Numb.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

I guess it wasn't enough that there's one north/northeast of us that went unreported publicly in any real way for three or four days now (120 acres; 0% containment). A couple of hours ago, this blew up south/southwest of us, far too close to Picuris Pueblo. It's a monster, and it's moving fast, and they're already evacuating people in Trampas, Chamisal, and Vadito, probably others, too.

Second week of September, and we are framed by fire.

This one has the potential to be very, very bad. It's in an area that for the better part of the last twenty years has been increasingly devastated by bark beetle infestation, a DIRECT result of modern colonialism and equally modern colonial invasion and practices. This is still a twelve-hundred-year drought. And if we think the land here is a tinderbox, well, down there, it's other levels of hell altogether.

Thus far, the agencies have attributed every single fire this year to lightning, even when there's been no lighting for a hundred miles or more around the site. That's not possible. And what we do know is that for the past week and more, the forest service has been busy yapping about all the prescribed burns it's going to do, "conditions permitting," starting . . . today, and all around the county. So you know how we all know this started.

Again.

And these are NOT prescribed burn conditions, not remotely. High winds, no rain, unbelievable aridity. And yet here we fucking are AGAIN.

We've already had one [very personal] tragedy hit very close to home today. This is another, much broader in scope, and it's already well under way.

I'm . . . numb.

Only mentally, of course. The pain isn't letting up, and I still can barely walk. Typing is an issue, because in addition to various individual fingers, the thumb joint on my dominant hand is subluxed badly right now. I don't get a break from the pain, ever.

And nothing else can wait. We still have to keep pushing, because this is a society that doesn't allow for tragedy, or catastrophe, or destruction and death, even when it causes them all. There are bills to pay, expenses to cover, supplies to be stocked for winter, people to help, and endless parade of demands. And it's our worst sales year in a long, long time.

But I've got to bring them in, and with a lot more consistency than over these past eight months. I posted Wings's two newest works last evening, here. I already posted his newest cuff here the other day, and it's amazing; it's called Stars Float Down Like Butterflies, and as soon as you see it, you'll see why. Last week, I posted his two new pairs of earrings, here. There's plenty of other new work in the site, too. But we have to make up a LOT of ground financially over the next four months. A LOT. All the links are listed below, so please share:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (apparently the sponges are unavailable, but the other two things I need that I can't get here are the Bar Keeper's Friend coffeemaker cleaner and descaler; we're entirely out of both [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and things are grim here, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.