Nine days ago, I celebrated my 10th anniversary here on Fur Affinity (although I don’t think anybody but CharlestonRat, who shares that with me noticed). I’ve made a point of posting an anniversary journal every year so, for better or for worse, here it is:

As a bear who has retired from the workforce rather recently, I used my freedom from the 5-day work week to do some traveling with family and on my own. My solo trips included visits with some old college buddies in New York City and a meet-up with some long-time friends in Nashville. In addition, I got together with some wonderful friends from the Furry community, most of whom I’d never met before in person.

My very dear friends, Digeri and Corn Husky, welcomed me into their home after I departed Nashville. They showed me all of the best places to get a mocha in the area and introduced me to some new board games. We visited Ashville, North Carolina for a fursuit romp months before the devastating flood brought by Hurricane Helene.

Without question, the BIG solo trip for the year spanned 13 days in July and took me to several destinations in Europe, where I met still more furry friends. Those included long-time friends DaiCymru and the aforementioned rodent, CharlestonRat. I met fellow writer Huskyteer for the first time when she joined Dai and me at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) air show. I met K9coyote for a walk around Amsterdam. A stop in Berlin was hosted by Riffuchs. And another long-time friend, Adumbratio, took me under his wing during my all-too-short stay in Vienna. All of that is summarized in my journal here: My European Adventure

In September, my canine pals Corn Husky and Digeri invited me to join them for a weekend of more mocha and board games in western Kentucky, near enough to the half-way point between our respective homes. Little more than a week ago, they made the journey all the way to Wichita. I’ll post some photo highlights of their visit after the new year.

Even while enjoying these activities, I found time to continue my writing. At the beginning of May, I published Six Degrees, a new collection of short stories. I soon realized that several of those begged to be expanded into a novel and last month, Long Division: Archie & Isaac was released. I am extremely proud of the new book and consider it my best and most important work.

I always like to acknowledge the artists who’ve shared their talents with me over the past year.

In the order of drawings completed, these artists brought my bear, Bucky, to life:
 Ferric-Oxide,  Ixis,  Rahnt,  Awkward_AWD,  Katahdin_.,  S00T,  BugMemory,  Oli_Snowpaw
You can find the work they did for me in this folder: https://www.furaffinity.net/gallery.....7235/Bucky-Art

Book cover art and individual characters from my world of Long Division were drawn by:
 S00T,  Oli_Snowpaw,  Phoeline,  Os,  Watercollar,  VenLightChaser
Those drawings can all be found in my folder: https://www.furaffinity.net/gallery.....es-Related-Art

I’m so grateful for my furry friends who’ve spent quality time and been patient with me while I busied myself snapping photos. I hope we can visit again in the not-too-distant future.

Finally, thanks to all of you who have stuck with me, whether you have watched my account from the beginning or began within the past few days. Your words of praise, encouragement, and gentle criticism for my photos and my writing mean more to me than I can even begin to express.

Peace,
—Ursus