Fragile spirits.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

This is a world of fragile spirits. Even those that are big and strong can break, and sometimes I think this tiny sparrow, hiding among leaves fading and falling far too soon, runs a better risk of survival than the rest of us.

Miskwaki is still with us, but there are no guarantees. We culd still loe him tomorrow, Sunday, Monday. His heart rate is far too high, and the colic is determined to be a bad impaction, one clearly so far up in the small intestine that there's no reaching it by usual methods and nothing's getting past his stomach. Unless, of course, the water he suddenly started drinking this afternoon begins to dissolve it just enough to jump-start gut motility again.

With this morning's vet visit, it sounded like we needed to plan for the worst before day's end; Wings even made the call to arrange for the backhoe. It seems that our boy understood the topic under discussion, however veiled, and decided he wanted to fight. s the vet hauled some of his equipment back the truck, Miskwa indicated that he wanted to walk to the dogs' giant water dish, and he drained it (a steel drum lid) and their little kiddie pool, and began drinkingon his own out of the trought, too, He also began walking of his own accord. So the vet returned at three and again at five, and he'll be back early in the morning, but as he said, "I can't do that to him when he looks like THAT" (relaxed, engaged, bright-eyed, happy).

So we wait. And we hope against hope. And we pray. I made some specific prayers and promises this morning, and regardless of this outcome, I'll keep that promise, but I hope it's enough to keep him with us for a good long while yet, happy and healthy. 

And we are both somewhere far beyond the land of exhaustion, and every fiber of my being hurts. Walking a colicky horse around and around on feet and ankles damaged by plantar fasciitis and weakened connective tissue, and hips and knees that are half-destroyed, will do that. But he's still with us, and I'll deal with the pain for that.

[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 $108K, 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.]

But like yesterday, I can't do anything else right now. Every minute these last two days has been spent trying to save his life. 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. This is going to be a fortune, and I don't have the physical, mental, or other resources to focus on anything except trying to save Miskwaki right now; Wings is the same.

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.