Update #4 - September 2026

 Slow progress on chapter 9, but progress. I've had to think about what needs to happen, and who needs to be involved. At this point, I have part of a chapter and several bits of the rest of it which need to be expanded. This is not the way I usually write, but this is not a usual story. 

Autumn is progressing - overnight lows in the 50s and sometimes in the 40s. The sweet 100s have been getting ripe faster, and now and then one of the Romas. I haven't needed to water every day due to occasional thunderstorms. Looks like we might have another two or three weeks before the first frost.

Update #3 - September 2026

 Still working slowly on chapter 9, adding and occasionally removing bits. Taliesin is conferring with the local Prince's chief lawyer about the details of his acquisition of the local farmstead where he worked as a boy. Emrys has not come along with him on this mission, and I'm not sure if Talhaearn has. He is about to interview someone who can be in charge of the farmstead if he gets it, since he will not be living there himself. He intends to call the farm "Tre Taliesin", the name of an actual village in that area which I visited once.

The seasons are changing drastically. Highs in the low 80s and 70s, overnight lows in the 50s, and this morning 45. We celebrated Equinox yesterday evening, surrounded by thunderstorms but with only a sprinkle of rain. I don't expect to need window fans at night now, though I haven't put them away yet. I'm more likely to be running the furnace instead. There are still green Romas and sweet 100s, but they are not ripening much; I actually bought some at the farmers' market this morning. Definitely autumn.

Update #2 - September 2026

 Very slow progress on chapter 9 - too much else going on last week. I'm rereading some of the earlier books for details. The chapter title has changed to "Repayment" based on something from chapter 5.

Yesterday was like a left-over scrap of August - a high of 90 or so, and a too-warm night. I'm hoping that's over now. Autumn is encroaching on the garden - green sweet 100s and romas, but not much ripening; lots of purple-podded beans, but no scarlet runners; not many marigolds still blooming. The rest of this week should be highs in the upper 70s and low 80s, overnight lows in the 50s or lower. Things are coming to an end.

Update #1 - September 2026

 Slowly working on chapter 9 ("Vengeance"). After winning his Master Bard status, Gwion has changed his name to Taliesin, and asked King Arthur for title to the farmstead where he was living when Emrys and Talhaearn found him. This chapter is all new material, and will show how his plan works out. It's going slow as I have to sort out a lot of things, but I hope to get it done in the next week. After this will come his dark path experience, which will be a mixture of new and older material.

After a few cooler days, it's been a warm weekend - highs in the lower 90s again. The purple podded beans have been setting, but the scarlet runners haven't, partly because the accursed beetles kept eating their flowers. I have some green Romas, which might get ripe this month, and some green sweet 100s as well, but September begins to be chancy for ripe tomatoes. I managed to mow the front yard, or at least the shaggier parts that still had grass. Some of the back needs attention now.