Patreon finally does its job. A tiny rescue (and issues with other rescues upcoming). Sales and subscribers and shares all needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2018; all rights reserved.

It's been an exhausting week. Patreon did finally get its shit together last night and release the funds, so that's in process, at least. I would not describe it as having "reached out" to me; it was more a reaction, I think, to being shamed publicly at a moment when they were already suffering the bad PR of a couple of other self-inflicted wounds, ones that similarly hurt creators. Whatever, it's done in process.

That up there was Wings's latest tiny rescue, from yesterday: a male blue-eyed darner. He nearly stepped on it; it was just lying in the grass, looking dead, and he saw it and caught himself just in time. He thought it was dead, but when he brought it to show it to me, its legs moved. He held in his hand in the sun for a bit, then moved it into a safe spot in the studio for a while. Then he brought it out and put it in the planter, safely nestled amid what little hardy greenery can withstand this drought; an hour later, it was gone, apparently having recovered sufficiently to fly away. In this drought, we've had almost no dragonflies this year (because, of course, no water either), so it becomes crucial to save the vanishing few we do get. [And you can see how brown the lawn is in that photo. All that gold? This time of year, that would normally be emerald green and long enough to need cutting every couple of weeks.]

Three small rains yesterday, and while nowhere near enough to put a dent in the drought, even small showers are priceless right now. They were also not enough, apparently, to shift the smoke out of here for today; it's not as visible as in days past, but it's still here, which is why I'm on the O2 as I type this. I'm beginning to get a glimpse of part of what's going on internally, but it is very clearly only one piece of it, and just as clearly unable to bring the full picture into focus without more testing that I can't afford, so until the day comes that I can afford it, I limp along this way, apparently. Yes, I fully realize that "that day" may be "never." Nothing I can do about that.

It does mean that I'm extra-tired now. Mentally tired, too; Ice's one-year anniversary is coming up on Monday, and my heart still hurts every day for that boy, never mind having just lost Shade and She-Wolf, too. On Wednesday, we have to take Crow in to the vet; she's developed, suddenly, two small growths on her lower lip, and she's too young for something to appear and grow that fast. It may turn out to be nothing, but we can't afford to take the chance, so off to the vet we go.

Another bill. 

Too tired, frankly, for anything else, so here are the links:

• 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).

Thanks to everybody who e-mailed Patreon on my behalf, too. I appreciate y'all having my back.



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.