My long-time friend Woody of Lighthouse Island (Lennard light station, Vancouver Island BC) finally got another one of her delightful children’s books published, and the artwork is first-rate, and there in the background is the lighthouse on Lennard Island. Congrats Woody!!

I got a big package of mail from Harper-Collins, fan letters etc., from 2020 and 2021. How this happened I don’t know but apologies to everybody who wrote and I will try to answer all these soon. I guess it was because of Covid and also the strike at HC simply confused things. I get very thoughtful letters from people about my books and they deserve an answer and so I’ll type up a form saying that this was lost mail, only recently delivered and sorry and all that and then address the writer specifically. They’re from the UK, and just about every state in the union. News of the World touched a lot of people, and I am glad to hear from them, so I have some catching up to do.

My dear Buck is coming to the end of his life and I am going to lose him as well as Girl Dog. Am writing on the new far-future novel, have it printed out and in a binder so I can work on it laying in bed instead of sitting up at the computer. Spinal injections delayed until this coming Tuesday. I have my hopes up. Would love to ride again if only just around and around the house.

That was in 2016. He was 11. I had my checkbook in my hand and was ready to write out about any amount, and if the guy had seen the look on my face when I saw him the price would have gone up a thousand dollars.

Once we were riding in the Bandera State park and came to a difficult, almost straight up-and-down cliff, and the rest went up mounted but I was reluctant to try it on horseback, they had struggled up and the trail was a mess, so I got off him, took off his bridle, and said “Buck, go on up.” He went up straight and easy and when he got to the top turned and looked down at me, and waited for me, without a thing on his head. No bridle, nothing. I came up on foot and we went on. Lots of memories.

The beasts knocked over a can of pant and went dancing all over my NEW RUG and the newly finished floor on which that Rick Miller did such a beautiful job!!

But it was because Girl Dog wasn’t here. Even if she could barely walk or see she would still start after them — her nose told her where they were.

So Girl Dog has gone over the rainbow bridge as they say, she was nearly blind, almost wholly deaf and could barely walk. Also had lost control of bodily functions. I miss her very much. Every time I hear thunder I think, ‘she’ll be scared, have to get her inside’ or some particularly nice bit of leftovers, ‘she’ll love this’…

She was a great companion. Very quiet, not demonstrative, but simply and quietly at my heels every day. She was a rescue so I don’t know how old she was. My friend Evelyn O’Hara asked me to take her and I did and we have had many adventures over the years. . So I buried her with a penny to pay the ferryman. I had thought I was completely out of change, having given it all to the kid’s collection at church but just on a chance I looked into the change container and there in the middle of the bottom all by itself was a bright new penny. So she was meant to have it.

All we got out of it was half an inch of rain, just now. And much cooler temperatures. Friend Evelyn O’Hara was with her dad in Texas City and texted us (us other three who ride together, named The Saddle Sisters by June)high winds and no electricity but it was only for about 24 hours — I think. I’ll hear ore shortly on the text thread.

I don’t have any social media and they are all on Facebook so they sometimes forget I haven’t heard the latest but they always catch me up later.

Letter from Elvia, Coatepec, Jalapa State, Mexico

That’s Elvia in the middle, at a birthday party for the friend on the left, in Coatepec; (Veracruz State, Mexico)

Hi Linda…we hope the (cortisone injections for hip) is enough and you are able to be without pain. No doubt that old age is really aggressive, we have to bear with white hair, griefs, pains, deafness, foolishness, stubbornness and wrinkles, jajaja. But we are a little more wise at least.

Well I am still enjoying my colorful trip (to Uzbekistan). I learned a lot and I am still reading, thousands of details from such cities. …I knew Khiva was a commercial place where you could buy horses, camels, slaves then caravans during the XIV and XV centuries…it was very exciting to walk the old paths…Samarcanda was the place I liked the most…

We (Elvia and niece Mariana) walked everywhere and could “talk” to people thanks to the translator application at the telephone, sometimes in English and Oh!! Surprise!! we met students that wanted to practice their Spanish because they are taking Spanish classes at the university. Everyone was very nice, very kind…There are a lot of tourists, French, Russians, Germans and Italians…I didn’t met any American and no one Mexican, only Mariana and Elvia jaja. You see Spanish people with their cell phone in hand every corner…

Around here we had a long drought too for almost two months. We had fires close to Cosautlan at the forest between Veracruz andPuebla states. The inhabitants asked for help and the government sent helicopters, firefighters, etc. Coatepec, Xalapa and Xico population organize a food and water collection to help people who live over there. Besides serums for workers. Fortunately we had a big rain last Saturday…we are happy again with water coming from heaven. It’s a long letter sorry about it, but many things to say…

Elvia is from the large and quite marvelous Contreras family and taught for thirty years in the Mexican government school system in Coatepec, attends a tertulia concerning Latin Ameican Literature and is a great traveler. Take note; she asked me if I knew anyone who needed a nanny/tutor for a year as she wants to improve her English. My friends know how to get hold of me. Her English is far better, at this point, than my Spanish. Am ordering a facing page translation edition of the collected poems of Antonio Machado, my much-beloved favorite, so am forging on.

Random thoughts

I don’t know why — or when — the massive migrant populations in the western countries don’t simply dump the ‘left’ and form their own political parties and take over themselves. Why mediate your political presence through an almost completely European urban upper-class ‘left’? There are enough legal and illegal migrants to form political organizations themselves. They could simply vote themselves into power and award themselves whatever perks they like. They could form a majority in the parliamentary systems and rule the country. This would depend on nationalities, I suppose, but there must be illegal immigrants who are expert organizers and are probably organizing toward this end already. I mean, it only makes sense. I know I am not the first person to think of this.

I think this is going to happen sooner or later.

We were expecting rain from Hurricane Beryl but nothing.

I got a marvelous and funny letter from Elvia, I asked her if she mineded if I quoted her so will put that together for tomorrow.

One of Jeff’s calendar pictures, most amazing. A seascape with rope.