Pete’s now in Juneau. He’s talking with legislators about union stuff. And he talked and to legislators the day before about the local coal situation. This is hard work, made harder by the fact that Juneau is so distant from here. You can’t drive there. You either have to fly there, or drive to Haines and take the ferry there. Alaska’s being so large is a detriment when you want to get stuff done on the state level. The insularity of the place also puts the legislators in a bubble of sorts. That a strip coal mine is going in in a semi-residential area in Southcentral Alaska is of little concern to

most. The insularity of our place also puts those of us who live here in a bubble of sorts. That we have a governmental system that is (supposed to be) working in our behalf is of little concern to most. At least Pete is giving this a go.

In the meantime, I’m holding down the fort, which in a manner of speaking, could blow away. We got a dumping of snow before Pete left yesterday morning. And in his absence, the wind has picked up. Pete’s absence is more difficult than it might normally be when the weather’s bad. I often joke that he does the job of two people, so when he goes away, I have to do the work of three people. This is really no joke – he does far more than his share when he’s here.

This morning was a bit of a challenge. After feeding, I had to haul water down to the horses, then manure up to the garden area. This was all well and good, except for the fact that the wood box was empty. So I got some water going on the stove, and then shoveled off the porch steps. Then I went to get wood from the wood shed. As I was bringing some up to the house, I noticed that Tinni and Siggi were sparring, which meant that they had to be separated. So I went inside, turned off the water, ran down and separated the two, came back up to the house, and got the wood stove going. After, I ran some water down to them.

All it is, is more balls to juggle. That’s all. I can either grouse about this, or be grateful. We create our own reality, and mine is that I’m lucky to have a partner who can always be depended upon to both pull his weight and often shoulder some of mine. He will be home on Friday. I can hardly wait.

Next: 58. 2/2/12: Depth of Field