It’s a mast year for apples

Posted on:

Welcome Fall

Hi Reader,

Shayna here. Welcome back to Maple Creative this fall!

↓

Harvest season is here

It’s September. Harvest season is here, kids are back in school, the daylight is waning, and the winds and rains of fall are starting to make their appearance. Today was the first rain in Spain since the start of summer, and Friede tells me it’s a mast year for Apples in upstate New York, that means there are LOTS of apples. The trees are heavy with fruit. From our cozy workspaces, we are coming to you with a shorter than usual newsletter.

An apple tree with branches spread wide, laden with small red and green apples. A white clapboard building — the Maple Studio — is visible through the branches in the background. Overcast sky, late summer garden below.
Apple tree in front of the south side of the Maple Studio.
Close-up of a young persimmon tree trunk and branches, with small round fruits — most still green, one turning orange — nestled among broad, deep green leaves glistening with rain.
The first American persimmons made their debut on a tree grown by Friede and Ryan from seed!

Meet Mark, whom you may have seen in your inbox lately

Mark Pruce is Maple’s web developer and the person behind much of the technical work that keeps your site running. Web developer, community organizer, and perpetual tinkerer with 15+ years of experience, Mark brings a lot to the team. When he’s not fixing something on your site, you’ll find him walking his dog Oreo, pulling weeds in the garden, or working on another of his endless hobbies. He’s not only Ryan and Friede’s neighbor (where they live in Danby), but he’s also now on their local town board too (!) Best of all, he’s genuinely glad to be on your team!

Web developer Mark Pruce of the Maple Creative web design agency team. Headshot amidst a colorful fall background.
Mark Pruce

New monthly site reports for Pro and Enterprise

If you’re a Pro or Enterprise Care Plan client, you’ve started receiving a monthly site report with a clear summary of what happened on your website that month. The report shows plugin updates, uptime, performance, and any maintenance notes worth flagging.

Want to see what one looks like? Ryan put together a public example.

View Example August 2026 Site Report →

If you have questions about care plan tiers or what’s included, let us know.

Office Hours

This is just a reminder that weekly office hours with Ryan are available for live support for your website. You can see the posted Office Hours for the rest of 2026 and register at lu.ma/maple.

Maintenance note

September has been quiet on the security front. No urgent WordPress core vulnerabilities or major plugin patches to flag. We’re watching the usual channels and will let you know if anything requires your attention.

A cluster of New England aster branches in full bloom, covered in purple daisy-like flowers with golden-orange centers. Raindrops are visible on the petals. A meadow and bare-limbed trees are softly blurred in the background.
New England asters in full bloom. Fall’s signature wildflower.

Hasta la próxima vez

That’s it for September. Next month we’ll be exploring site information architecture and how the right structure matters to the people visiting your website.

See you in October.

With care,

Shayna (and the Maple team)

Shayna Grajo Avatar

Leave a Reply