September is close, October light is here, I can see it in the photographs.  Todd Mason will begin building the new fences in September. We are moving to the new farm just before Halloween. Ben Osterhaudt is fixing the roof. He will soon begin tearing down the collapsed barn and building a pole barn behind the existing one. He is fixing the chimney, putting in a bannister. We need to paint the living room. Fix the electricity, install outlets. Order cable. Begin moving. Order hay and stack the firewood. Change addresses. Move the animals. Acclimate them to the new farm and to Rocky, and vice versa. We have to figure out a way to get water to the pasture in the winter. We have not yet sold Bedlam Farm, although more people are looking. We are considering money very carefully, making decisions, having to pay for and maintain two farms, donkeys,sheep, dogs, cats and chickens. I need to get my office set up so I can work, and Maria needs her studio restored so she can work.

I feel excited, pressured, anxious at times, especially at night. Can we do all this? Can we afford it? I am not quite sure where all the money will come from, but I am determined to find it and have it.  I am intensely focused on this move. It is seminally important to me to us. It is the next part of our lives. It is the right place for us.  It will give us creative and financial freedom. It will bring us close to the community we seek. We are moving into this new home together, and I can see how happy it makes Maria, how much she loves it, how much I love it. I am mowing my lawn, painting walls and ceilings, sanding windowsills.

I would be dishonest if I did not concede this is a stressful time as well as an exhilarating one. I think of Red when I waver or doubt myself. Be focused. Get there. Get it done. Gather myself and find the strength. This is not a war, and the future of the world is not at stake, but I do think of the spirit of Churchill. We have to get there. Failure is not an option. Summon trust. Summon faith. Summon energy.

This is our destiny. It is meant to be.