A night on the Farm

So there I was rapidly running out of twilight and I spotted a likely field with a few trees and the gate left open and I decided that would do. So I set about turning around on the narrow road... and a local pulls up next to me in a very decrepit farm truck!
I am clearly not "normal" since the bike is far from an ordinary vehicle, but I was riding slowly and looking around a lot to so I guess he knew roughly what I was doing. He asked me what I was looking for and I quickly decided that he was not a threat and told him plainly that I needed somewhere to camp. After a short conversation about where I was from and where I was going and how long I had been in Mexico... He offered to let me stay near his house. I was out of light and options and I figured what the heck, so I accepted and followed his one tail light home.

We drove down a loose dirt road through a creek and up to a decrepit looking little collection of Adobe buildings. As soon as I had switched off the engine, I was virtually surrounded by his family (one daughter, two sons, a brother and his mother). It turned out that Oscar (my savior) had worked in Chicago some time back and his children spoke some English as did he, but his mom didnt - That didnt stop her giving me the once over with questions which I answered in my broken Spanish, and then she proceeded to give me some bits of friendly advice which I only half understood (but it all amused the rest of the family).
So then, there were some more discussions about where I would sleep - I wanted to camp near the buildings and they wanted me to sleep in the house. Eventually we compromised and I set up my tent inside the "compound" formed by the adobe buildings (back yard-court yard) which was just hard dirt. Then we proceeded inside the house and I met Oscar's wife Carmen who was also very friendly.

The inside of the house was not at all like the disheveled and slowly dissolving mud exterior. The walls were plastered and the ceiling lined with stained wood panels, and the floor was polished concrete. There were two rooms - Kitchen and Everything else. The bathroom was a small separate building.
They had a gas stove and a wood fired hot plate - Seems tortillas are much better cooked on a wood fire. On the whole, the house was a very civilized affair and reminded me a lot of growing up on a small farm in SW Western Australia - down to the pot of milk from the family cow in the fridge. We then spent a few hours chatting (mostly in Spanish) about all the sorts of things you would imagine people in this situation would talk about. I had eaten earlier but the family of course insisted that I eat at least something with them. And the family seemed to be quietly getting bigger too - Every now and then a new face or two would appear and another disappear. There were elements of the extended family coming and going through the evening. There were many questions on both sides and one way and another they were all answered and at about 10pm I headed out to bed.

Not long after I lay down, the interruptions started...
First, something was disturbing the fabric of the tent. I lay still for a while trying to figure out what it was. Then I found that it responded to my movements and realized that it was a cat "hunting" the movement of the fabric - Actually there were two of them and they were young and playful and the night was there time to explore :)
After that I nodded off quietly to the sound of the cows grinding their teeth (also in the compound) and assorted other bodily functions of the collective barnyard. Then at about 3am there was more rustling of the tent fabric, but this was different and it was associated with some quiet mewling. I opened up the tent to discover two very small puppies (still wobbly) exploring their way around. It was about zero degrees out there but the puppies seemed fine as they snuffled around and chewed on my fingers and anything else of interest. Soon after that, the rooster started his daily awakening routine and then the chickens started scratching around... and then I got up (since every one else in the yard was up).
Oscar and Carmen insisted that I have some breakfast with them which I did and then I was on my way again, headed South on windy roads in the frosty morning ready for my next little adventure what ever it might be.