All posts tagged Urban Pumpkin

Last Call for the Urban Pumpkin

For those who have been anxiously awaiting news about the final weight of the urban pumpkin –and  I’m fairly confident in saying there’s at least two of you out there—I’m happy to report that the son’s  urban pumpkin finally made it out of the planter box about a week ago, weighing in at 285 lbs. I believe that’s about eighty pounds more than his first attempt last year (which technically means, if we were tallying first year pumpkins, the country pumpkin would have won.)

But hold your horses…

Let’s not start celebrating quite yet. We’re not comparing first year pumpkins. That was just me being, well, me…  *sigh*

SO the real truth is the country pumpkin lost out. I’m OK with that. For with every contest there must be a winner and a loser, otherwise the word “contest” would not be used. Still, there’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition among family members, is there?

 

So, here’s the final pic the son sent of the Urban Pumpkin. Notice how the son used some props for decorative purposes for the season.

 

Thus end’s this year’s saga of the great pumpkin growing contest.  Already we’re gearing up  and making plans for next year’s pumpkin patch. Only about seven or eight months from now!

Oh and Happy Halloween!

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by Laura Best on October 28, 2017  •  Permalink
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Posted by Laura Best on October 28, 2017

https://lauraabest.wordpress.com/2017/10/28/last-call-for-the-urban-pumpkin/

Ode to a Giant Pumpkin?

Alas, it finally had to happen. Frost hit the pumpkin patch while I was away at the FogLit Festival in New Brunswick last weekend Maybe I should have mentioned this in the last post, but I couldn’t bring myself to write about it. I needed time. To his credit, Hubby did his best to try and save her, he really did. He covered her lovingly with blankets but her vines were too massive. It went down to -1 that night. I feared the worst. There was a crispness in the air when days before we were waking to +18 or more degrees. I’d been hoping for a few more weeks of growth as the son’s urban pumpkin has been granted. But nights are generally cooler in East Dalhousie.

And so you can’t lament forever. There will come another year and, hopefully, we’ve learned a bit about growing giant pumpkins and can apply that knowledge to next year’s crop. We are pleased with our first-time effort. It’s the largest pumpkin this garden has ever seen. But there comes a problem with growing big pumpkins, the kind of problem no one warns you about back in the beginning. How the heck do you move it? Too big to roll.

Now, here’s how you move a really big pumpkin East Dalhousie style.

While we were moving this monster, there came a new development from the urban pumpkin camp, something we weren’t prepared for. The son is really out to win this. First this came; chocolate face and all.

Then this: Things were getting serious.

I mean how can two middle-aged pumpkin growers complete with this? So we countered in the only way we could. Not quite so cute, but the son’s not getting away that easily, thinking weren’t not going to notice the size of the pumpkin with all that cuteness sitting on top of it.

Of course our pumpkin looks smaller. Look how much bigger we are then the twins! This seems totally unfair to me–just saying.

So how much does the Country Pumpkin weigh? To the best of our calculation she’s tipping the scale at 235lbs.  As for the Urban Pumpkin that has yet to be determined as I’m sure the son delights in the fact that his urban garden has thus far avoided the frost. The competition continues….

I will report the final weight of the Urban Pumpkin once the frost finally settles in Lower Sackville.

Have a happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone!

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by Laura Best on October 7, 2017  •  Permalink
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Posted by Laura Best on October 7, 2017

https://lauraabest.wordpress.com/2017/10/07/ode-to-a-giant-pumpkin/

Time for a Pumpkin Update.

I haven’t any idea how much our baby now weighs as the son has not been out to sabotage calculate it’s weight recently and we haven’t any idea as to how to calculate it ourselves. (Another top secret bit of information that the son has not shared. ) Perhaps if the weather remains warm and the frost stays away we will end up with a thousand pound baby after all. Well, I do think that’s a bit of a stretch but still, for a first effort we’re happy.

I have not seen a recent photo of the Urban pumpkin and have not set my eyes on it first hand for a few weeks, but I expect it is growing by leaps and bounds.

Here’s our baby. Isn’t she beautiful? As you can see, she is gaining nicely. I’m not ready to declare the son a winner in this competition yet. Who knows what magic can happen in a pumpkin patch during a warm stretch of autumn weather.

 

Writing update:
Saturday I’ll be in St. John at the Foglit Festival. I’m doing a reading from my new book at Indigo East Point and looking forward to it. Hoping to get some photos of the city since I’ve never been there before. Wish me luck!

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by Laura Best on September 27, 2017  •  Permalink
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Posted by Laura Best on September 27, 2017

https://lauraabest.wordpress.com/2017/09/27/time-for-a-pumpkin-update/

As the Pumpkin Grows

There has been a new development in the ongoing saga of Laura and the Giant Pumpkin that I haven’t yet revealed. Perhaps you recall that a few weeks back I mentioned that our pumpkin seemed to have stalled. Turns out I was right. Upon further investigation we discovered that our precious pumpkin had met an untimely demise. It died and we didn’t know. We didn’t even get to say goodbye as it slowly began to rot. I know, I know… poor Pumpky.

But…

New life sprung up out of the ashes..or the vines as the case might be. Much to our surprise, a second pumpkin began to grow, and we watched while it grew in excess of the first one. This was one of the clues that there was something amiss with the first one. Sadly, Pumpky ended up in the compost heap. It was all we could do.

So…

We started again and here we are. Already bigger and better than our first. Last weekend the son used his formula to calculate the weight and told us it was around 90 lbs. It would, of course, be heavier by now. I know his urban pumpkin is bigger but, chin up, we’ll persevere.

While we long ago accepted that we’re not going to end up with a thousand pound pumpkin, (Good Lord what would be do if that happened?) this has been a learning experience for us and, who knows, maybe one day…..

Hmm…I wonder how the son’s urban pumpkin is doing.  Perhaps he’ll send a photo  for me to share..

Next weekend is Halifax Word on the Street at the Halifax Central Library on Spring Garden Road; Sept 16th to be exact. Here’s the schedule. I’ll be reading from Cammie Takes Flight at 10:00 in the BMO Community Room. If you’re in the city that weekend and would like to visit the new library, it would be wonderful to look out and see a familiar face. I’ll also be signing at the Nimbus Publishing table, although I’m waiting for confirmation on a time. Less than a week. Time is closing in.

              Urban Pumpkin Update:

Since the son just sent a photo of his urban pumpkin the other night, I’m going to tack it onto the end of this post. The estimated weight is 177 lbs. He says it’s three weeks ahead of where his pumpkin was last year this time.

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by Laura Best on September 10, 2017  •  Permalink
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Posted by Laura Best on September 10, 2017

https://lauraabest.wordpress.com/2017/09/10/as-the-pumpkin-grows/

The Urban Pumpkin

So, here a photo of the son’s urban pumpkin just to show you the competition is real and ongoing. He’s a competitive guy, this son of mine. I noticed it from the time he was quite small. Believe me, these things don’t go away on their own. They only grow and grow like –like a giant pumpkin.

 

 

He sent me this photo to gloat just a little  show me. About ninety pound, he says. He’s got some formula for determining the weight  (top secret so far as I can tell since he hasn’t once shared this tidbit with dear old Mum.) Now, I’m all for a friendly completion but I’ve been a little suspicious about things ever since he came out to visit the other weekend. He spent some time at my pumpkin patch, granted his dad was with him the whole time but, as the son well knows, Dad can be distracted quite easily—a quick, “Look at that!” will often do it. So, ever since that weekend I’ve had a sense that my pumpkin has stalled. Now, I don’t have any real proof , just a “lukewarm speculation ,” as Cammie would say. And now, for two weekends in a row the son has come out from the city to inspect our patch. (Tell me that doesn’t seem a tiny bit suspicious!)  If he makes another trip this weekend I’m going to be on high alert. He’s not getting out of my sight. Now I don’t want to use the word sabotage, but… Let’s just say I’ll be watching him like a hawk. No getting distracted by hugs and kisses from the grandkids, neither.

So in lieu of this new development, I’ll delay posting a photo of the country pumpkin. It’s time to regroup, maybe come up with a plan of my own. I might just have to make a trip in to visit this urban pumpkin.

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by Laura Best on August 22, 2017  •  Permalink
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Posted by Laura Best on August 22, 2017

https://lauraabest.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/the-urban-pumpkin/

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