The cold snap (why do they call it a “snap?”) continues, as does the snow fall. With the snow falling, it does seem to me like it’s warmer. Pete ran into Zach, our veterinarian, who said that because it’s so cold, that the horses need to be given salt, so that they drink more water. So tonight, I will mix up what I call a supplement mush and put this on top of their respective hay flakes. If I didn’t have animals I would not be worried by the ongoing cold temperatures. But I do have animals and I am worried. All do seem to be doing just fine. If Tinni were around, he would take a dim view of this. I’d have him

Alys kayaking in SE Alaska

in his own enclosure, and he’d be blanketed. Right now, his enclosure is very full of snow. I could not even keep up with moving the snow out of it, as I have in previous years.

It seems like a long ways away, but what a great spring it’s going to be. Pete talked to Zach about our trip plans – if we to do a trip in Canada, we would need to be back across the border in thirty days, or we would have to find a vet in Canada to provide the health certificate, which means that if we do trip, we would likely go to the Lower 48.

We’ll see just how dedicated the BLBP volunteers are when we say we are taking off for two months. I am learning, though, that change is a constant and that anything can happen between now and then. This is a good thing, when of course good things happen, and it’s bad when bad things happen.

I am always thinking of things that might be put on my marker when I die. Today it was, “Mistress of the Understatement.” Yesterday it was, “Let anyone write my epitaph.” The day before yesterday it was, “Too little sleep, too little time.”

I do not want to be buried because of a lifelong fear of being buried alive. I do not want (my body) to be cremated because of a lifelong fear of being burnt to a crisp. I do not want to be tossed into the ocean because of a lifelong fear of sharks. I do not want to be tossed in cold water because of a lifelong fear of the cold. I do not want to be put in a mausoleum because of a lifelong fear of being encased alive. I do not want to be left in some above ground spot because of a lifelong fear of being eaten by animals.

This does not leave me with any options. This body, it’s going to take a beating, and I’ll bet you that my soul is going to sit around and watch the end result. My body and soul are very attached to one another, and so in the end, there is going to be considerable upsettedness. If there was a way that I might avoid this, I would.

This is not a very cheerful dispatch. I need to take more Vitamin D.

Next: 30. 1/30/24: Locked In