Despite all the rain, this Fairytale pumpkin is continuing to thrive and grow...and not rot, thank goodness!
I think this is the last of it for a little while. There is NO rain in the forecast for the next five days or so. It's cool though, so it will take it a while to dry out. We are trying to get rock hauled in for our driveway which is rutted out and full of potholes. Well it's no wonder...13.75 inches of rain in October is absolutely incredible. We've had more than Dallas because in today's paper, the Dallas Morning News reports a total of 14.5 inches at DFW airport for September AND October. That is 31 days of rain since September 1st, including 19 days this month. The paper reports more than 1400 washed out soccer games, pecan growers with orchards full of nuts but no way to harvest them, and tomato growers with fruit splitting on the vine. It is very hard on the animals as well. I've managed to find cover for everybody except the adult cows, but the boy goats are crowded in more than I like. I've also been worming everybody like crazy. A man from Whitewright has purchased our Dexter bull King, and he is going to be here Sunday afternoon to pick him up. It should be a slip sliding experience.
Emptied out 4.5 inches and it continued to rain throughout the day. I didn't get out to photograph it, but the next reading was .75 inches to give a total of 5.25 inches for a 24 hour period.
Getting a lot more of these pumpkins now, although many are rotting on the vine before getting any bigger than a golf ball. Unfortunately, those that do make it probably won't have time to mature. We have less than 10 days to average first frost.
KXII at noon - October 15 - Master Gardener Minute - "Saving Seeds"
I was an hour early and got to fret a little bit before going into the studio. It was over in a flash. Rita Cotay was extremely nice. I babbled through it talking about 90 miles an hour, but when I got home and watched it on tape, I was happy that I didn't look as bad as I thought. Low expectations I guess!!
I am wondering if we are going to qualify for any rain records this October! I could hear the seasonal creek to our north boundary, roaring as soon as I went to check out my garden. Closer investigation of the ravine in the back revealed thousands of gallons draining off the fields. Truly amazing. I heard the storms hit in the early morning hours and I immediately started worrying about the two middle kids driving to cross-country before school while it was stormy and dark. I got up earlier than usual, 6ish, to give them their marching orders. Drive careful, drive slow, take my truck (gasp), and text me as soon as you arrive. Stormy weather is much more stressful when you are a parent... and a farmer. All the livestock is covered in mud and I'm struggling to keep them out of standing water. The areas they traverse around the barns and gates are not navigational. Its a mess!
