Taking A Short Break,

Until I can commit to regular weekly posts again.

First and foremost, I’m addressing my paying subscribers. I paused payments for a month, not because I won’t write at all, but because I want to get back to publishing once a week, always on the same day (Saturdays), and at the moment that causes too much pressure. I have to do other stuff, taking care of the garden for example, which takes more energy than it used to, partly because of the high humidity in MA, and probably more because of my age ;).

Here are some photos, showing the progression from June 12 to 27: above are four seed potatoes which I planted in a 20-gallon “smart pot”. They’re doing great!

Two cherry tomato seedlings, plus two regular-sized tomato babies, went into the two-level planter box in front of the garage. Again, the photo on the left is from June 12, the one on right from June 27. The plants have reached the roof, and some green cherry tomatoes are already visible.

The green peppers and chiles aren’t doing so great. They still look just like they did on June 12, except for the chile on the right, we already ate some. The soil in that pot is rather poor, maybe that’s what chiles like… When I think of New Mexico where they thrive, the soil was quite bad.

We already harvested at least three tasty chiles.

Zucchini plant…

and edamame, soy beans.

And kabocha, my favorite winter squash (also called Japanese pumpkin, according to Wikipedia)! I posted a recipe for it, when I wrote about Miso.

I believe these are climbing cucumbers. And there is a watermelon plant. I had to put all of them in cages for the time being, because Oskar the marmot would finish off these juicy leaves if he could. Did I mention that we saw Oskar Junior a few times? Looks just like his Dad, just smaller… I don’t mind sharing a little, but they would simply finish off everything. That’s why the zucchini, soy beans, etc. are surrounded by chicken wire. So far, it seems to work.

So – the next three to four weeks of posting may be even more erratic than usual, but as I said: your payments are on hold during this period. And I want to thank you, my generous supporters, for your continued backing. I don’t believe in paywalls, that’s why all my posts are always free for everybody. I think it’s a bit manipulative to restrict part of one’s work for paying readers only. Or to not allow comments from “free” subscribers. Yes, I bet these techniques boost one’s income, but it just doesn’t feel right. Which means that I can’t reward you with anything, you’re not “buying” some privilege. Everything is totally free. You’re giving me a gift, because you’re kind and generous, and it is much appreciated. As is everybody else who reads my musings. Thank you, everyone.