diff --git a/Strand/Screens/JournalReminderCard.swift b/Strand/Screens/JournalReminderCard.swift
index 464d34a095..47922b8ccb 100644
--- a/Strand/Screens/JournalReminderCard.swift
+++ b/Strand/Screens/JournalReminderCard.swift
@@ -30,15 +30,21 @@ struct JournalReminderCard: View {
     private static let stripDays = 7
 
     var body: some View {
-        Group {
-            if reminderEnabled, let logged = loggedDays {
-                card(logged)
+        if reminderEnabled {
+            // A VStack, not a Group: a Group hands its modifiers to its children, and before the first load
+            // there is no child, so the `.task` below never ran, `loggedDays` stayed nil and the card never
+            // appeared. The stack is a view of its own even while empty, so the load always starts.
+            VStack(spacing: 0) {
+                if let logged = loggedDays {
+                    card(logged)
+                }
+            }
+            // Re-read whenever a sync bumps refreshSeq, so the strip and the "logged today" state stay current
+            // after the user logs and comes back. Flipping the toggle removes and recreates this view, which
+            // starts a fresh task on its own, so the toggle needs no place in the id.
+            .task(id: repo.refreshSeq) {
+                await reload()
             }
-        }
-        // Re-read whenever a sync bumps refreshSeq or the toggle flips (mirrors AutoWorkoutCard's task id),
-        // so the strip and the "logged today" state stay current after the user logs and comes back.
-        .task(id: JournalReminderLoadKey(seq: repo.refreshSeq, enabled: reminderEnabled)) {
-            await reload()
         }
     }
 
@@ -141,9 +147,3 @@ struct JournalReminderCard: View {
         }
     }
 }
-
-/// Reload key: a sync (seq) or toggle flip re-reads completion. Mirrors `AutoWorkoutLoadKey`.
-private struct JournalReminderLoadKey: Equatable {
-    let seq: Int
-    let enabled: Bool
-}
diff --git a/Strand/Screens/SkinTempCardsView.swift b/Strand/Screens/SkinTempCardsView.swift
index 7852ad3ca0..243b2f3a7d 100644
--- a/Strand/Screens/SkinTempCardsView.swift
+++ b/Strand/Screens/SkinTempCardsView.swift
@@ -286,14 +286,25 @@ struct MenstrualCycleHomeCard: View {
     /// The user's "not for me" opt-out (#hide-cycle): when set, the card is suppressed entirely,
     /// reversibly from Automations. USER-controlled, never age-based.
     @AppStorage(AppModel.cycleAwarenessHiddenKey) private var cycleHidden = false
-    @State private var starts: [String] = []
+    /// Logged period starts, loaded outside the view tree (see `PeriodStartsLoader` for why a `.task` here
+    /// could never start while the card was hidden).
+    @StateObject private var loader = PeriodStartsLoader()
     @State private var showingTracker = false
 
+    private var starts: [String] { loader.starts }
+
     private var shouldShow: Bool {
         !cycleHidden && (profile.cycleAwarenessApplies || cycleEnabled || !starts.isEmpty)
     }
 
     var body: some View {
+        // Re-read whenever a period start is logged or deleted. The body re-runs on that (it observes `repo`),
+        // and the loader ignores an unchanged seq.
+        let _ = loader.request(seq: repo.cycleTrackingSeq) { [repo, model, cycleEnabled] in
+            let starts = await repo.periodStarts()
+            if cycleEnabled, model.cyclePhase == nil { await model.refreshV5Signals() }
+            return starts
+        }
         Group {
             if shouldShow {
                 NoopCard(tint: StrandPalette.restColor) {
@@ -375,10 +386,6 @@ struct MenstrualCycleHomeCard: View {
                 .accessibilityElement(children: .contain)
             }
         }
-        .task(id: repo.cycleTrackingSeq) {
-            starts = await repo.periodStarts()
-            if cycleEnabled, model.cyclePhase == nil { await model.refreshV5Signals() }
-        }
         .sheet(isPresented: $showingTracker) {
             Group {
                 if let result = model.cyclePhase {
@@ -430,6 +437,31 @@ struct MenstrualCycleHomeCard: View {
     }
 }
 
+/// Loads the logged period starts for `MenstrualCycleHomeCard` outside the view tree. One reason to show
+/// the card is that starts exist, and SwiftUI never runs a `.task` attached to a `Group` with no child, so
+/// with cycle awareness off and the toggle off the load never started and the card never appeared. That
+/// empty state is permanent for most users, so an always-present placeholder would hold a slot in the
+/// Today stack and add its spacing; the view only reports the current seq here and this object loads.
+@MainActor
+final class PeriodStartsLoader: ObservableObject {
+    @Published private(set) var starts: [String] = []
+    private var lastSeq: Int?
+    private var load: Task<Void, Never>?
+
+    /// Called from the card's body on every pass; starts a load only when the seq changed. Publishes
+    /// later, from the task, never during the view update.
+    func request(seq: Int, load fetch: @escaping @MainActor () async -> [String]) {
+        guard seq != lastSeq else { return }
+        lastSeq = seq
+        load?.cancel()
+        load = Task { [weak self] in
+            let next = await fetch()
+            guard !Task.isCancelled, let self else { return }
+            self.starts = next
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 // MARK: - Cycle tracker detail
 
 /// Local-only logged-period detail. It deliberately records only cycle day 1: the engine needs an