I made a mistake yesterday. I said that October 1 was September 31. This is a wink and a nod to my subconscious, which was reluctant to part company with the month of September. Oh well, the conscious says that it’s in charge and yesterday was October 1 and today is October 2.

P-tooey. By the end of this month, it will be unofficially winter and there will be a great deal of snow on the ground. Right now, there is a bit more than a dusting on the ground, and the Talkeetna Range is shouting at the top of its voice that winter is here. The peaks are now covered, deeply with snow.

So what is on the raspberry bushes and pea vines is going to stay. The frost has killed what remains. But hey, this morning Pete harvested 4 5-gallon buckets full of potatoes. These are now on the floor of my writing cabin, drying.

This is good. The year before last some of the potatoes froze in the ground because we didn’t have the time to harvest them. Came close to the same this year – it snowed the past two days. But the ground was apparently not yet frozen.

This morning, at breakfast, Ryder wedged herself between the wood stove and the wood box. I extricated her. Then first thing, after cleaning the horse enclosure and eating breakfast (which means not the first thing), I took both dogs for a walk. Halfway through the walk, Ryder stepped off the road, onto a grassy slope and fell down. She couldn’t get back up. I got her up, and it was like nothing happened. We just continued on our way. She lagged a bit but was otherwise okay.

Aside from getting to spend time with my animals, I got out and enjoyed the beautiful landscape. The leaves are still on the trees; the snow is a bit odd, but the sunlight made it all look like a fairy kingdom.

Calley, who is a veterinarian, gave me the name of a supplement that is for muscle support. Calley says that the prednisone has suppressed her immune system, which is why she is so thin. But this drug, Myos, may bring about weight gain.

I know we are doing the best we can for Ryder, but quite often I wish we could do more.

I made sure that all the animals were taken care of before I headed to town. This is the least I can do. I don’t like doing the least. Well, tomorrow I might go for a ride before going to town rather than attempt to go after going to town. Planning on riding when I get home just is not working. It’s now getting dark far too early.

The activity in the former banquet room of this historic Eagle Hotel was uneventful. Just good vibes today, with Leslie and I working in an equitable fashion – right now we are working on organizing the place.

So, maybe good weather tomorrow, but I suspect it will be cold.

Next: 263. 10/3/26: Full Circle