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Good riddance 2020

So, 2020 sucked.
It sucked for everyone.
Our personal (family) losses were limited to the loss of personal freedoms and the loss of our chickens in August. But I also wasn't able to see my son (who was scheduled to visit back in May, until it became clear that it would be impossible.) We had a few lesser tragedies as well, but it could have been a lot worse. I also didn't lose anyone personally (that I know of, anyway) to the pandemic, though I did lose an uncle who passed on four years after my aunt - his death had nothing to do with covid.

It wasn't all bad...

Writing

In 2020, I managed to write over 500,000 words. Over a million words in two years. Wow! Most of those went directly into novels that I shared with you. Some went into fun little shorts that I began sharing as Wednesday quickies (though I'm running out of those for the moment, so they might disappear for awhile.) Some went into other stories that may or may not pan out in the future. I try not to be too strict on that. I write what I feel like writing. It doesn't always adhere to schedule.

I self-published 7 ebooks (several of which are now available in print as well. I'll probably d.buzz some of those titles as I get more of them into print.) Three of those were loosely about the pandemic/plandemic/scamdemic - I have more planned in that series, but I don't know if they'll get done in 2021 or not - I already have a pretty full schedule for my writing.

I even managed to complete a novel for Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) in November, despite the fact that I hadn't planned on doing it this year until this NSFW writing exercise blossomed into a full-scale plot and went running! It's finished at around 70k words and will begin in about two weeks, I guess. (Depending on how far I want to stretch the current little NSFW jaunt I'm taking you on first... setting up the despicable character of John McNally, newly inducted policeman in Ash Creek, a fictitious town in Michigan. Phantom Road will be epublished in the next few days for both digital and paper editions.

I'm nearly done with the first of another series that will take place on Earth - Phoenix the first of the Swan Valley series. I will precede that with another little NSFW jaunt, setting up another despicable, but more likable character, Jade Wolf.

I've spent a lot of time on Earth stories in the past several months though - and feel the need to get back to Terrenden as soon as Phoenix is done.

Shipping

That was one of the best things to add to my life in 2020 - the ship cameras! I love watching (and hearing) all the ships passing on the St. Clair River along Michigan and Ontario - as well as the ones arriving/departing Duluth, Minnesota.

Today has been relatively quiet, but we did have an arrival and departure combo from Superior, Wisconsin via the Wisconsin Point camera.

Algoma Guardian came in yesterday and left today... Burns Harbor came in right afterwards.

2021_Jan_01_Algoma_Guardian_and_Burns_Harbor_WiscPoint_01.png

The relative lengths are hard to see here, but I think Guardian is still closer than Burns Harbor in this view. Burns Harbor (owned/operated by American Steamship Company) is another of the 13 "footers" on the Great Lakes (1000 feet in length.)

(Images from Duluth Harbor Cam's Wisconsin Point Cam.)

Homesteading

Losing the chickens (except one) in August was devastating. Probably more than I realized at the time. It knocked the wind out of our sails - and when we had a heavy snow the day after Labor Day which effectively closed the gardening season, it was hard to get going again.

However, for my anniversary, my husband decided to get me a new chicken coop. My frugal/practical nature wanted to build something from scratch, but I had to start realizing that my husband simply wasn't going to be up for that, so we decided to buy something instead.

The nesting hutch came quickly (an hour or so put that together), but the coop got lost, reappeared in Denver, then got lost again (or something)... It finally got here though. After an hour or two putting the pieces together (an all-hands-on-deck job), we finished the job. Another warmer day, the girls and I installed the coop apron to keep diggers out. Then we went and got our surviving chicken plus all nine of her friends. As they were older hens from friends, they were sold to us cheaply. (I believe they have all been named at this time.)

My eventual plan is to let them roam in the day and only coop them up at night, but this is my aged in-laws' place, so it's not my rules. For now, this is big enough for 10-12 hens. I used the ladders and perches to increase vertical space to keep them happier.

The hens are doing well. We're getting some eggs thanks to providing some winter light in their nesting hutch. The hens still need some care that we'll do when it's warmer. Some of them have toenails that need trimming and I plan to treat them for leg mites as well as for feather mites and lice.

Imminent house move

In the past few days, we have secured a town house only half a mile away from the chickens. It has three times the space our dinky little apartment has. The goal is to live there until the sad day when we inherit the place where the chickens live. The view from our balcony (currently being rebuilt before we move in) is magnificent and I can't wait to share it with you! I also plan on covering that balcony with plants to make it a little mini-paradise - at least in the summer! In the winter, it will host bird feeders.

We will also be able to get out for walks more easily and the girls will be able to roam quite a number of blocks without any real dangers from traffic. They will be getting new footwear though - the hills around there will likely have rattlers here and there!

Hope Springs Eternal

I hope everyone reading this (or not) has a fantastic 2021!
(P.S. don't give away all your freedoms... they won't like giving them back!)

Homesteading photo taken in 2020 with my Nikon D7200.

Past issues...

Feb 2, 2020 - Flu Sucks!
Feb 9, 2020 - Planning 2020
Feb 16, 2020 - Skating and Eating and Writing, Oh My!
Feb 23, 2020 - Chicken Scratchings and Graphics
Mar 1, 2020 - Inspections R Us
Mar 8, 2020 - New Chicks
Mar 15, 2020 - Pandemic Hits Writing
Apr 5, 2020 - Fools in April?
Jun 14, 2020 - Of Gardens and Vibes
Oct 6, 2020 - Drawing the Line - When it is time to quit (Not Sunday)
Dec 15, 2020 - Winter, Writing and Winging It (Not Sunday)

Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble, TeePublic, PicFair and DeviantArt.)
verified author on Goodreads
(Buy my books at Books2Read and at LBRY)
find me on Twitter