The void is enormous.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Our beautiful boy in better times. That was Miskwaki (left) and Miika (right) meeting for the first time. You know, before she busted down the gate entirely the first time around. It took them a few weeks to integrate; the very first time we finally allowed them together, he very literally took her on a date, leading her all around his half of the round pen, showing her his water trough and urging her to drink first. It was the most adorable, loving thing, and it so epitomized who and what he was.

The void is enormous.

It seemed, last night, as though he took all the light with him: A wild storm whipped up, hours and hours of lightning all around, spiraling trickster winds kicking up dust and scattered raindrops and whispering through the leaves. We never saw the moon; it's been covered by clouds here for two days straight. 

And the pair of red-tailed hawks, here daily through early yesterday, have not returned. It seems that I misread their role; I convinced myself they were here to help heal the boy who shared their colors in his coat, but instead I think they were here as his escorts and guides into the spirit world. If so, he's in the best of hands, or rather, wings. But I miss him terribly.

As I said yesterday, I don't have the heart or the focus to include even the usual right now. Suffice to say that the last three days will wind up setting us back a hellish amount of money at the worst possible time, when we already needed every bit to cover tax and medical expenses and don't have enough. The burial alone was $400 ($300, but it wound up being a difficult one, with a lot more physical labor for the guy than has been the norm, so we gave him an extra $100 because he really went above and beyond). I don't have the vet's bill yet, but something like seven farm calls, several doses of pain meds, the multiple tubings, the final series of injections this morning? It's going to be sky-high. And I have to send the tax man $1,200 by the 15th. We don't have it. I need to be focusing on sales, except I can't focus; the physical pain alone is more than enough to ruin that, never mind the grief.

So we need all the help we can get. All the links are here; please, share them:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priority is first and foremost, the other ladder; also sheets);
• 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 late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's 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.