This one is real.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

You can still see that standing bare timber, but last night's sunset showed us the true extent of the regreening of the burn scars here from the 2003 wildfire. It's almost complete. Yes, it will take generations for the trees to regrow, but the start has been made — if we can keep it safe, going and growing. The same will happen over the ridgeline in the aftermath of this year's megafire . . . IF they can keep colonial interests from ruining it. Given the way government at all levels is behaving, I'm guessing that's a lost hope. 

This one is real, though.

So are all the dangers our world faces going into winter, and our own risks now. Chief among those at the moment are the financial ones, although the drought and climate catastrophe are quite literally never out of our minds now. But this government demands its sacrifice even if it means people don't survive; it's a feature, not a bug. And we have four figures yet to pay.

Horse vet got paid Tuesday, so at least that's done. Taxes (this year's current installment, plus the quarterly prepayment for next year, which is due today and which I don't have, and no, skipping the vet bill wouldn't have made a difference) remain, along with the rest of the monthly expenses (like my medical loan for all that out-of-town testing a few years ago). I need to make several more small-to-medium sales, or one really big one, to get it all done. But my pain and fatigue levels are such that I keep having to correct my typing here; I can't even think straight today, never mind actually sell anything.

I do have the new BIG works now, and they will be posted here momentarily. They were complete last night, but my pain and fatigue levels are such anymore that by then I couldn't focus enough to construct a coherent sentence, so it had to wait. Selling either or both would take care of everything at the moment, but I don't expect that to happen. So we need all the help we can get. 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.