Update #2 - July 2026

 Bar a little more tinkering, chapter 6 is finished. The next few chapters will take me back to jigsaw puzzle territory again. In the meantime, in chapter 6 fourteen-year-old Gwion has been accepted by King Arthur as one of his bards, and Emrys has told us a story about his possible origins. In the next chapter he'll go to Ireland for the first time with Talhaearn.

Hot weather continues - hot days and not-cool-enough nights. Mid to upper 90s, and overnight lows in the 60s. After all, it's mid-July. Makes it hard to concentrate on writing or other mental things, but the tomatoes love it. Six ripe cherry tomatoes so far, and possibly some sweet 100s next.

Update #1 - July 2026

 Chapter 6 is growing slowly, a little more each day. Gwion is fourteen now, which was manhood in the Welsh laws, and is planning to sing again in King Arthur's court in hopes of becoming one of Arthur's bards. This, he hopes, will give him a way to be revenged on the people who abused him as a child. Emrys is also going to tell us a story explaining Gwion's origins, using what Gwion has told him about his beginnings and material from Hanes Gwion Bach. I am at the point now of needing to compose Gwion's song to Arthur.

After a few mild days and nights, we are back in the 90s again, with next weekend forecast to reach 100 (shudder). The tomatoes, however, are flourishing, creating a sort of vertical tomato jungle mixed with morning glories in their tomato cages, and covered with scores of little green tomatoes. The earliest cherry tomatoes are already getting ripe. In wildlife action, I saw a hummingbird yesterday which followed me around while I was watering, and Ruay caught two more small rabbits this week. I put the first one in another yard, but the second one got away from both of us, going through the chain link fence and finding safety between that fence and the neighbors' wooden one. I'm thinking it left during the night; neither Ruay or I have seen it again.