Catherine Windrose

Maybe you don't need to take it this far, however something like what we did with a rescued horse might work.  Our farrier said he should be put down.  Dad wasn't going to do that.  I asked the farrier what could be done.  He suggested I put a chair near the gate and leave an apple or pear on a post several posts down.  Each day move the chair a few inches closer.  I did homework to have something to do while waiting.  The farrier said leave the horse alone, don't look at him, don't approach him, don't make fast moves and be still as possible until he walks away.  About six weeks later I was a few feet from the post with fruit on it.  One day I rested my hand on the fence post and held the fruit.  The horse took it.  A couple days later he came into his stall while I was mucking and putting hay down.  I ignored him, finished up a little more quickly than usual :.) and climbed the stall wall to sit and watch him so I could also get out if he got wonky.  He just ate his hay.  That became a habit for a week or so.  One day I noticed our barn cat sitting on his rump while he was eating hay.  I slid one foot onto his rump next to the cat and he was okay with it.  A few days later I slid off the stall wall onto his back and he just ate his hay.  Then he walked around with me sitting on him.  Next day I put a hay string through his halter and let him feel it on the sides of his neck.  I made sure he could see or feel where my hands were at all times and moving slowly was important.  The next summer he was doing some reining and eventually going around barrels in one of the ponds :.)  And sometimes I slept on the hay with him ^.^

Ptience and going slow cannot be overemphasized.  He went from almost being glue and wearing apparel to forever being an amazing part of my life <3  While he was healing, it was important he be around us on his terms.  When he began trusting, it was important not to undo that.  He gave back all the gentle kindness he'd been shown and then some.  Never had to break him.  Only had to show him something new and go slow with it.

Given time, your donkeys can come around to feeling safe around you.  And others, too, if they take the time needed.  A soft muzzle nudging you for a cuddle or a treat feels so good it's worth the wait.

I will add that he wore the same halter Dad brought him home with, for months.  It was probably 3-4 months after we had him that he would let anyone move toward his face because he'd been beaten so badly.  His poor mouth had been scarred with rope and... yeah.  

You can bet your donkeys are skittish for a reason, even if only because they haven't been handled or not handled properly.  About leaving the halters on for now, maybe something can be done where the halters catch.  Hang or lay something over that spot?

Explore Student Loan Deferment and Forbearance

If your federal student loan payments are high compared to your income, you may want to repay your loans under an income-driven repayment plan.

Contact
Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC)
1-800-433-3243

and

Student Loan Support Center
1-800-557-7394

If you call the main Student Aid number, someone should be able to assist you with finding a solution.  While I would not encourage anyone with significant debt to allow interest to accrue for a long period of time, an income based deferral / forebearance can allow you time to think and make a choice that best suits you.  Being rushed or feeling coerced to accept a less than ideal circumstance can lead to difficulties and generally feeling icky about it all.

You could talk with an Academic Advisor or Counselor at your college to find out what options may be available specific to COVID-19 forcing online classes which are not cutting it for you.  My first guess, however, is they will probably want to keep as many students in attendance as possible because that is part of what they are hired to do.  However, you have the last say in what happens with your education.  I think it's wise to ask the questions you are asking.  There may be other questions to consider, some of which have been addressed here, especially by Joseph Lofthouse.

If a degree is important to achieve the goal you are aiming for, finish with the best grade possible this semester and call StudentAid.gov with the contact numbers above to inquire about an income based repayment type deferral.  And as mentioned above, grants and scholarships are available for the effort of looking and completing applications.  Your college should have an advisor or counselor who can assist with that or direct you to whomever can.

These forums are a rich information source.  I think Paul Wheaton's threads in these forums about HUSP, Gert, and Otis might be a good start.  Work and insights by Sepp Holzer, Bill Mollison, Geoff Lawton, and others, might help with exploring methods, concepts, and ideas.  

I think you're awesome for being into permaculture so young and that you will find many like minds on your journey, so there will be good discussions that will help you figure out a path to follow that suits you.  

I will add that perhaps what seems like vague responses is an effort to not tell you what to do with your life.

Just paid the Boot fee.  Would have paid sooner after receiving Paul's Daily-ish this past Monday, however I had already paid April rent here and have been waiting to find out if that can be returned.  Long shot that didn't fly, though it seemed prudent to ask :.)

If Paul's scheduled work stuff allows someone to pick me up, I will pay $50 + meal (breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner - whichever is most convenient) + fill a gas/fuel tank.  I'd rather pay a Boot before someone local here :.)  Not much to bring.  Will easily fit in a small back seat.

Wow?  I suppose my reaction to this review sucks because... I was prepared for professionalism?  Not sure really.  However reading it felt like yuck so here's my yuck in response.

A guide to living a life kinder to the environment offers solutions to everyday challenges.

as the first and last line of text for the review might be okay if it didn't sound borrowed from other readers' reviews; and if it read like a complete sentence.  

After reading other reviews on that page, at least discrimination doesn't appear to be a factor.  Kinda looks to me as if every customer is a potential victim of ignorant disapproval unless their views align with those of this reviewer.  It's a snotty sounding read that doesn't even rate as well as good high school level writing.

The tone and choice of words used with "pizza boxes", " Wheaton advocates keeping a home cold in winter", and "'rocket mass heater' device" conveys to me that the reviewer didn't read your book.

Maybe the reviewer has COVID-19.  Sounds tired and sick.  Or maybe it's a skill level.  Or apathy.  Who knows?

Indeed.com states:  

The average salary for "book reviewer" ranges from approximately $39,461 per year for Editorial Assistant to $55,798 per year for Managing Editor.

A friend, who is an established journalist, gets six figures a year at $2 a word to write review and opinion pieces that include about a few hours of research, possibly phone or face-to-face interview(s) to obtain statements about topics on which he is already well versed, and has about 30-ish years of direct field experience.  There are 365 words in this review, including the repeated first and last line.  At $375 for 365 words, you paid .973 cents a word for a review by a non-expert who appears less than professionally motivated to write an objective book review.  I suppose this is how some individuals get away with feigning a profession.

If I put a great deal of effort into writing that was misrepresented like this, whatever the cause may be, I would politely ask the reviewer to remove their crud review and look elsewhere.  Thanks but no thanks.

https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tax/hmrc-policy/vat-may-be-due-on-charity-donations

HMRC guidance

HMRC has its own VAT Charities manual, which deals with most of the common VAT dilemmas facing charities. Very helpfully, the VCHAR3400 section is titled: When is a donation not a donation?

To directly quote the first two sentences of the section:

“If there is a direct link between the payment and a benefit received by the giver the monies cannot be treated as a donation. As long as it is clear that a person is under no obligation to make a payment in order to receive certain benefits then the payment is usually a donation.”

Meaning of guidance

If the donor paid £100 and the charity planted ten trees in his back garden, this is clearly “a benefit received by the giver”. But in the example of the Better Soil charity, the donor has no idea whether his donation will fund trees planted in Edinburgh, Glasgow or Perth (that’s Perth in Scotland and not Australia) – or even no trees at all. The charity is dictating the course of events. So there is no way that the donor has received any benefit from his gift.

More specifics in the HMRC internal manual: VAT Charities.

Felt it in Missoula.  Mild, but not shy :)

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes/montana.html

Ed Belote wrote:I'm very sorry to hear of your loss, Catherine.

Lately, I've been reading the poetry of Mary Oliver.  I found this on YouTube, and it's one of my favorites, so far.

https://youtu.be/lv_4xmh_WtE

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

John would love this.  Thank you, Ed <3  It is his guitar I gave you, by the way.  He preferred playing a fretless stick that sometimes sounded like a violin, though he had several.  The Wish Bass was for fun.  Here he was playing with a simple Stagg out of the box that he later customized and refinished beautifully. He used to play for Tiny and Hannah, two abandoned dogs he took care of.

I lost someone.  Remembering things about him reminded me of this writing.  I am very fortunate that he chose me every day, though it's hard to feel that way.  Time... yeah?

https://bryanreeves.com/choose-her-everyday-or-leave-her/

Mallow?