The big news ’round here this morning was all over social media (or all over the local chat’n’gossip groups anyway) — 40 wolves were on the loose. Details were few, and accounts varied wildly. The only consistent part was that they’d escaped somewhere around Yellville.
Yeah, that’s us. But saying “Yellville” doesn’t really narrow it down, never mind pinpoint it. Much of this county has a Yellville mailing address.
It also seemed (to me) highly unlikely that actual “wolves” are being raised and kept in Ozarkansas. The indigenous red wolf was hunted to extinction (or near-extinction, depending on who you talk to) in the early 1940s. Gray wolves are making their way into northern Arkansas, reportedly coming from populations in Colorado and Minnesota.
I was more inclined to believe that the fugitive critters would be a wolf-dog cross. If that sounds somehow odd to you, even reckless, I can assure you that it’s a thing — specifically, it’s a Country thing.
I recalled snapping a picture of a pickup truck at the post office, almost 18 months ago now, that advertised “wolf pups for sale.” I went back to that image, zoomed in and plotted the location of the breeder.
It’s six miles from The Mountain.
About that time, the Marion County Sheriff released a statement, an effort to snuff the crazy rumors. He confirmed that 40 “wolf hybrids” had, indeed, dug out of their enclosure at that breeding operation. He was told that 34 had returned.
As for the other six, still on the run, the breeder advised the sheriff that if they cause any trouble, “they need to be disposed of.”
Well.
I’d have to say that we’re not at all concerned up here. We don’t expect any problems, really. If there happens to be an issue, Deb and I are always equipped to deal with it.
For many years, we’ve followed the ABC principle — always be carrying.
This is our world. We love it.
(Bet it doesn’t look like yours.)
When noon rolled around today, I found myself wanting a beer. I pulled one from the fridge in the cabin, grabbed a folding chair and climbed up to a new spot I’d picked out near The Amphitheater, 20 feet above the level of the driveway.
This is where I set up my chair:
And here was my view:
Looking to my left, I saw this:
To my right:
And looking up:
It was the perfect place for a beer at noon on a Tuesday.
I messaged a couple of those images to Deb on her lunch hour. When she got Home, we took a second chair up to the spot and lingered a long time.
(The revolver was for snakes, by the way, not wolf-dogs.)
Deb is as taken by our new perch as I am. We talked about making it a regular retreat — it’s amazing to us how a place so close can feel so removed.
It’s the ideal vantage point for enjoying our incomparable sunsets. Today’s edition, captured here by Deb, was inspiring.
This is our world.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB