Weekly Whaaa…? I use the ISO weeks from Monday to Monday, so ISO Week 2026-W31 is the week of 2026-07-27/2026-08-02. Backyard Bounty of the Week Over the Fourth of July weekend we picked up a few herbs and other plants for our backyard container garden. It’s now a (notably smoky) month later and the pepper plant (named Pablo, naturally as it’s a poblano) has already doubled in size. It’s now at least a foot above the tomato cage it’s been climbing like a ladder. We’re letting the two delicious-looking peppers keep growing, although we might soon pick them because there are a bunch of new flowers and we’re not sure if Pablo will send resources to them (leading to additional peppers) while the two main fruit are still attached. It’s our first time growing poblanos, and we’re not extremely familiar with growing any type of peppers. This is also my first time growing strawberries, and I finally understand why strawberry planters aren’t actually just “hen & chicks” succulent planters! The strawberry has grown at least as robustly as Pablo, only it’s been sending out tendrils in various directions and putting roots down in those soil pockets. There are also at least 5 berries growing, and even more flowers! We’re going to have to keep an eye on those and grab them before the neighborhood squirrels decide to see whether these weird soft acorns might be as sweet as they look. The herbs are also popping off like it’s peak hours on a busy dancefloor. We’re looking up pesto and other recipes that can help us use up a bumper crop of basil. Since my plans to take lots of early morning walks this summer—Boise being the high desert, it typically cools off 20º F / 11º C or more overnight in summer—has been stymied by this month’s wildfire smoke from the Claremont fire as well as fires in Oregon and Washington, I’ve been slowly getting more stir crazy / cabin-feverish without consciously realizing it. Watching the backyard edible garden spring into action despite the skies’ apocalyptic vibes has definitely been a small respite from that, even if I myself am not outside as much as I’d like. Attending and Viewing The OEN Engage! 2026 conference was easily one of the best conferences I’ve attended in a while. The OEN folks were a delight, and their presence definitely came through. So I’m glad that the videos are already popping up on YouTube to re-watch and to share with others. This week we finished Season 3 of Love on the Spectrum, plus started Season 6 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Lightly-Annotated Linkapalooza I read about the Earthborne Rangers board / card game through Mita Williams’ University of Winds newsletter and am totally enchanted. It sounds like a great blend of a deckbuilding game, a light roleplaying game, and a sort of Ursula K. Le Guin hopepunk post-apocalyptic setting. Although I haven’t ordered it quite yet, I expect I will before long. (We’ll almost certainly use the printable demo, if we don’t just spring for a copy.) I also learned that Indigenous folks are leading important efforts to protect white sage. Apparently there’s a ton of poaching of wild plants from parks and elsewhere in California—that linked page has a photo of a pickup truck with hundreds of pounds in enormous duffel bags, all taken from the Etiwanda Preserve not from from where I used to live in Riverside. (Although it’s not obvious, I’ve long named the color themes for my website “citrus and sage” as an homage to the Inland Empire corner of Southern California where I grew up.) We’re intentionally planting native, pollinator-friendly plants when we can in our yard here in Boise. If you’ve got a yard yourself, you might consider devoting a part of it for native plants as well. You might also consider learning about the Native folks whose communities have long taken care of the land where you live, and research whether there are ways you can support their efforts. TWI(R)L Recently I (re)learned… the #100DaysToOffload challenge exists. I’ve seen lots of posts on Mastodon or Bluesky with that tag from other people, and this year seems like a good time to give it a go. the word “irenic” from “Your AI Is Not a Tool” newsletter post the term “grass widow” from Catherine Jurca’s White Diaspora book