They would nuzzle her and eat out of her hand. I think they even talked with her but she said it was the nature spirits who translated for her and the animals. Like I believed that! Once a bear walked out of the woods and approached her. I ran for my pick but the bear just lay beside her and she scratched its car.
So why am I complaining when we always had delicious meals, the house was clean and orderly, our clothes were clean and mended? “Wash your hands before you eat,” she told us. “Cook always told me, ‘Wash your hands before you handle food, cooking or eating?” So before we sat down to eat we had to wash out hands. And it didn’t stop there. “A bath every Saturday night,” she said. “Unhealthy,” I said. “So much soap and water is bad for the skin.”
“Pick up your clothes and put them in the laundry basket,” she said. Why wash clothes if you’re going to get them dirty again. As much as she washed clothes, it’s a wonder they didn’t fall apart. She was that way about everything. “A place for everything and everything in its place.” I got so sick of hearing that.