Day 7 mittie, la

I woke up early and had fresh goats milk hot chocolate (and coffee) and had some homemade "oreo bacon." When jerrys daughter minyone (sp?) was younger she used to feed oreos to their pig. The pig is gone but the bacon remains, and they joke that it tastes like oreos. Ive met some great people along the way but jerry and his family are so genuine and goodnatured its almost unbelievable.
When i set off it was only 32 so I wore my jacket while riding almost all day. Today was hard. I headed north in the morning, mostly into the wind. by the afternoon as I headed southeast it was blowing from my 8oclock, which was better. I got groceries in deridder (think bananas, boxes of little debbie snacks and beef jerky) and ate lunch on a bench. Like saturday, I felt strongest after about 50 miles. This is a good sign. My legs seem more than up to the task, but my left shoulder has been a little sore. Other than that the 1 week physical report is a good one. My bee sting is still a little splotchy red and swollen.
I came 76 miles looking to camp at white sands canoe rental. When I got there it was closed. This did not come as a huge surprise. I rolled down the road to a small house where barking dogs alerted the occupants to my presence. Maggie came outside and told me that id be welcome to camp in their pasture, which was where the canoes camped anyway. Just then maggies husband ben came home with his crew. In addition to some horses and pigs he said they also had 70+ head of cattle on some leased land. He said he had grown up here, this was his fathers land, and that he would ride his horse through 60000 wooded acres in the dead of night without getting lost.
He showed me where I could camp and invited me in for dinner. Before that, he showed me some old growth heart of pine which was several hundred years old and would never really rot away. He explained that it was used to make turpentine, and as he splintered some smaller pieces from the log it smelled exactly the same. He touched a lighter to a piece and it burst into flames. Natural fire starter.
The 6 and 3 year old boys, isaiah and marshall also accompanied us to the pasture. Ben told me marshall took his first ride on a horse at six days old, and by two and a half isaiah could work the controls on the front loader like an expert. They live off the land amd those skills are obviously very important to pass along.
Dinner was cajun rice, meatloaf, green beans and homemade biscuits (mmmm). Despite a very modest life they kept reiterating how blessed they were and how they prayed that they might be able to help others. I felt truly blessed to have found them and shared what they had. They are the best kind of people, and really heartwarming to find during the holidays.