We know we're all in trouble.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Remember our lush weeping willows? That's what they look like now. See below that one to the right? Those stands of red willow are never anything but lush and green and full this time of year.

Until last year. When even the red willows cannot survive this drought, we know we're all in trouble. You can see the dead trees in the background across the highway in that photo. We have several that are in their death throes here on our side, and they're all indigenous drought-hardy trees: aspen, piñon, juniper, pine. If this is what it looks like in what passes for a "good" year now, the land doesn't stand a chance, and neither do we. But colonizers keep coming and breaking it further. 

They're also breaking whatever success we had in fighting the pandemic. Literally no one masks here now. Certainly not a single damn tourist; no, not one. We have 73 reported new cases in 3 weeks, and that's only the reported ones; we know there are many more. Two reported deaths in as many days, one a man in his 30s, and yes, we know those are being undercounted grossly, too. And still they come, and do incalculable harm.

And we both have to be doubly careful, because we are immunocompromised by definition, and my own situation has been worsening almost daily. In the past, I’ve largely been able to reassure myself that the worst of it is only temporary, just a flare, and that I’ll be back to what passes for normal for me in a matter of days, weeks, or at least months. The way this has worsened, with no relief, means that I now have to worry that this is not a flare, but a new progression in my disease. Is this the best I can hope for now? It’s not going to get any better, only worse? I have to be prepared to get my head around that, and so far, it’s not working. But the last three days have been a whole other level. The pain is relentless, so is the fatigue, and there's a new element to it.

Not being able to bring in any income is making it all worse.

This is our second-most-costly month of the year, thanks to certain biannual expenses, and every year, I think this will be the year that I get ahead of it, and every year, I get crushed instead. This time, it was all these medical expenses that did it. But the upshot is that I have to find ~$3,500 before the month is out, ~$1,500 of it by the first of the week, and I'm nowhere on it. My Patreon is down by 3 figures these days, and I don't have the health to do it daily anymore. And now we might finally know why; labs indicate lupus as a likely culprit. You can read the details of that here. I need help, though. The fatigue alone is kicking my ass, and I don't have time for it, because the bills won't wait.

So I have got to bring in sales to cover anything, and push has come to shove now. I needed to pay this $1,500-ish on Monday. It's overdue now. There's another ~$2K lurking that has to be paid the following week. I also can't do it alone, so please share our links. There's a lot of work in progress right now, and new work, too. [Yes, the new cuff is spoken for, but that won't pay out yet for a few days because of logistical issues, and I need to bring the $1,500 in well before then.] Anyway, links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are all the mosquito-prevention items, especially the portables and the patio-surface ones, because Wings can take them around the land with his as he works);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.