Barbara “Bobbi” McGee's Questionnaire

Don't really think that I'd call it much of a town per se, even the nearest neighbours are a good drive away. Pretty sure they're homesteaders too, judging by the chicken coop out back, although I've never asked. Damn sight easier to take care of than sheep or cattle, I'll tell you that...

Place is called Lake Shore Drive, although it ain't much more than a long dirt track that winds its way around all of the fields and land boundaries here, then eventually hooks itself back onto one of the highways. I ain't seen the lake myself, but I'm pretty sure we're not too far from it - heard there's one like that squirrelled away that attracts a school camp in the summer and hunters in the winter. I should take Rosie there sometime, could make a nice hike out of it.

Why are we so far out in the sticks? Well, for one there's a whole bunch of laws about keeping cattle away from residential districts, so they don't stick the whole place up or break out or crush some idiot that tries to break into their pen, but it's also just real nice out here. Beautiful slice of country, free from all the sorts of hassles that city living seems to bring, and there aren't even any death cults or Sons of Salem types out here, which is actually kinda rare when you come this far out of civilisation...

That being said, I don't just spend my time out here, my profession requires me to travel around a good bit; whether it's giving talks at universities about aspects of agriculture or animal biology, or at slightly more secure research centres looking at other kinds of creatures that don't strictly exist yet. Normally they provide accommodation themselves, the former usually off-site and the latter always on-site, for obvious reasons. 

Well I get a passive income from the ranch, you'd think that it'd be a lot but it ain't. Business was never really my degree, but economies of scale is pretty easy to understand when it affects your wallet directly. I suppose it'll get better eventually, even if there's always gonna be larger farms that can tear down chunks of rainforest illegally to price their animals cheaper than us, but for now it hasn't even really paid off its initial outlay yet: real expensive deal between the land, animals and all the machinery and stuff - constant costs too with all the feed and medication. Glad I was able to cheapen down the latter by doing as much of it myself as possible.

Still have to go and take on projects outside of that, giving talks about my PhD at colleges and such places is pretty easy outside of the travelling and normally pays an alright sum plus expenses, especially if the place is specialised into that sort of thing and particularly interested with their budget. Generally the esoteric stuff pays better when I get a job offer on my little pager, but I don't get those that frequent. Have to be careful with which ones I pick, don't wanna sell my soul and have to help Gen-Wyld make another catgirl or something.