Elk tracks.

Photo copyright Aji, 2026; all rights reserved.

All those criss-crossing lines in the snow, look vaguely like the tracks of sleigh runners? Not the dogs; not tire tracks; not sleigh runners, either. That is what elk tracks look like in the snow.

And it's been a long time since we had them.

They're outside right now, too; they showed up just about full dark. They've been coming here for years now, decades, even. They know this is a refuge for them, and they've been passing that knowledge on to each successive generation.

It's such a beautiful thing. There were here from dusk onward last night, until the early morning hours. I woke up I think around four, and they had departed; I woke up again at 5:45, and a smaller number of them had returned . . . specifically to sleep in peace. They were scattered at intervals all up and down the east field, lying in the snow, perfectly content and feeling safe enough to sleep. And, of course, they were gone before sunrise.

Today, though? All-out hard labor, from both of us. My body feels as though it's been stunned into an inability to move. We are doing nothing tomorrow except our regular work. For me, I'm hoping that lasts all week, because I can tell that at this point, I'm in real trouble.

But with everything that goes with real winter here, some things still have to get done [shoveling, sweeping, etc.].  And it's a hell of a lot harder for both of us now than it was 10 years ago, never mind 20. But the exhaustion is real. And after the last two days, we're both beat, but snow or no snow, the workload now looks about the same for all of the rest of this month as it has through the whole holiday season. For us, aside from beating back the Nazis and Klan, that also means that we need to have a much better sales year, with fewer catastrophes outside our control, than the last two have presented us. And that means, just to break even, at least one sale per week [and we haven't made one yet in 2026, so we're already behind, and we need to rectify that tonight]. To that end, links are here:

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

And we do still need to make those regular weekly [daily now, really] sales, so please share all of the links. We really do need to begin this year on a better footing than the last two.

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.