Marian and I were up at Big Bear this weekend for a little birthday getaway. Naturally there are pictures. First, though, since we’re getting close to Halloween, here’s a seasonal picture of some pumpkins.

On our way home we stopped at Oak Glen, famous for its apple orchards. Specifically, we stopped at the Parrish Pioneer Apple Ranch. Mainly this was because we wanted to find a restroom, but the place was packed and we could barely find a parking space. When we did, we discovered that there really weren’t many apples there—although the bakery did have a $22 apple pie for sale. In fact, the biggest display out front was this bunch of pumpkins, so I took a picture for the blog. Also, they had a nice llama.

But the real reason for putting this up is to make sure I don’t get obsessed with finding the perfect pumpkin picture. It’s entirely possible. Once I’ve put up a pumpkin picture on the blog, however, I know that I’ll lose all interest, which is just what I want. So here you go.

October 21, 2018 — Oak Glen, California

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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