Apocalyptic.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

This was yesterday evening, and the sky and air really were that eerie orange color. We had 75-mph gusts here, 93-mph gusts recorded off Kachina Peak (the one that colonizer who bought the Ski Valley put a new lift on, blasting a mountain that was supposed to be left alone), and wildfire smoke from all sides. 

And we're the lucky ones; no fire here.

Elsewhere? Notsomuch. The Hermit's Peak and Calf Canyon blazes met and merged overnight into one massive fast-moving conflagration this morning, over 42K acres.  And it's STILL not as big as the nearer one, the Cook's Peak Fire, which was just shy of 50K recorded acres at dawn. The winds mean there's no aerial support; all the firefighting has to occur on the ground. And the winds also mean that spotting (where tall winds carry embers and sparks ahead of the fireline) is occurring A MILE AHEAD of the fireline. They can't keep up with it.

This is apocalyptic in ways English doesn't have words to explain.

And today, it's bitterly cold, a 40-degree drop. Which in theory should help with the fires, except the winds aren't cooperating, and all it means is that evacuees who had to run with only the clothes on their backs are going to be even more miserable. This is catastrophic.

Everything is, actually. Watching the COVID numbers climb even though no one's reporting to speak of, and seeing the recklessness with which everyone's treating it; knowing the damage this drought is doing even apart from a two-month-early start to wildfire season (with no rain in even the longest-range forecast). And our finances after the last two weeks.

We sent off two four-figure checks to the tax man last week, one of them gigantic. Then yesterday we had to go to Santa Fe for my eye appointment, eight months overdue by now. I had prepared myself for a four-figure bill, which it was . . . but it was DOUBLE what I had anticipated. Two rounds of exams, one of them classed as "medical," plus contacts (with which my eyesight is MUCH better than with glasses) and glasses needed as back-up. And I have another $500 going out the door on Monday, because Wings insists that I keep my pain therapy intake appointment, and that will be three grand just on medical stuff in a matter of days. Meanwhile, my Patreon is down by nearly $100 this month, and sales have been . . . few and far between, to put it mildly. And without plastic, we have to pay cash in full for everything, so all that is money that's completely gone in two big chunks. and I have GOT to bring in some sales to replace it.

But I'm increasingly disabled, and I can't work if I can't get the pain under control, or get back my ability to walk [mostly] unhindered. So I need to find a way to do this, and I'll need help to get it all done. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder, the Thermacell lanterns [the flies are already out, so the mosquitoes won't be far behind], and the liquid soaps, which prevent our hands from cracking and bleeding given that we're forced to wash them fifty times a day;
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before the latter half of summer, and the tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's perhaps even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.