at a lot of acreage in this state. Here's some Missouri information for folks like Jack and Judi Missett (DEAR MOTHER, NO. 7) who want to know the advantages and disadvantages offered by different parts of the country.

If you like seasonal weather, Missouri has a pretty nice climate. The temperatures here can go below zero in winter and, once in a while, will climb above 100 in the summer. These are the extremes and are not typical; in January we sometimes have days that register 50 or 60 degrees. We have our last spring frost (we plan on it!) between April 15 and May 1 and our first frost of the fall usually occurs in early October . . . so we have an ample growing season. The southwestern section of the state has a warmer climate but the Ozark Plateau that angles across the southeastern corner is comparable to the very northern part of Missouri with, maybe, an even shorter growing season.

The place we've lived that we liked best was near Columbia, a little north and slightly east of the center of the state. There, we were close enough (but not too close) to big towns to have our pick of jobs when we wanted them. The presence of the University creates a more stimulating intellectual climate in that region and the scenery is beautiful. There are limestone bluffs, winding roads through huge oak forests, dogwoods blooming in the woods and lots of little farms with some acres cleared and some rough and wooded.