In the Beginning...

The very first miracle that occurred at Milagro Acres was when we looked at the property. Our dog, Louella, ran all over all 7 1/2 acres of it. She sniffed every foot, and came back smiling and wagging her tail. The human critters, Jim and Mary, agreed that if it was okay with the dog, it was okay with us. Now, I need to explain that up until that time, as we were looking at one possibility after the other, the dog would either just sit and look glum, or race for freedom, as if she couldn't get away fast enough. The fact that she literally looked (well sniffed) it over so carefully, then came back to say..."hey, I like it here" was all the proof we needed that we had finally found home. Of couse it helped that we had fallen in love with it too.

Of course it wasn't all heavenly. There was much clean-up and debris riddance that had to be done before we could really feel at home. But the miracles (milagros) kept happening. There were the cats. Yes, cats, as in many. The previous owners left a cluster of greeters behind to welcome us. There were 5 black and white kitties who called this place home. Our first thought was to take them to Saving Grace, who, we presumed would find a good home for all of them. About 15 minutes into our visit there, we learned that placement was not automatic, and the saving them was not automatic either. We discussed the situation, agreed that someone with some acreage would be a good place for the kitties. Suddenly we looked at each other and burst our laughing. THAT WOULD BE US! We soon learned that none of them had been neutered or spayed, so we made a trip to the vet. Several days and several hundred dollars later, we were the proud owners of 7 acres and 5 outside cats.  It seemed, from the beginning ,that Milagro Acres was to become  a safe haven for God's little critters. Along with the dog and the 5 cats was the house cat, Fermata. If you are not a musician, the significance of his name may escape you. A "fermata" is a musical symbol indicating that a note should be h-e-l-d. And that is all this kitty wanted from the time I rescued him from the shelter.Fermata did not cotton to the "other" cats, for whom he has continued his disdain. Jim, however, loves them dearly, talks to them and has named them all. Just for clarity in later chapters, their names are: Underfoot (because he is constantly under foot; Mamma, (the mother of the younger one) Baby, Chloe (who is a cantankerous old cat who tolerates no nonsense from ANY creature) and Ditto, who is an exact replica of Underfoot.  I will close out the chapter on the cats by relating that we, sometime later, acquired Mooch. Mooch just appeared one day, dirty, bedraggled, and very hungry. It was obvious that he had at one time been loved and pampered because he was sweet, docile and loved being loved. Mooch has remained at Milagro acres, and seems not to mind that he has been relegated to being our sixth outside cat!