John nodded to that. He figured they could both scout around once everything was settled enough that they had the time to. John was getting antsy; his life was such that he hadn't spent much time in one place in his life, and his restlessness had become a little too much to bear. No pun intended.

He looked around them and had a thought. "I think I'll take one of the new ones out," he said of the horses, "Get it acclimated to bein' rode. Scout around here a little, see what's in the forest." Of course, he'd be armed to the teeth on the off-chance that old bear MacDougall wasn't the one out in Big Valley, and was actually still around.