Yes, she does think she's a dog now.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

That is one relaxed and happy chicken. And yes, she's in the dog crate, and yes, she does think she's a dog now.

That's Dandelion; she and her sister, Daffodil, are the last two Americaunas in our flock. The whole flock qualifies as geriatric now, although you wouldn't know it to watch them. But these two have lost [most of] their eyesight, and the three Australorps, always the mean girls, started bullying Dandelion merciless last year. In evolutionary terms, it's culling behavior, but that's not allowed here. So Dandy has her own section of the coop, shared with Daffy, while the 'lorps lord it over everything on the top. And in the morning, this girl either makes her way, or is carried, to the deck, where she's given her own scratch and water and hangs out in the dog crate until it's time to be carried into the coop for the night. She also follows the sound of my voice and comes when called, better than the dogs do, frankly.

Anyway, Wings has always been afraid to pick the chickens up, afraid he would hurt them somehow. So I showed him how to pick them up and carry them, and he's started bringing Dandelion over.  This morning, he shook out the dog blankets and refolded them beforehand, and clearly she appreciates it.  She's trying to take a dust bath, [mostly] without the dust, which is why she's lying at that odd angle, but she's very, very happy.

I, on the other hand, spent the day on everything but my own work. On the plus side, I got some organizational stuff done on our taxes [and a bunch of other tasks besides]. On the minus side, I'm here this late doing this, so . . . . And all this is despite the last four of five days involving absolutely excruciating pain, with multiple partial dislocations and a really bad set of them in my right leg that's had me walking like Igor, or maybe I mean like the Monster, until this afternoon, when it finally started to go back into place. But this level of pain is bullshit, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it.

And right now, I've got taxes to worry about, and other expenses, too, and I really need to spend this week pushing sales, but no luck with that thus far. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're now four weeks in the hole on that score. So we still have to bring in sales, and weekly. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need to get this year onto a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner. 

Red Willow Spirit: Spirits of the Woodland Winter

Photo copyright Wings, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for these late-winter days that feel nothing like they should, and for the world we must restore. It's two images from some two decades ago, linked by a newish work of wearable art, all of them tributes to the spirits of the woodland winter that quite literally keep our small world alive.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's nearly the end of February already and we're still about four weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Far too warm for February.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Nothing but contrails. No clouds, no snow, far too warm for February. Not that it's not cold at night; it is. It's also cold whenever the wind kicks up during the day. But this is dangerous overheating for the season, and that means we have to worry about what late spring and summer will look like.

It also means worrying about water.

And fire.

But right now, I've got taxes to worry about, and other expenses, too, and I really need to spend this week pushing sales. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're now four weeks in the hole on that score. So we still have to bring in sales, and weekly. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need to get this year onto a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner. 

Monday Photo Meditation: A Thriving Evergreen Land

Photo copyright Wings, 2026;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for our small corner of the world in the latter half of winter. It's a study in contrasts, a contemplation of what was and what could be again, a thriving evergreen land that now needs our help to survive.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's nearly the end of February already and we're still about four weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.         

Just around the corner.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

New work in progress. Hummingbird season is just around the corner. Especially given that today's high was supposed to be in the forties, and we hit at least sixty-five. 

It's been a day. On the plus side, grocery shopping done, dishes done, trash out, laundry done. On the minus side, nothing else done. Which is why everything's late.  Again.

I really need to spend this week pushing sales. I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're now four weeks in the hole on that score. So we still have to bring in sales, and weekly. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need to get this year onto a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A Late-Winter Forest of Shadow and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the emergent greens and the forest shadows of this alpine world awaiting the official arrival of spring. It's a necklace strung with electric green rocks [literally], with flash at once metallic and ethereal, capturing the beauty of a late-winter forest of shadow and light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. It's a new calendar year, and we very much need to make this a better year than the last two have been. That begins with a minimum of one sale a week, without fail. It's nearly the end of February already and we're still about four weeks behind on what, it's become clear, is going to be a hard and costly year.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.        

If only.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

There's Fang. Talk about having not a care in the world. If only.

If you don't recognize it, that's because that's the space underneath the stairs, which was once our woodbox. Sunny discovered that he could use it as a doggy fort, and now it belongs to them, no takebacks allowed.

So that was him this morning, in his favorite place, on his plushy bed and with the fire blazing away in the woodstove behind where I was taking the shot.

Our mutts have it made.

This week's better news has taken some of the pressure off me in one significant way. Don't get me wrong; we still need to maintain the same pace with sales. That's not going to change, and it's still urgent. But one source of abject terror is gone.

Still, there's all the medical stuff, tool I'm already under unspeakable pressure this year, never mind the need to make up for the last two terrible ones. Our floor for sales and breaking even is making a minimum of one sale per week for the year, and we're still more than two weeks in the hole on that score. So we still have to bring in sales, and weekly. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here [priorities are the LaminaSaver, because apparently Miika's out of it again; and the rugs, to replace those destroyed 2 years ago by the leachfield collapse and ensuing septic disaster];
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And we do still need to make those regular weekly sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need to get this year onto a better footing than the last two, and so far, it's been impossibly grim.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2026; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.