Wednesday...

First, here's the link (and a second link)for Saturday's event. It's a fundraiser for Gateway Battered Women's Shelter, run by our local ADF group. We're Dwygelli, and we open (4:00-4:45 pm). Here's our card:



Next, a picture of Monday's tomatoes:



Weather's still hot, with temperatures well above seasonal normal (as in mid-90's again today, close to a record high), but it should be a little better starting Friday. Maybe then I can get more writing done...

-GRG

Monday...

The weather's a bit cooler today, so I'll be canning tomatoes. The Romas in particular have been very productive this year, so we'll have a good supply. I'll put up pictures later.

On other news, we'll be doing a short set of songs and storytelling to open for a charity event this coming Saturday. Links later...

-GRG

Friday...

Too hot to do much here, but I thought I'd put up a picture of the reinforcement of the bean fence. Hopefully this will keep it from collapsing until the end of the season.



That's all for now.

-GRG

Thursday...

Oops, running late again. Here's the book review for Lionheart I mentioned in my last post, and the story I've been preparing to tell. Also, on my LibraryThing discussion thread, a list of the stories I've told or could tell. Being busy with the latter was why I forgot to post here yesterday.

One more garden picture:



And that's it for today...

-GRG

Monday...

Oops, forgot Friday again... I was preoccupied with canning tomatoes, among other things. At this point almost all our vegetables come from my garden, and I have excess to can or give away. Won't last much longer, though - first frost here is usually mid-September.

The beans have recovered from last week's mishap. The only question is whether the post extension at the west end of the fence will survive for another month:



The story I was working on last week is more or less set, and I've been practicing telling it. Getting close...

I spent a good bit of the weekend reading Sharon Penman's newest book, Lionheart. Since I was lucky enough to win an advanced review copy (it comes out in October) from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program (at 50:1 odds!) I thought the least I could do was read and review it asap. I've finished the reading (which took a while - 594 pages and not a quick read), so should be reviewing it soon; I'll post it here when I do. Normally I don't read new historical fiction (new to me, that is) while working on one of my own books, but both her style and period are so different from mine that I'm not worried about cross-contamination.

That's it for today.

-GRG

Wednesday...

Trouble in the garden yesterday evening - the bean fence fell over! Under-engineering, basically, plus very healthy beans this year. We got it part of the way back up, and are hoping it will hold for the remaining 5-6 weeks before our usual mid-September frost. Must do better next year!



The last two days I've been writing, but not on The Druid's Son. With all of the storytelling we did over the weekend, I felt the need to expand my repertoire, and decided to try and pick up an old Irish tale I heard Patrick Ball tell ten or twelve years ago. By googling a couple of phrases, I found the original story on line, and have been working up my own version. With luck I might have it ready for the Long's Peak Highland Games in September. My version is somewhat different from both the original and what little I can remember of Patrick's - I added bits and took out bits, as one does, to adapt the tale to the anticipated audience - but I think it's shaping up well. I might post it here by and by if there's interest.

Back to work...

-GRG

Monday...

Apologies -- looks like I missed last Friday. Blame it on the hot weather.

We had a fun weekend at the Rocky Mountain Highland Games with the Colorado Welsh Society. Lots of storytelling with some good audiences. It's always great to have a chance to perform, polishing old stories and trying out new ones. Performance always requires two necessary parts: the audience and the performer. Without either, only silence.

It's tomato season now, full flood. In about a weekend I'll be canning the Romas, which have been very productive this year. Only so-so for fresh eating, but good for sauce. All of the big tomatoes are ripening now too, and the sweet 100's are going crazy:



That's it for now...

-GRG

Wednesday...

Weather's a little cooler today, which is nice. Garden continues to burgeon. The few Scarlet Runner beans I managed to start are blooming now - little sparks of red among the green:



We'll be storytelling again in the Colorado Welsh Society booth at the Rocky Mountain Highland Games this weekend. Should be fun!

-GRG

Monday...

After a hot weekend, the weather's a little milder today. Good for the garden, though:



The tallest corn stalks are over seven feet high now.

-GRG

Friday...

Too busy to blog today, but here's another garden picture: summer in the cold frame...



-GRG

Wednesday...

Nothing much new... I'm harvesting the onions, which have all made their bulbs and lain down for the season. Back-filling with a few marigolds. This is the third and last batch of onions, harvested today and drying in the sun:



And this is yesterday's batch with their tops braided:



Not much progress with writing, alas, but the weather cooled off yesterday, so there's hope...

-GRG

Monday...

No writing over the weekend, which was mostly occupied with various Lughnasadh celebrations. Weather continues too hot for comfort here, but looks like we might gt some thunderstorms soon, which will cool things off a bit. I'm having trouble imagining rainy pleasant Ireland while sweltering here...

Sunflower season now:



And some of my large tomatoes are finally showing color...

-GRG