(Above: On the afternoon of December 16, 2025, I began an experiment with duck eggs. I am curing the yolks in salt.
En la tarde del 16 de diciembre de 2025 comencé un experimento con huevos de pato. Estoy curando las yemas en sal.)
12/14/2025: Today began in the low 50s and warmed into the low 70s. Sunny.
The dawn of December 14, 2025 in the central field. El amanecer del 14 de diciembre de 2025 en el campo central. 
A photo of the space where I was working on my writing while waiting for our delayed flight. When I took this picture, I didn’t know we were going to wait for six hours for a cancelled flight. Una foto del espacio donde trabajaba en mi escritura mientras esperaba nuestro vuelo retresado. Cuando tomé esta foto, no sabía que ibamos a esperar por sies horas por un vuelo cancelado. 
A photo I took after almost 4 hours of waiting at the airport. Una foto que tomé después de casi 4 horas de esperar en el aeropuerto. 
A photo of Padre enjoying the second half of his sandwich and a glass of red wine at an airport restaurant shortly before we discovered that our flight had been cancelled. Una foto de mi padre y disfrutando la segunda mitad de su sándwich y una copa de vino tinto en un restaurante del aeropuerto poco antes de que descubriéramos que nuestro vuelo había sido cancelado. 
Dinner consisted of a fried mixture of duck eggs, beef, and avocado. This mixture was accompanied by a green salad and a slice of sourdough bread topped with melted cheese, made by Padre. La cena consistía en una mezcla frita de huevos de pato, carne de res y aguacate. Esta mezcla estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde y un trozo de pan de masa madre cubierto con queso derretido hecos por mi padre.
12/15/2025: Today began in the low 40s and warmed into the low 60s. Sunny morning. Cloudy afternoon.
The dawn of December 15, 2025 in the central field. El amanecer del 15 de diciembre de 2025 en el campo central. 
We are not in Mexico, so life continues as normal. Fortunately, that life is good. No estamos en México, por lo que la vida continua como normal. Afortunadamente esa vida es buena. 
The lunch served on December 15, 2025 consisted of a bowl of miso soup garnished with Indian bison picanha, green cabbage, and spinach. Padre also made a piece of toasted cheese bread. La entrada del almuerzo del 15 de diciembre de 2025 consistía en un tazón de sopa de miso adornada con picaña de bisonte indio, repollo verde y espinaca. También, mi padre hizo un trozo de pan de queso tostado. 
The main course consisted of a platter of sushi. El plato principal consistía en una bandeja de sushi 
I sent another document to New York State to continue with the dual citizenship process. Envié otro documento al estado de Nueva York para continuar con el proceso de doble ciudadadanía. 
I took this photo to figure out how to fix the clip on the other gate. Tomé esta foto para saber como arreglar el clip en la otra puerta. 
Dinner consisted of Mississippi-style stew accompanied by a colorful salad and a glass of red wine. La cena consistía en guiso al estilo mississippi acompañado de una ensalada colorida y un cuerno de vino tinto. 
These are two sliced red apples sprinkled with cinnamon and served with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Estas son dos manzanas rojas en rodajas espolvoreadas con canela y acompañadas de una cucharada de yogur griego.
12/16/2025:
On the morning of December 16, 2025, I found a huge duck egg. I placed it next to a normal egg to show the size. En la mañana del 16 de diciembre de 2025, encontré un enorme huevo de pato. Lo puse al lado de un huevo normal para mostrar el tamaño. 
The enormous duck egg in my hand. El enorme huevo de pato en mi mano. 
The aloe plants that Victor recently planted along the east side of the grain room. Las plantas de aloe que Víctor plantó hace poco a lo largo del lado este del cuarto de grano. 
Lunch consisted of a fried mixture of duck eggs and beef accompanied by a colorful salad made by Padre. El almuerzo consistía en una mezcla frita de huevos de pato y carne de res acompañada de una ensalada colorida hecha por mi padre. 
Photo: Working with cows on the afternoon of December 16, 2025 with my Padre, Wag, and Victor. Foto: Trabajando con vacas en la tarde del 16 de diciembre de 2025 con mi padre, mi tío y Víctor. 
On the afternoon of December 16, 2025, I began an experiment with duck eggs. I am curing the yolks in salt. En la tarde del 16 de diciembre de 2025 comencé un experimento con huevos de pato. Estoy curando las yemas en sal. 
A more distant photo of the experiment with duck eggs. It was a bit of a mess. Una foto más lejana del experimento con huevos de pato. Fue un poco un desorden. 
Dinner consisted of a fried mixture of beef chorizo and sweet potato served on a bed of vegetables. This was all garnished with cottage cheese and a slice of Swiss cheese. La cena consistía en una mezcla frita de chorizo de res y batata sobre una cama de verduras. Todo esto estaba adornado con requesón y una rodaja de queso suizo. 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and served with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
12/17/2025: Today began in the high 40s and warmed into the mid 70s. Mostly sunny. Lots of streaks in the sky.
The sunny dawn of December 17, 2025. El amanecer soleado del 17 de diciembre de 2025. 
There were two yolks inside the large egg from yesterday. Había dos yemas dentro del huevo grande de ayer. 
Lunch consisted of a fried mixture of duck eggs and Italian beef sausage. There was also a colorful salad drizzled with a spicy vinaigrette. El almuerzo consistía en una mezcla frita de huevos de pato y salchicha italiana de res. Además, había una ensalada colorida rociada con una vinagreta picante. 
Part of the dinner preparations involved seasoning two hamburgers with salt and black pepper. Una parte de los preparativos de la cena implicó condimentar dos hamburguesas con sal y pimienta negra. 
A sun dog in the afternoon of December 17, 2025. Un parhelio en la tarde del 17 de diciembre de 2025. 
The dinner consisted of a reverse-seared Wagyu burger (number 575) topped with Tomme cheese and two slices of bacon. It also included a green salad and a slice of sourdough bread. La cena consistía en una hamburguesa de wagyu número 575 dorada al revés y cubierta con queso tomme y dos rodajas de tocino. Además, había una ensalada verde y una rebanada de pan de masa madre. 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and served with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
12/18/2025: Today began in the low 60s and warmed into the high 70s. Quite sunny in the morning. Cloudy and slightly rainy afternoon.
The slightly foggy morning of December 18, 2025. La mañana un poco neblinosa del 18 de diciembre de 2025. 
We bought the heifer that’s furthest to the right from my uncle Eric. Yes, we bought 15 heifers today. Compramos la novilla que está más a la derecha de mi tío Eric. Sí, hoy compramos 15 novillas. 
Lunch consisted of a fried mixture of duck eggs, beef, and guajillo chili peppers. This was all accompanied by a green salad. El almuerzo consistía en una mezcla frita de huevos de pato, carne de res y chile guajillo. Todo esto estaba acompañado de una ensalada verde. 
The cloudy afternoon of December 18, 2025, in the southeasternmost field of the ranch. La tarde nublada del 18 de diciembre de 2025 en el campo más al sureste del rancho. 
My mother under a rainbow at sunset on December 18, 2025. Mi madre bajo un arcoíris en el atardecer del 18 de diciembre de 2025. 
These are Belgian Blue ribeye steaks that I put together for a customer’s beef order. Estos son chuletones de azul belga que junté para un pedido de res de un cliente. 
Dinner consisted of a reverse-seared Belgian Blue eye round roast topped with avocado slices and accompanied by a green salad garnished with red cabbage. La cena consistía en un asado de bola de ronda de azul belga, dorado al revés, cubierto con rodajas de aguacate y acompañado de una ensalada verde adornada con repollo rojo. 
This is a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and served with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Esta es una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego.
12/19/2025: Today began in the mid 60s and warmed into the high 70s. Mostly cloudy morning.
The mostly sunny morning of December 19, 2025. La mañana mayormente soleada del 19 de diciembre de 2025. 
Lunch consisted of a fried mixture of duck eggs, beef, and sweet potatoes. There was also a green salad drizzled with a spicy vinaigrette. El almuerzo consistía en una mezcla frita de huevos de pato, carne de res y batata. Además, había una ensalada verde rociada con una vinagreta picante. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and served with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. 
I took this photo for Master Blend’s social media accounts on the afternoon of December 19, 2025. Tomé esta foto para las redes sociales de Master Blend en la tarde del 19 de diciembre de 2025. 
The center of the ranch on the sunny afternoon of December 19, 2025. El centro del rancho en la tarde soleada del 19 de diciembre de 2025. 
This is dinner. It consisted of reverse-seared Belgian Blue beef short ribs served with a green salad and a horn of red wine. Esta es la cena. Consistía en costillitas de azul belga, doradas al revés y acompañadas de una ensalada verde y un cuerno de vino tinto.
12/20/2025: Today began in the low 40s and warmed into the low 70s. Quite sunny.
The morning of December 20, 2025 was quite busy. This is just one page of orders placed by two customers. La mañana del 20 de diciembre de 2025 fue bastante ocupada. Esta es solamente una página de pedidos que realizados por dos clientes. 
Lunch consisted of beef sausages, bacon, and sardines on a green salad made by my father. El almuerzo consistía en salchichas de res, tocino y sardinas sobre una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. 
Dessert consisted of a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and served with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Postre consistía en una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. 
Dinner consisted of a burger-steak from cow number 575 topped with Tomme cheese. This was accompanied by a green salad. La cena consistía en un bistec de hamburguesa de vaca número 575 cubierto con queso Tomme. Esto estaba acompañado de una ensalada verde. 
Another sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and served with a spoonful of Greek yogurt. Otra manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. 
A photo of the Black Bunny with the box where I put Padre’s cookies. Una foto del conejo negro con la caja donde puse las galletes para mi papá.
Final Note: It was unfortunate that we did not get to go to Mexico, but I can safely say that the week was still a great one. I’m including the portion of writing that I worked on whilst in the airport last Sunday; it is the epigraph for the Epilogue of Book 2 – TLB:
“Why’re you here?”
“You are Tatum Deverlash.”
“And you’re mistaken.”
“Oh, but I recognize that voice. You’ve been to Xion before. I know it.”
“Xion? What the fuck’re you on about?”
“My sister, Jaiga, said her friend had found a man with skin as white as salt at Aanah-Eye spring. Just over a league outside the city gates.”
“Xion didn’t have—”
“Gates?” the Gladefolk man’s teeth flashed in the moonlight.
“Mucker,” Tates cursed to which Zi released a single, victorious laugh;
“I met you, old man; I swear I did. You were the first saltskin I’d ever seen; like one of those rare marshdragons. Completely white. But you didn’t have the red eyes—you had healthy ones. Brown ones. And your nose was unlike any we’d ever seen. Narrow, like the beak of a Shade-blessed owl. You were always so intense n’ so quick; some thought you were always angry, but I saw you were fine. Just different.”
“Get to the point,” the Tiller growled, before repeating his first question, “Why’re you here, Arbiter?”
“Not sure. To see that you were actually the one, maybe? Or maybe to see if you remembered me, the little’un who came to see you that afternoon all those roundin’s ago by the Queen’s Fount. I had a couple friends with me. They were the ones who dared me to speak to the saltskin. Do you recall—do you recall what I said?”
Tatum Deverlash neither confirmed nor denied, working the chaw in his mouth, but then he muttered a phrase, “Sahkahk a wool. ‘You are very white’.”
This made the Gladefolk man’s smile return, and his own eyes, not old, but certainly not young, crinkled at the corners; “I’m here if you ever want to talk, Tiller.”
“Not much for talking,” the old man spat; there was a lengthy pause, one where it almost seemed as if the conversation would be left at that until it was broken by the man who had wrought it; “But… chew’s better in company. Do you partake?”
“Usually no,” Zi replied, “But I know you old-fashioned Tillers only keep the good sort.”
“Jus’ blackstrap and burley,” Tates confirmed.
“Pure and simple,” Zi replied.
The Tiller gave a slow and single nod, “Like all things worth their mud.”
- Reunion between a Saltskin and a Shadow, 2525 CE 11th waxing Moon
I just reread that final part of this week’s blog, I have no doubt that this week’s vacation was a huge success. Incredible, once again, much appreciate your sharing.