Clouds, but no rain. One girl doing well; another trying to survive. Sales and subscribers and shares all very much needed now.

Photo copyright Aji, 2018; all rights reserved.

Yesterday's sun and shadow; clouds, but no rain. It's in the 90s every day; the heat is all June, but the drought is so terrible that the trees are already turning. It started a week or two ago across the highway (they always change first even in actual fall), but by yesterday, our big north willow had started to turn, too. We get all of summer's heat with none of the rest of it now, and at this rate, I'm not sure we'll have a winter, either.

We're both profoundly grateful that we have an adobe house to live in now instead of a 35-year-old ramshackle uninsulated metal RV. I'm not sure we'd still be alive if we'd had to live these last months, medical issues and all, in that mold trap.

The new girl is settling in; she has discovered that she likes grain, and carrots, and she no longer needs to be reminded that there's free access to water. She still doesn't much like Miskwaki being out of her sight. We'll be working on integrating them this week. Now that she's in her fifth day of decent food and water, I would swear that she's lost a little weight. She's certainly looking healthier all around. [The way a horse's digestive system is set up, malnutrition can lead to the kind of bloating that looks like pregnancy; it can also, of course, lead to impaction, displacement, and torsion, so the bloating is the least of it.] Still head-shy, but also letting me pet the front of her face without flinching. Miskwaki is back mostly to his old mellow self, too.

Less mellow for our injured raven (raven, as in bird, not Raven, as in dog). It appears that her left foot is completely broken. She can still fly, but she's much more vulnerable. She knows now to come around for food and water, and her mate is more willing to leave her as long as she's here, so hopefully this will keep her safe. We have no idea how it happened, and there's not going to be anything we can do for the foot (it would probably kill her to leave her mate for the wildlife rehabilitators down south of here, even if she were willing to trust us to catch her), but we're trying to make sure that she survives while it heals as best it can on its own.

Speaking of pain, like I've said, I'm still not sleeping, and still dealing with jacked pain levels and repeated small episodes like what happened to me in November. I'm also not worth much in terms of anything physical, and having only one really functional hand makes me even less useful. All this puts me way behind, as always, so here comes the cut-and-paste. We very much, very badly need sales and new Patreon subscribers, and if you subscribe today, you won't be billed until August 1st. We have got to make some sales, though. This weekend is the Fiesta, and it's had . . . hmm, issues, as they say, as well. Powwow should've been last weekend, but was of course canceled with virtually no warning to anybody. Business is nonexistent all over town, and without those sales and subscribers, I honestly don't know how we get through this drought, both literal and metaphorical, with no tourist trade and not much else, either. Here are the links and a request to share them:

• My new Patreon, The Interstices (Writing Between Worlds);
• Wings's site, for sales, with new items posted;
• Wings's direct PayPal link;
• A way to buy me coffee (which actually goes to all of our medical bills, which continue to mount);
• Amazon wishlist, which mostly consists of animal and household stuff;
• Partial registry #1, from Bed, Bath and Beyond. There are new kitchen-y things on it now, stuff that I didn't realize we'd need to replace (either because the RV ruined it or because we gave it away when we had to downsize).

I had said that I'd really like to raise another $500 in subscriptions before July is out, just to have a little more to throw to the medical wolves that are constantly at my throat. That never ends, either, and the stress is not helping with the cardio stuff. Now, we've got a lot more that needs to be done, too, and I'm damned if I know how. The truck was more than enough to throw a wrench in the works (and that's still unfixed, for the most part, given that just the one part is more than $1,200, so . . . ), but this thing with Shade? Out of left field. And once you're in it, you have to keep going; there's no way out but forward, whatever the result. So please, please share the links. Thanks to everyone for the prayers and kind words and other help for Shade. I know she was better off for it, and I know she appreciated that. Miskwaki, too, and now his new girl, who never knew how good life could be until now.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2018; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.