Persistent spirits.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Today is the first day of fall. Yeah, yeah, I know; I also know that there are older and more accurate ways of reckoning than colonial calendars. Besides, fall's been here for a hot minute, I mean month-plus, so the old benchmarks don't apply in these days of catastrophic climate change.

I got that shot yesterday from our drive, not far from the house. That is actually across the highway and a bit north, and it shows just how fast everything's turning now . . . and how fast everything's dying. That dead tree in the front left makes it look three-dimensional, almost like a video still; as you can see, others are dying behind it. And yet that one that's turning early (actually, it started a month ago)? Is like most of ours, and like us, too: persistent spirits, refusing to give up in the face of death and destruction everywhere.

But we need help to save the land.

My illness is apparently progressing fast, the pain is rapidly becoming unnavigable, and I've had roughly one decent night's sleep for the entire month of August. The insomnia is mostly from pain, but not entirely; the financial stresses are beginning to mount. We have another firewood delivery due today (and had to pay cash for it), flue/leak repair in early September, and a lab bill exceeding $400 that I now have to fight over (and will probably lose, because this corporation is one of the worst), and I have to be able to cover it. Since fall is already fully here, I also have to be able to get us covered for all the prep that will inevitably be needed for an early winter. Oh, and Wings's hearing aids? Apparently IHS no longer covers them; they [IHS] want $1,200 cash to order them for him. And then there's the well, which is the only way we save the land and trees and plants (and thereby the animals who come here for refuge). $7K down, and without a down payment, we don't get on the drill list. Pretty soon, it'll be too cold, the ground too frozen, to drill for the next six months. We need to do it now, and I have no way of making it happen.

If I could sell any combination of Wings's new pieces, it would get us out of this month and well into September. If I could sell one of the big ones, like one of the belts, maybe I could get us on the drill list. But I've got way too much to do and too few hours and other resources to do it. It's urgent now; I have to push everything down to make sales, and there's always something or someone else demanding money. I am so tired, all the time.

Wings has A LOT of new work, and I'd be grateful to everyone who shares all of it, and of course, if you're in the market, keep us in mind for purchases. After paying our taxes the last week plus some other bills, I really do need to build up some reserves to get us just a tiny bit ahead of the eight-ball of bills.

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 cover all this staggering new 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.