At least there's that.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

The remains of an elk hoofprint in the ice. They've come every night for he past four; we didn't see them last night, but Wings found new scratches in one of the trees that wasn't there the day before, the result of one of the males rubbing his antlers on it. They've been remarkably well-behaved, but then they know this place, know they're safe here. And like the hawks, they seem to respect that.

It's going to be another bitterly cold night tonight. We finally got up above the freezing mark today — all the way up to 34 — but the lows are plunging to near zero. Fortunately, the house is warm. Everything else has gone wrong these last two weeks, but at least there's that. 

Everything's late tonight because we spent too much of the day trying to track down a new battery for the ATV; the old one gave up the ghost yesterday. That's another $130+, cash, that I wasn't expecting to have to lose this week, but here we are. This is not the kind of place where you can do the work that needs doing year-round without an ATV; too much acreage, too much haulage and plowing and everything else that needs doing, too much back-country stuff in warm weather that can't be navigated any other way. Wings uses it daily, so we can't be without it because of a deader-than-a-doornail battery.

And then there's the damn regulator for his tank. Almost two full weeks unable to work. In the middle of the holiday creative season. I don't have words for how badly this sets us back now. Out of less than twelve weeks, two are completely gone, in the ether, with nothing to show for it. I still have all these bills to cover, and I'm just ready to weep.

I will be doing nothing but pushing sales for at least the next five weeks. But I need to make this happen sooner rather than later, because the tax burden won't wait, and there's too much else that needs doing, even as my illness leaves me with less function by the day now. It's everything, from pain to balance to ability to walk properly to ability to use my hands properly, and the damage is increasing even as I'm running out of time to do it all. And Twitter's incipient destruction is going to deprive us of our biggest sales audience, and that means I'm going to be putting in twelve-hour days after the holidays trying to set up alternatives that won't have the effectiveness or the reach, and I am so depressed by it all by now that there aren't words. Which means I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the automatic composter and the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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.