Update #3 - July 2026

 I finished chapter 6 and started chapter 7, but haven't made much progress due to the hot weather. At this point, Gwion is 16, and goes to Ireland for the first time with Talhaearn. This will involve his meeting Fráechán mac Tenusán for the first time, and also his meeting with Mael's father Kieran. Jigsaw puzzle territory again, with material from The King's Druid and The Fallen Stones. 

I hate this hot dry weather, but the tomatoes don't mind as long as they get lots of water. I'm getting plenty of the cherries and sweet 100s now, and the earliest Roma is almost ripe. I lost some off of one of the Cherokee purples to blossom end rot, but the other one seems to be healthy. And there are lots of green Romas, which are good for cooking and canning. The scarlet runner beans are not setting, partly because the rose beetles keep eating the flowers, but the purple flowered beans have started to set. I'll give the bean pots some fertilizer before next year.

Wildlife encounter - I saw a group of 3 smallish rabbits in my front yard at sunrise - presumably siblings.