Update #5 - August 2026

 Decided not to tinker w/ chapter 6 after all, and have now finished chapter 8, bar a little more editing. Gwion has won his Master Bard status, changed his name to Taliesin, and asked King Arthur for title to the farmstead where he was living when Emrys and Talhaearn found him. The next chapter will show him taking ownership of that land - new writing for a change.

After last Friday (100+), the weather is finally cooling off - lower 90s and upper 80s, with nights in the upper 50s. A good change! The purple flowered beans are setting again, and so are the Romas. 

Blackberry has had an exciting week. On Wednesday she got out of the back screen door, which I had left ajar. I heard her meowing a lot as I was doing my morning circuit of the yard, but she stopped when I got back to the house. I think she panicked and went to hide. I found her eventually hiding by the north yard fence, and managed to catch her. Then yesterday she got in the bedroom closet when I was hanging up a t shirt, and got to spend over 2 hours in there while I went to the farmers' market. I hope she doesn't think of anything else exciting to do this week!

Update #4 - August 2026

 Most but not all of chapter 8 done, but then I went back to tinker with something in chapter 6. Weather looks better this week, so hopefully I'll finish with both of them. Then on to all new material in chapter 9.

I'm hoping the past Friday was the last really hot day this summer - 100 degrees by my back door and 102 or 103 in the area. We're now seeing medium to low 90s, but need some cooler nights. I did get a good thunderstorm downpour Saturday. Tomatoes are not doing great, nor are the beans. Looking forward to September!

Update #3 - August 2026

 Finished chapter 7 - now working on chapter 8. This is mostly another jigsaw piece, using a story Taliesin told Gwernin in The Old Gods Endure about his first bardic competition, when he won his Master Bard rating. But there's more new material at the end: Gwion changes his name to Taliesin, and asks King Arthur for a boon. This will lead us up to the next chapter, called "Galanas", which will be all new material. The cooler weather the last few days means my brain is working better.

Speaking of weather, we had three days in a row of heavy thunderstorms, amounting to at least 3 or 4 inches of rain in total - more than we got in the last month and a half! I haven't had to water anything for three or four days, although that will start again in the morning. Aside from the sweet 100s and the cherry, the tomatoes have stopped setting. I picked all the ripe or almost ripe ones, so hopefully the nocturnal outdweller (well, the raccoon...) will find a different salad bar! 

Update #2 - August 2026

 More beastly hot weather, but a little progress on chapter 7. I've put the jigsaw pieces together and edited them enough to tell the story from Gwion's point of view, but they'll need more editing. I've had computer problems as well, and am currently working on my new desktop rather than my aging laptop. This is why I have two computers, tied together with Dropbox.

I have dozens of ripe small tomatoes now, and some Romas, but no large ones - one of the Cherokees died abruptly and the other and the Brandywines keep developing blossom end rot. I guess this is why having several varieties is good! The beans are not doing well at all - maybe they will set a few when the weather gets cooler. To be honest I grow them mostly for beauty, but it would be good to get some fresh seed. 

Three more days in the 90s, then hopefully some cooler weather with thunderstorms. May it be so!

Update #1 - August 2026

 Again, very little writing progress. The weather has mostly been too hot for my brain to work. Or maybe I'm just being lazy. At least we've made it to August.

Lots and lots of small ripe tomatoes and occasional Romas but no big ones. Partly blossom end rot, alas. And only 6 or 7 purple podded beans. I might get a few more when rose beetle season is over. Not going to check, but the temperature is probably 101+ out there today.