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| Photo copyright Aji, 2020; all rights reserved. |
New bird, again. Apparently the female mate of that new male I caught at the old feeder a week or so ago. We're pretty sure they're Williamson's sapsuckers; never seen one here until this year.
Among all the other terrible news now, hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of migratory birds are falling sick and dying en masse all over the state. It's happening up here, too, just not . . . here, as in not on our little plot of land. Here, they're thriving, and they're everywhere. Which means I now have to shuffle some other things and delay some purchases I needed to make for myself (enzyme supplements, etc.), because we need to keep the bird seed stocked. We've always done our best to keep this place a sanctuary for wild creatures, but now it's urgent that we do so. The smoke plume is back this morning, and there's probably something toxic in the wildfire smoke.
Meanwhile, I am still completely disabled by this autoimmune nonsense. I'm sure the smoke has a lot to do with that, too. But aside from the obvious fatigue-related effects of insomnia, my pain levels and breathing difficulties are off the charts still. I'm completely overloaded with tasks this week, already SO far behind, and I need to get on it, so the rest is cut-and-paste, but if you haven't read it yet, please do, because if you're a Patreon subscriber, particularly, there's something that might apply to you. Oh, and as I keep trying to remind people, mostly to no avail: My regular gmail is near-permanently hosed by conflicts between Google's various things I need and Apple Mail. I can receive, but I cannot reply. If you want to be sure of getting a reply that your spam filter won't trash, use the Web site Contact form. I know I owe messages to a bunch of you, but aside from trying to figure out the simple logistics of it, I can't even think straight enough to carry on a coherent conversation. That's what happens when you get about 16 hours sleep over seven consecutive days, and that's where I've been most of the summer, thanks to all the terrible in the world, large and small.
After a summer of stolen dogs and drought and almost no sales and a tidal wave of illness and death and community need, sales are so few and far between that I don't know how we're going to make it just on that basis alone. And my Patreon is down drastically. For August first, it was down by $100, which is a significant hit, but manageable. This month? Last Tuesday's payout was down by $360. Three hundred and sixty dollars that I was expecting to be there that isn't. Now, it might just be that people's cards have expired and they haven't bothered to update them. They've changed their interface, so I have no way of knowing who, so PLEASE check to see if it's you. And if that's not it; if you want to unsubscribe? Then please, please, actually unsubscribe, so that I don't get to the end of a month with all indications that we will be $360 further ahead than we are. That was going to bills and car repairs, and now . . . ::shrug:: nope. [Just under $250 of that has now processed, leaving it ~$110 short. The <$250 will go on my medical loan.] And I have quarterly taxes, four figures' worth, breathing down my neck for October, too. [Oh, and folks who want to kick in for Halloween fabric for masks for local kids, hit the PayPal link below and specify "masks." I'm going to try to do up a bunch between now and the end of October, because Native kids love Halloween and they won't be getting any real version of it this year. Every penny so designated goes to mask fabric.]
I am struggling now. In every conceivable way. Pain levels are out of control, which by definition means too little sleep. I can't get enough hours in the day to do the very minimum of my own work. The stress I'm carrying, on multiple fronts, is staggering now. And I'm about $1,500 now $900, thanks to a sale Saturday morning (and thank you so much, E), down from the last 2-3 weeks' worth of outlays (some of which were not even for us, but helping in our communities). The kennel is covered, thanks to a bunch of y'all; at least when it arrives maybe I can get some work done again. But on top of all of this, I've now had to bump the car repair yet another week (or two, or three, or more), because it will require a tow plus a costly repair, which, combined, is probably going to set me back more than $700. And winter isn't just coming; it's already been here.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SALES. I can't do this alone. We need help.
Wings has a bunch of new work out, too. Check out the Bracelets and Rings Galleries on the site; five new entries in the latter, and a couple new cuffs in the former, plus Sunday's spectacular new work, which you can read about here. There is also a lot on the wishlist that is urgent, particularly fly spray, his KT tape, the cleaning supplies to deal with the plumbing fallout, and the air purifiers, because yesterday was the first day I've been able to breathe at all in weeks, thanks to the constant smoke (and the inability to breathe is complicating my health severely in all kinds of ways now).
The links are here:
[Obviously, the wishlist is back in force. There are things I absolutely cannot get except through Amazon, and I can't add that stress onto all the others now.] Please share everything, because I have got to make regular sales; that part of it is all on me. Thanks.
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2020; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
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