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June 3, 2022: On the Homefront

When the weather’s good, as it is now, I bemoan the fact that we aren’t out on a lengthy horse trek. The truth of the matter is, we have become a slave to this place. So much needs to be done, that is if we are to continue to live a semi-sustainable lifestyle.

And at times it is a struggle. Pete’s been working hard on the garden, but still the plastic has not arrived for the hoop house. What’s on there now is in tatters. We are waiting on new plastic, which is being shipped up from Oregon. Everything seems to be moving slowly, not just hoop house plastic.


Another reason why we didn’t travel south this spring is because of the high gas prices. And they might get higher in the summer.

And as of yet, we haven’t found anyone who would take care of Tinni – my standards are high, and thus far no one I know would be able to car for him.

And there is the BLBP, which is taking up a great deal of both of our time. Pete asked me tonight what I see as being the outcome of goals in five years – I was tired, so I became tongue tied. My answer is for the project to be, har har, self-sustaining.

We came a step closer to this today. We received one of two long awaited calls. Pete heard from Tracy at the Mat-Su Health Foundation, and the two talked for over an hour about the administrative end of things. Apparently, we are going to meet with an assessor who will write up a report after taking a close look at all aspects of our project.

We’ll use this report, say, in further negotiating with the Palmer Senior Center about land acquisition. Same with the Mat-Su Borough and the proposed building donation. We actually have to write a grant in order to get the funding to pay the accessor. There are many, many hoops that we’ll have to jump through, but at least there are hoops. It’ll be time to bag it when there are no more hoops.

In the meantime, I was in town, at the event called Friday Fling. It’s like the Alaska State Fair with no fair. At least 100 vendors are in the middle of town on Fridays, pedaling their wares. We have a spot adjacent to the Palmer Museum, so we are out of the fray.

There were five volunteers passing out books today. Some cleaned, some sorted, some hung out. Me, I worked the crowd, zoning in on parents with strollers – I called one area under a tree strollerville. I gave the parents board books for the kids. I told them that chewing precedes reading.

I took a break and distributed books later in the afternoon, as a thunderstorm was rolling in. Somehow, I missed it.

As busy as I was, I still thought some about the horse trek that wasn’t.

I lack the courage to strike out on my own.

Next: 153. 6/4/22: Giddy Up

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