Spring it is not. Winter is like a pitbull with a very good grip. Is very tenacious. I thought we were seeing a gradual change in temperature, but it is now plummeting. It’s colder again, the wind is blowing.

Am I tired of this? A good question. I’m looking forward to spring and the smell of the cottonwoods. With spring comes warmth and less discomfort. Right now, I am sitting close to the woodstove. It is cold in here because I did not get the fire burning quickly enough. I had a hard time chopping kindling.

I talked to Pete on the phone (he’s still in Juneau), and he was surprised to learn that I’d burned so much split wood. The truth be known, I let the fire go out multiple times. I am also burning what’s available, spruce, and it burns fast. It’s supposed to burn hot, but right now there is no evidence of this.

Yes, right now this is a very wretched state of affairs. There was, as I wrote the previous sentence, a gust of strong wind that shook the house.

Upper Siggi's Trail 5-11-24

I do wonder if, because there are high winds, Pete is going to make it home okay. He does not believe in premonitions, which is a good thing, but I had this dream in which the airplane he was in exploded. I saw it explode – there was a large black cloud and flames.

My sour mood is being exacerbated by my gut discomfort and also my being cold. My fingers right now are not very nimble. I have been rubbing them on my jeans in order to warm them up.

I have stuffed the woodstove full of wood.

I have worked at taking my mind off this dire situation by writing an outline for an upcoming BLBP newsletter and also a proposal for the Susitna Rotary, in hopes that they might fund our sending books a village in Southeast. This is a long shot, but now it seems everything is a long shot.

Today I went to Wasilla to a luncheon gathering in which the topic of conversation was the lack of funding for childcare. I felt like the 100 or so of us who were present were being talked at. I would have liked it if we’d broken down into groups after the panel presentation and talked about our own thoughts on this topic.

I thought, as I looked over at the sea of faces that everything involving funding these days is a long shot. And oh yes, things are going to get worse. This is because I don’t foresee that things are going to get better. We are riding our sleds down a slippery slope and heading for a grove of trees. There is a big tree in our path and the steering mechanism on the sled is locked.

We all have something major to learn, and I’m not sure what exactly this is going to entail or how painful it’s going to be. Most definitely now, gotta live for the moment.

Next: 82. 3/25/26: Home again, home again