SEPTEMBER 2025
Sunday 2025.9.28
Another short blog this time. I am spending most of my time working on downsizing this website.
O Joy, O Rapture!
I rode my scooter to Costco on Thursday, after having made a few more adjustments to the seat I added. It was excellent. I felt so safe riding while seated, I increased my speed a little.
I live in a college town (University of California Santa Barbara), and I see a lot of people riding scooters or e-bikes. As their popularity increases, I can't help wondering if the city or state will eventually enact laws requiring them to be registered — for a fee, of course.
One thing I dislike is the quick-release clamp for the saddle. It's crap. The metal is cheap. And, a quick-release equates to a quick-theft. Bike theft is common in this town. Bike seats are stolen too. Therefore, I ordered some threaded stainless steel rods from Amazon Vine. The package includes nuts and washers.
I am hoping to cut a piece long enough for my saddle clamp and then attach it with nuts at both ends. It would require a wrench to steal my seat. I keep my scooter inside my home (my e-bike is locked up in my shed); so, there aren't many opportunities for someone to steal my seat. However, I do sometimes wonder if I'll come out of the store with my groceries and see my seat missing.
Making Progress
I am continuing my project to move my recipes from this web site to YouTube. On Wednesday evening I had 1/8th of my recipes done, not counting smoothies. After streamlining the process a little, I am able to do 20 recipes per day. It takes about four hours to do ten recipes.
Fearing what I might see, I did a site-wide check of coding errors. Only one mistake was found.
When the project is done, it will seem odd. This website will consist of ten pages of links to YouTube, plus eight cover pages.
One thing amused me. As I was editing the YouTube pages, I saw the many times I added links to drive traffic to this website. Now I am driving traffic away.
Weight
My weight continues to go down, albeit slowly. I lost 1.4 pounds this week. My other numbers (blood glucose and blood pressure) looked good. There were a few blood pressure numbers that were above average, but they were within the safe range. Blood glucose remained normal all week.
Wednesday 2025.9.24
Not much this week because I've been working on this website.
Simplification
Well, the willful demolition of this website has begun. That sounds bad, but it really isn't.
As planned, I started moving the recipe text to the video description section on my YouTube channel. Nothing is lost; it is only moved to a new location.
Therefore, the big push is on. I want to accomplish as much as possible before the coming holidays. People will be searching for recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
Although the goal is a simpler website that is easy to maintain, the process is tedious. There were hundreds of links to recipes in the Blog Archives. I needed to edit or remove those links so that they wouldn't generate a "404 Not Found" error message. I don't know if anyone reads those old blog posts, but until I remove them I don't want any error codes. Doing ten recipes takes all day, which is too much work. In the end, I simply went through the archives and removed all the links. It took two days, but it made my other tasks much easier.
My plan is to further simplify this site by removing those old blogs. I occasionally search them for something I might have written in the past. However, as I explained in a previous blog post, this entire website was backed up to a blank CD. Nothing is gone.
Still undecided is what I should do about SmoothieTube. I did several smoothie videos, hoping that channel would eventually become popular enough to monetize and generate revenue. That never happened. I will probably delete the channel and move the videos to my Mobile Home Gourmet channel. I don't make smoothies anymore because of my type 2 diabetes. I don't want the sugar.
When everything is complete, the Recipe Archive pages will still be here, but all the links will lead to my YouTube videos.
The underlying reason for this change is simple. My website gets thousands of visits per year. Based on recent Google Analytics data, I estimate somewhere around 20,000. However, only two people offered any support. By moving everything to YouTube, that will generate more YouTube revenue for me, which will go toward the support of this site.
Vegan? Me?
I continue to read that book, The End of Diabetes by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. For successful weight loss and maintenance of diabetes, he promotes a vegan diet. I never imagined I could go vegan; however, I've tried many diets. I lose the weight, but I eventually gain it all back.
He recommends black beans as the best source of protein and other nutrients. I put a bag on my Amazon Gift List, but I removed it because I bought a bag at a local grocery store. They didn't have any smaller bags; so, I ended up taking home a 10-pound (4.53kg) bag. That's a lot of beans! Thankfully, I like beans.
On the bright side, the bag costs only $12.49. Try to find meat at $1.25 per pound. I occasionally find chicken on sale at 99¢ per pound, but that's about it.
Also, cooked beans go well in a salad. I love salad. They're good for winter soups too. So, there is good reason to keep a large container of cooked beans in my fridge.
I still have frozen hamburger patties, chicken, and fish to use up, but I am beginning the process of switching to beans for healthy protein. I usually blog about my weight on Sundays; so, keep connected to see what happens.
Weather
The first forecasts of rain this season proved accurate. We didn't get a lot of rain, but there was enough to wash my car. At one point yesterday evening the sound was loud on my roof and awnings. It sounded like hail, but I didn't see any on the ground. At around 10:00 in the evening there was thunder and lightning, and that was very loud. 0.14 inches of rain fell here.
Sunday 2025.9.21
Happy Autumn
Today is the last day of summer. Tomorrow begins the season of autumn. It isn't time to put away the portable air conditioners yet. I've seen days as hot as 103°F in October. However, I am already thinking of soups.
I'm also thinking of winter projects again. I will probably tailor a few more shirts. I have the fabric, thread, and buttons — as if I need more shirts. I already have too many. And so, I won't look for any more 100% cotton sheets on Amazon Vine. I'm sure I have enough shirts for the remainder of my life.
Some Good News
The seat for my e-scooter arrived yesterday. I knew it wasn't the right design for my scooter, but I felt confident I could make it work. I did.
I took it for a test ride, running an errand to a local grocery store. That revealed the adjustments that needed to be tightened. It might take a few rides before I get everything set the way I want it. What is most important is that I feel safer riding when seated rather than when standing. And it makes my scooter more fun to ride.
Of course, while seated I get far less exercise. But I prefer to feel safe.
EUREKA!
Sometimes I get a genius idea, but I'm a very slow genius. This one took years.
Of late, I've been a little disappointed that so many visitors (1.6K in August) offered so little support (2 persons) for this website.
Then, finally, I got the right idea. Where do I get most of the support for these recipes and videos? YouTube, of course. So, my project for the remainder of this year is to remove most (or all) of the recipes from here and add them to the description section below each video. Nothing will be lost; only the location will change. The links in the Recipe Archive will send visitors to YouTube.
Now, here's the thing: YouTube only pays when they owe at least $100 at the end of each month. If the threshold isn't reached, the unpaid balance rolls over into the following month until the minimum is reached. This year, so far, I did not receive a payment for the months of April and June. Had each of those 1.6K visitors to this web site gone to YouTube and generated one penny, only 1¢, of revenue, that would have been $16 and it would have been enough to reach the threshold. Voila!
I've been wanting to simplify. What could be simpler? YouTube will do the maintenance, not me. Making the changes is a lot of work, and tedious, but when completed this site will be easier for me to maintain.
And maybe worth mentioning: Some people have asked me to put the recipe in the video description. Consider it done. And, thank you.
DOH!
In Wednesday's blog post I mentioned ordering a resistance band exercising bar from Amazon Vine. I wished I had read the advertisement more closely. It clearly says, "resistance band not included." Actually, I'm glad I didn't see that. I might not have ordered it.
That triggered a memory. Somewhere I have a bag of resistance elastic bands that I bought many years ago, knowing I should get more exercise. I found them, dusted off the bag, and inspected them. The bands all have carabiners (coupling links with a safety closure). The bag also has a poorly illustrated list of 18 exercises. I can do better watching YouTube videos.
The bands are not as long as the one(s) illustrated in the ad (and not included). However, that gives me a slight advantage. I can exercise sitting in a chair with the elastic looped under the seat. I feel safer in a chair. One dislocated shoulder is enough.
The exercise bar offers some advantages too. It is in three pieces. I can put two together for a narrower bar, or three for a wider bar. There is a metal eye bolt at each end, which attaches to the resistance band carabiners.
Maybe also worth mentioning, I have two weight lifting bars in a closet. I use one with a spring clip to hold a mirror when I'm cutting my hair. I've had those, along with four spring clips, since my college days. The weights are long gone. It's funny what I sometimes save, and here it is more than 40 years later and I still have a need for one of those bars.
I can use the old weight bars for exercises. However, there is no secure way to attach the carabiners. They slip off if I'm not careful.
The new bar arrived yesterday and it's better than the weight bar I tried using. I can do the military press I've been wanting to do and I can exercise in front of the TV. If I watch something I really enjoy, such as Only Murders in the Building, it's actually kind of fun.
Speaking of OMitB
Season five of Only Murders in the Building started this month. I no longer have access to Hulu. Disney, the greediest company on earth, changed their policy about login and password sharing. I won't subscribe to Hulu for only one TV show that runs for only ten episodes. However, if you know where to look, you can download the shows for free, and without commercials. I have all of seasons one through four. I am currently collecting season five, with four episodes downloaded so far.
I'm hoping I'll enjoy season five. I wondered if OMitB jumped the shark with season four. Paul Rudd was a bit too over-the-top as Glen Stubbins. Also, the situations tested my willing suspension of disbelief too much — the three main characters becoming fabulously famous and wealthy, and all getting laid, because of a podcast. Creative license taken too far.
Weight
My weight hasn't been anything to brag about this week. I've been on a 199-pound plateau for several days. On Thursday I dropped below 199 again. It was back to 199 yesterday. Plateaus happen. My other numbers look good. And, as explained above, I started exercising again.
Wednesday 2025.9.17
Snack
On Monday I roasted Chickpeas again in my air fryer. They're low in carbs, high in fiber, and all around good for people. The problem is: I eat too many of them.
Got Rain?
This is the time of year when the National Weather Service starts predicting rain in Southern California. It rarely works out this early.
As of this morning, the forecast for today, tonight, tomorrow, Thursday night, and Friday was 30%, 50%, 70%, 50%, and 30% respectively. Those numbers typically change as the "rain" approaches, dropping to 0% or "slight chance of showers." If we get any rain at all, it will probably be tomorrow. The forecast also predicted the possibility of thunder and lightning. I'd enjoy that.
The "Water Year" is September 1st through August 31st, but I don't expect to see any measurable rain until after the Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe I'll have something to report in Sunday's blog post.
Mini Golf
The folks at Walkabout Mini Golf announced two new courses to be released during the next few months. The next course, due in October, wasn't specified; however, the December release will be based on the children's story, Alice in Wonderland.
The graphic announcing the course showed a golf ball and a bottle with a label on which was written, "Drink me." I wouldn't be surprised if the game had a mixture of modes, some giant and some tiny. In Holiday Hideaway the players are reduced to the size of mice.
I started reading the book again. The plot moves slowly, and it seems no one is happy with anyone in the story.
If storybook adventures are a possibility, I'd like to see a course based on Peter Pan. The story entered the public domain on January 1st of last year; so, it's free to use in a golf game.
With no hints about next month's release, I can't help wondering if it might be another city in the Passport Series. Tokyo was the latest one. Or maybe it's too soon for another city; in which case, I'd like to see a course based on the Halloween holiday.
And Speaking of Halloween
I pulled the Audrey II Horror House LEGO-like kit from the shed. The build is based on the 1986 movie Little Shop of Horrors. I'm trying to clear up some space in my shed; so, for this build I'll glue the pieces together. I had trouble with sections falling apart when I built it previously. Glue makes sense because with each re-build the pieces fit together more loosely.
Then, after enjoying the sight of it for a while, I'll toss it into the recycling bin. Less clutter. I got that kit, along with several others, free from Amazon Vine. Speaking of which…
Vine
The number of items available on Vine is much smaller than last year. There was a time when the inventory peaked at nearly 126,000. This morning the number was less than 32,000. Maybe as the holidays approach the offers will increase.
I ordered another exercise item, which is really only a bar (like the bars weight lifters use) and some elastic resistance bands. The one exercise I feel I need most is called a Military Press, in which you lift a bar above your head, using the triceps (the muscles in the back of your upper arm). That item has been shipped. It's supposed to arrive on Friday, but I could get it tomorrow.
The Tomato Chronicles
If we do get rain, the tomato plants will be happy. I inspected them this morning, pruning a few more dead or dying branches, and I harvested two ripe tomatoes. There is still some new growth and several flowers; so, the season hasn't ended yet.
Sunday 2025.9.14
But, First
Thank you Cassie. Cassie sent me a set of kitchen tongs from my Amazon Gift List. I feel thankful when someone shows some appreciation for this website I created. I am very grateful for the gift. Thank you for brightening my day.
Diabetes
I read something important in a book, The End of Diabetes by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. "The tendency to throw drugs at every medical condition is the problem with medicine today." I am not a doctor, but I do agree with the author.
A few years ago I saw a nurse practitioner for a wellness exam. (I hate those exams, by the way. They're just an excuse for doctors to invoice insurance companies for billable procedures.) She prescribed three medications. One was awful. Another didn't do anything. I don't know about the third.
Wellness exams remind me of those "free all-point inspections" car dealerships do when you bring your vehicle in for an oil change. "We're going to look at everything, hoping we can find something to charge you for."
Fuhrman says weight loss with proper diet and exercise is the best medicine for those with type 2 diabetes. Since losing more than 25 pounds, my blood pressure and blood glucose are near normal. I check them daily. They are staying within the normal to high-normal range. I'm not taking any prescription meds.
The author uses the term "nutritarian" to describe people who concentrate on nutrition rather than other dietary factors, like calories. The author of another book, Glucose Revolution, recommends counting molecules instead of calories. 200 calories of broccoli is not the same as 200 calories of ice cream. The important point here is that I'm reading, I'm learning, and I'm trying.
One thing prohibited in the nutritarian plan is red meat. Doh! I just bought a 6-pound package of Costco Kirkland Signature beef patties. I can't just toss them in the trash. So, I'll be experimenting with using some of the meat to make ant bait packets.
Then the author prohibited eggs. This is when I started suspecting the direction he was going. Sure enough, well into chapter 5 he started promoting a vegan diet. I can give up a lot of foods. I've done it already — sugar, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta. But go vegan? Can a person be semi-vegan?
I'll finish reading the book, maybe, but I can't see myself going wholly vegan. That might be a bridge too far. However, I did add black beans (the author says those are best for people on a vegan diet) to my Amazon gift list.
Something New
I learned something new this week. Homemade corn tortillas are healthy for diabetics and those on a keto diet. They're low in carbs and vegan too. Homemade is better because we can control the ingredients. Some commercially made corn tortillas are made or cooked with lard, which is animal fat. Vegetable oil is better.
On Friday I made about a dozen corn tortillas, some of which I froze for later. I'll use them when making Flautas and Taquitos. Yum.
Ants Again
I'm re-thinking my formula for poisoning ants. Two weeks ago I put a bait packet where the ants were coming inside. They swarmed to the bait — scrambled egg and boric acid powder — and literally carried away all of it. Really. ALL!
How could the poison not kill the ants? Too little of it? This time I mixed half a teaspoon into one large egg, then scrambled it, and then divided the bait among four packets, which I placed in favorite places for the ants. In less than an hour the ants were swarming to one of the packets.
I did some research on boric acid powder, concerned that I might be destroying its effectiveness by mixing it into a liquid egg. Water does not change boric acid. In fact, for some applications it is mixed into water. What about heat? Does cooking the egg make the acid less effective? No, it does not.
However, I had to ask, can ants become immune to the poison? The answer is no. Ants cannot become resistant to boric acid. So, my bait packets should work.
The problem is: I live in an area that is overrun with ants. As one colony is destroyed, more ants move in. There is no eradication. Poison helps keep the population down.
As mentioned above, I'll be experimenting with ground beef next. I'm thinking of packaging it raw with some boric acid powder stirred in. How much? If one large egg is about 2 ounces, half a teaspoon per two ounces of ground beef might be enough.
Weight
My weight started high in the early part of the week because of the pepperoni pizza I ate and all the water I drank afterward. I have since returned to my low-salt diet. The pounds are coming off. I am back down to under 200 again. And, again, most of the blood glucose and blood pressure numbers are within the normal range.
Wednesday 2025.9.10
Looking Up
Good news: My mood is improving. I like ribs, but all that meat doesn't do my mental health any good. Thankfully, I really like vegetables. They boost my frame of mind. Sunday's potluck was a factor.
Potluck
One neighbor loves to grill. So, there were sausages and buns. I brought a rack of Costco rotisserie ribs. Meat. Lots of meat. And there were potato chips, fruit, and a chocolate cake. Everything was good. I ate it. But I knew it wasn't the best choice for my diet. On Monday I returned to my routine of eating at least one large salad each day.
Pizza
One of my goals was to get my weight consistently below 200. For three weeks in a row the weekly average was low enough to celebrate. I bought a pepperoni pizza at Costco. It was delicious, but I was very thirsty afterward because of the salt. I drank a lot of water and my weight went up three pounds. It's water weight, which my body will shed quickly.
Ugh, NOT!
A caster on one of my sliding closet doors failed last week. I knew it was going to go. I could tell by the way the door moved. The little roller fell apart. And I thought it was going to be difficult to fix. The roller wasn't screwed to the base plate; it was peened into place. A screw would have been so much easier. But bending the metal is probably cheaper.
Thankfully, I have casters in my hardware box out in the shed. This wasn't the first time I had to replace one. The new casters come with a screw. Thank you for that.
With the help of my Dremel and parallel pliers, I was able to remove the old caster. Attaching the new one only required a Philips screwdriver. Job completed. Everything put away. Done and dusted. And all without uttering a single cuss word.
I felt good after the repair was finished, which helped my mood. I'm 74, but I'm not helpless yet.
Digital Clocks
I've blogged about it before. It's a minor obsession. I can deal with it. However, I do like digital clocks. But, finding the right ones is not easy. Thankfully, Vine offers them occasionally. I'm fussy about what I order. It must be LED, not LCD. It must hang on the wall. It must be easy to read from a distance. The best ones are for persons with dementia. The clocks display the time, day, and date in large easy-to-read numbers. So far, I have two of them.
This week I discarded one LCD clock I never liked — it was too dark — and a second one that stopped working. Neither of them met any of my requirements. The one that failed was purchased decades ago at Costco.
On Monday I saw another one offered on Vine. I requested it. That clock will replace an LED clock that is too difficult to read. The time is large and bright, but the day and date are in a format I don't like. And it's too bright at night. It was free from Vine; so, I don't mind discarding it when its replacement arrives. The new one will have automatic nighttime dimming.
And I think this latest clock will be the last one I order, unless I see one I can't resist.
Vine
And speaking of Amazon Vine, I'm looking for something new. I almost fell when riding my scooter a week ago. I caught myself in time, but a motorist slowed down to check on me. I was okay. I decided I am safer with a scooter that has a seat.
I put one on my Amazon Gift List, but I would be shocked if anyone spent $470 on me. Does Elon Musk read my blog? He just got a $1 trillion salary boost from Tesla; so, he can afford it.
I am thinking the scooter might be a good end-of-year gift to myself. First I will need to transfer some funds into my PayPal account to cover my hosting fee in December. The money will come from my YouTube revenue. If there is enough left over, I'll order the scooter for myself. Maybe there will be a good Black Friday deal.
And maybe worth mentioning: I risked ordering a scooter seat from Amazon (not Vine). It isn't designed for my specific model of scooter; however, I think I might be able to make it work. If not, I only risked about $80. I save more than that on Vine.
The Tomato Chronicles
As I mentioned last Wednesday, the plants are growing again. Lots of new leaves and flowers. I'm looking forward the rooting clippings later this year. I also harvested six ripe tomatoes to enjoy with my salads this week.
Sunday 2025.9.7
Alas
I hope I don't whine too much in today's blog. I'm feeling a bit depressed lately. I know one reason why. I went without salad for several days. Vegetables are really good for my mood. With that in mind, yesterday I cooked up a generous serving of frozen mixed vegetables to enjoy with my dinner. I also bought more ingredients for salads again.
The cause of the mood has been the lack of appreciation shown for this website. I've been wondering what to do. Should I start downsizing my site by deleting some unpopular recipes? I thought about it. I even removed one, Butternut Squash Risotto. Then I changed my mind. Downsizing is too much work. The best way to simplify is to do nothing. Just let things go. No updates. No improvements. No new recipes. And no new Featured Recipe of the Week.
I decided the best reason to preserve this website is to use it as my personal archive of recipes. With that in mind, I burned a full backup to a blank CD. I often look up something when I want to cook for a potluck, or just to make something for friends. It's convenient. If others want to visit my site, they're free to do so. Enjoy.
I'll continue to blog because I enjoy writing. I won't include any photos in my blogs because those are too much work. Who do they benefit? Text is good enough.
Potluck
This afternoon there is another potluck for the neighbors. As planned, I bought a rack of rotisserie ribs at Costco. The days have been so warm lately, I really didn't feel like cooking anything. I hope people won't grab the leftovers. I want any remaining ribs because I like to flake off the meat, warm it in a pan with some BBQ sauce, and roll it in a tortilla with some shredded cheese. That's delicious. Maybe I'll make an announcement. "Please don't take my leftovers." They usually do, leaving me nothing to take home for myself.
Bladder Infection
I wish I could go into details, but it's really too much information. However, I feel really good about what I've done.
I had an infection recently. The urologist first prescribed Cephalexin, which I've used before. Two days later, after the specimen was analyzed by a lab, he switched me over to Sulfamethoxazole (AKA sulfa drug). It didn't work. After the full ten days the infection did not improve. However, during the first two days when I was taking the first med, I noticed some relief. So, after the sulfa drug was gone, I returned to the first prescription. It worked. I am seeing no symptoms of an infection.
Meanwhile, I think I might have figured out what caused the problem. I won't go into details. Again, too much information. I am doing things differently now. I'm hoping I won't have an infection again.
Vine
Nothing new to say about my participation in Amazon Vine. I continue to browse. I order only enough to keep up with my six-month quota. I'm on track to reach my goals before the end of October. All current orders have been received and reviewed.
Some Politics
I look forward to books that are written about Trump when he is no longer the president, assuming he and the Republicans don't tamper with the election laws too much and appoint Trump as the lifetime president. I have a title I'd like to see on a book — America's First Dictator. Bob Woodward, are you reading my blog?
Weight
My weight loss this week was satisfactory. The average for the week was 198.1. The average loss for the week was 1.3 pounds. Blood glucose and blood pressure numbers were mostly good. I haven't been in the mood for exercise; so, lets just call this a week of vacation.
However, I am noticing a trend upward. I need to be more disciplined. This week will be a disaster because I celebrated my weight loss with pizza and I drank a lot of water afterwards because the salt make me thirsty. My weight this morning was up by more than two pounds. It's all water.
And although I am no longer showing images of my weight database, I altered it again. I read online that a blood pressure reading of 130 or 80 is considered the upper limit of normal.
Wednesday 2025.9.3
Phew, Again
This week my wireless trackball for this computer stopped working. I tried changing the batteries. No luck. I tried the settings. Nothing helped. I went onto Amazon to see about buying a replacement, which costs about $60 with the tax. And then I thought to look under the ball. I was surprised by the amount of dust in there. I cleaned that out and the trackball is working normally again. Phew!
Statistics
The numbers are in. More than a month ago I blogged about signing up for Google Analytics. For a small website like mine, the stats are free. After collecting data for a month, here are a few numbers:
Active Users: 1,600
Page Views: 2,800
Countries: 59
Most Popular Recipe: Noodles Romanoff
Only one person, Duke, bought me items from my Amazon Gift List.
Some of the numbers aren't encouraging. Imagine, if every active user contributed $1 during August, I'd receive enough to support this site for a year. Is it in bad taste to grovel for support? If Wikipedia can do it, I can too.
Uh-Oh
I learned something new about my carbon steel skillet. Don't attempt to cook keto tortillas (see blow) in it. They stick and the residue does not come off, even with soaking.
Thankfully, I know how to restore a carbon steel or cast iron pan. Remove the problem with oven cleaner, right down to the bare metal, then begin the seasoning process again with flax oil. It's tedious, but when it's done the plan should be a gleaming black again, and nonstick if used properly. I wish I had taken before and after photographs.
Cast iron and carbon steel pans are sometimes called heirloom cookware because if properly cared for, they can be handed down from generation to generation. I love my carbon steel pan. Lately, I haven't been putting it away. I keep on top of my induction cooker, always ready to use.
Some Politics
I have long believed the USA would eventually lose it's greatest-nation status, becoming just another country like France, Canada, and Spain. I didn't think Trump would be the one to cause the decline. The Shangai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit this week strengthened my belief. The USA was not invited to the SCO summit, which was hosted by China. I expect China, with its alliances with Russua and North Korea, will soon become the world's most powerful and richest nation.
The Tomato Chronicles
Oddly, my tomato plants are enjoying a resurgence of growth. New leaves and branches are developing. Flowers are appearing again. I wonder if June and July were too hot for them. The sun peaks in strength around June 21st.
This is good news for my future plans. Healthy new vines will hopefully give me good clippings to root and grow during the winter until I'm ready to plant again in the spring.