Life, Interrupted

Still alive. But have lost three people I valued in the past month, and along with the rising smoke, that was making it hard to post anything anywhere. (I have a bunch of back posts for here. Some might still get here eventually.)

But--Cow watch.

I am on virtual cow watch via Twitter with a writer/dairy farmer in Pennsylvania.

Beki's trying to keep her sense of humor--it is this heifer's first, and Tweed is defiantly saying 'I'm fine, this is Normal' and doing things like insisting on grass outside and jumping a fence or two. As her udder drips milk.

Sometimes I think the farmers of Twitter have kept me more or less sane this pandemic. I think the interest of stranger writers & fans and our odd hours support have helped them. They are isolated with toddlers, aging parents who refuse to take precautions, and working multiple jobs. They are at the end of their rope, too.

I follow several farmers and shepherds on Twitter and Facebook. Their hard work and dedication is a pipeline to my great-grandparents. Their battle to hang onto their sense of humor and compassion is inspiring. (Several are funny as &%$#. So if you need some occasionally off-color toddler humor, or a battle with courting barred owls (that would be @NeolithicSheep) I can recommend reconnecting to the land via herders and gardeners. (You can also enjoy writer T. Kingfisher as she rants about bugs, plants, and heirloom vegetables. On occasion we get her running D&D real-time, which never gets old.) Right now I am Cat  Kimbriel there.

This could all change in a month--Twitter is going to lay claim to posts. Maybe EM will buy it, although I have my doubts. Which means I will be sharing sunsets there to help folks locate awesome photographers for calendars, note cards and prints, and things like @Thereisnocat_ which leaves Wordle in the dust. And of course Book View Cafe. New books, a great new site, blog posts almost daily.

There is still a pandemic, and some of us still mask. Because the smoke makes my lungs bleed. Still healing, but too slowly, IMO.