Days spent at home now seem to be a rarity – not a good thing. But I am going to forego doing things that need to be done in town in order to have more home days. I feel like I have lost something valuable – it’s been like watching water slip through my fingers. I can’t even catch the drops on the backside of my hands.

Josh, our horse farrier, pulled in the driveway promptly at 10 a.m. this morning. I was brushing Tinni. The weather’s always good here when Josh shows up. I told him this.

Joshua Shoeing Raudi

Josh took the ice shoes off of all four horses, trimmed them, then put the shoes back on. All four horses stood quietly, as usual. Raudi and Tyra were a bit antsy, but then they have not been out much lately.

Pete appeared and held the horses while Josh worked. I took each of them out for a walk. The road is icy, really slick. I used the horses as service horses, holding onto their backs for support on the really slippery sections.

Tyra stopped by Jim’s gate and looked up the hill. I wonder if she wonders if he’s coming back. Fridays were the days Jim volunteered at the recycling center. No more. Later, Pete talked to Pat, Jim’s brother. Pete told him that we have found someone who is very seriously interested in purchasing the place. Fingers are of course crossed at this end.

I went upstairs after Josh left and took care of book project administrativa – figured better to make calls and send emails now, rather than later. I was tired and wanted to take a nap. Pleased that I decided to forego the nap in order to get BLBP work done.

It was nice out – temperatures remain in the 40s – so I cleaned the goat and chicken pens. I get as much satisfaction out of completing this task as I do passing out books to people. The goats hung out in the yard and the chickens hung out in their pen. Sassy had a good time riding the manure sled down to the compost station.

I was at the gate, empty sled in hand, when Pete said Milena was on the phone. Recall that I had planned on spending last night at her place because I wasn’t wanting to drive home in the dark. As it turned out, we left Anchorage early and I drove home. I was really tired, but I did milk the goat.

Anyhow, Milena told me that a friend of hers and the family fell down by the fire pit and broke his ankle. Milena and the man’s wife spent the evening getting the guy to the hospital and home. His wife is pregnant, and they have a two-year-old child. Milena was up all night, and exhausted.

I told her what a good job she’d done on the book projects.

Lastly, we just learned that Congressman Don Young died. Some will say good riddance. It was time for him to go. He was a fossil.

Next: 76. March 19, 2022: At the End of this Particular Day