I had several important news items to relay to you this week along with a fiction piece about the winter solstice. And then I just ran out of steam and my body and brain told me it was time to hibernate, instead (those other things can wait). So this is likely the last Land Desk dispatch until 2023.

And I just want you all to know how much I appreciate all of you, dear readers, and how grateful I am for your support. The best thing about this mode of journalism is the community I think it can foster. When I write each dispatch, I’m not writing for some anonymous masses, but for my people, folks who share an appreciation and love for the Western U.S. and an interest in the issues affecting it.

So happy holidays and hibernation time to all of you. May you find fulfillment and joy in the return of the light.

And the Land Desk will be back, refreshed and fired up, on Jan. 3.