Well, THIS turned out to be a hell of a fucking day.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Well, this turned out to be a hell of a fucking day.

That's the boy of the moment, right up there: Miskwaki, my boy, the clown horse, the one who likes to raid the crumble in the chicken coop. He's always been healthy as a . . . well, you know. Until today.

This morning he colicked so badly that I was afraid we might lose him even before the vet got here (and he must've flown, because he made it in record time). He Banamined him by injection, gave him electrolytes via nasogastric tube, eventually determined that it was in fact probably not heat colic despite his sweating and his trembling, unsteady legs, and we proceeded accordingly.

You have to understand that half the time I can barely walk, my hip and foot pain are so bad anymore. I have also had a migraine since yesterday evening, unabated. It was also in the mid-nineties today, hotter than hell and smoky as shit, and we both spent the ENTIRE day out in the sun and the heat, walking him, working with him, trying desperately to save him.

Three vet visits, two tubings, a dose of butorphenal, and a hell of a lot of work and tears later, and he's doing better, but he is nowhere near out of the woods yet. I can hardly walk now, after all of this, and I don't know how I'm going to cope if we have to do this hwole routine again tomorrow, but you do what you gotta do, and adrenaline can do what nothng else can.

[Break to flog the LVJC's fundraiser: I've been doing my bit to help the Las Vegas Jewish Community, whose historic synagogue, Temple Montefiore (the first synagogue west of the Mississippi, ground broken in 1881 and building dedicated in September of 1886) is being held hostage by the Archdiocese (and y'all know how we feel about them). They have 10 days to raise $200,000 or lose it forever. We gave; you should, too. This is urgent and absolutely necessary, and you can help them save their cultural and spiritual center here. [Since I posted about it on Twitter Monday morning, they went from $11K+ to an even $50K by midnight; today they're currently at $79K, but they need to raise the balance fast. (Note also that this is not me taking credit, not by a long or any kind of shot; it's about how, if you can just get the word out and in front of the right people, a good cause can spread like wildfire and people from all over the world come together to help.)]

GO. GIVE.]

I can't do anything else right now.  I've only just gotten a shower an hour or so ago, we haven't eaten yet, and I'm beat. I have no idea how much his care is going to set us back, but I do know that now I cannot make a $1,200 payment to the tax man next week. The rest is all cut-and-paste, because I'm out of time, and I just don't have the ability, with these pain levels, to do anything original now. [I'm in full-blown lupus flare now, and today has just destroyed me, and it sucks.] But it all still holds, and it explains why things are at such a pass.

Just to keep ourselves going is taking everything I've got right now. I need help to do this. 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.