Closing in on Winter

A lot of things are going on in a lot of places.

Out here in the wilds of Shuniah, we've been playing our seasonal game, "What stinks in the basement?" We ruled out garbage and dead "visitors." Also cardboard, which can take on surprisingly foul odors.

My husband saw a wolf in our area this afternoon.* He was on his way back from town, where he'd talked to some people about furnaces and plumbing and whatnot, in his effort to diagnose the source of the smell.

Good times. Or rather, bad times, with some consolations.

But we've got a good life.

In many other places, people have behaved badly and are continuing to deny it, while others try to hold them to account. Lots of places are melting or on fire, literally or figuratively. Children are in cages, their parents in detention.

It's appalling. Wearying and worrisome.

Plus we're getting a stretch of really cold days. Am I ready for the dark winter days? Or should I order more books?**

So here, look at these pictures. Rest, revel, reflect, and read during the holidays. With a return to energy, perhaps solutions to problems--ours, the world's--will become apparent. Turn the new year with a refreshed spirit. That's my plan.






* No, not a coyote or dog. Big. Fast.
** Haha we know the answer to this.