Tonight the dogs were barking up a storm. Those "none shall pass" type of barks.
So my husband and I called back the dogs and used a flashlight that turns night into day. On the hill was a curled up ball of grey. We walked up and it was a huge possum, playing possum. We went back inside and got the camera and sleeping ugly was still there, blinking and breathing. We took some shots and left our visitor alone for the evening. I am glad it stayed "asleep"; possums have huge fangs. I don't want to tangle with one in the dark. That possum was waiting for us to feed the barn cat. We were running late on that.
After an hour the possum was long gone and the barn cat was happily eating her late supper. I paned the flashlight into the dark while the cat ate and saw a stray cat. I called my husband outside and a second stray jumped out. Apparently, we are feeding half the Ozarks outside our door. They know when feeding time is and they form a line on our deck. We are careful not to leave food outside, but word has gotten out.
One of the neat things about the Ozarks is all the things you can learn from the people here. Our neighbor, Nancy, showed me how to grind organic wheat and bake bread. She uses a vintage Magic Mill that is very loud, but got the wheat ground instantly. It made a fine warm grind that made into a splendid bread. I finally was able to find my own mill after a year of hunting. It is also vintage but is in good working order. My mill is also loud, but grinds fast. Now we can grind more wheat and bake more bread at one time. Once you have had chemical free organic wheat and fresh spring fed water to make bread, you will never want to eat store bought bread again.
