Last night, it rained all night. I did not have my hearing aids in, so I could not hear it. Pete, who hears really well, said that it was raining hard. I took his word for it – when I got up this morning and went outside, the ground was soddened (yes, sodden, that’s the word) underfoot, so I had verification that it had rained hard.

There was also a lot of manure in the enclosure shelters – the horses did not venture out into the drizzle. There are now many full manure buckets – and full of water. Hoping that our friend Bill will come and take what’s there. We won’t be able to move it up behind the hoop house with the sled until it snows.

The chickens and the goats have totally dry enclosures, so this was not a problem. The dogs, they stay inside with us.

It was foggy, making the edges of the landscape appear soft and muted. And it was not too cold.

The weather could change in the blink of an eye. I am aware of this. It could get cold and snow. The ground will then be firm underfoot.

Alys at poetry reading at Sutton Library

It was a very tough day, one that made me think that heading down to New Mexico is a good idea, and well within the realm of possibility. If I knew someone there, I would now make plans.

I am not going into detail about what happened today – I will simply say that the issues center around book intake and book outake. And ahead – I must keep in mind that I can’t change circumstances, but I can change my response to circumstances.

The day was like a sandwich with the in between part centering around my attending the Sutton Public Library board meeting. I didn’t have the time to do this, but I am glad I did. I find that when I go to other board meetings that I learn a lot about how boards function.

It was a grandiose meeting and there were at least a dozen board members. There was a large screen at the head of the table, and representatives from the various Mat-Su Borough community libraries weighing in. The agenda was very lengthy – I passed it on to another individual who was in attendance.

It was all interesting, but I was mainly there for the persons to be heard portion. About a dozen community individuals spoke in favor of free speech and applauded the Sutton librarians for continuing to do their best to continue with literacy related activities.

It was mentioned that the Sutton library had to discontinue their afterschool program because there were too many children wanting to attend. Hearing this, I felt a pang because we aren’t assisting in pulling the cart.

There was one nay sayer who continues to draw attention to herself and her right wing agenda. Just one. I wanted to speak, but did not want to draw attention to our project, which could then become a target.

And so, repeatedly, I reminded myself that there is just me and there is only so much I can do. For right now, the focus remains on getting books into the hands of appreciative readers.

I have done the best I can do and can do no more.

Next: 278. 10/15/25: Nothing left to Say