Category: pumpkins

Wrapping things up.

It’s only September and we’re mostly done with the goals I had set for the year. This is a first. Maybe I’ll have to build something else, maybe we’ll just have an easier fall, we’ll see what mood strikes me.

The kids helped me finish up our tombstones.

(prior to some finish painting with the kids)


Then I made a number of small items for the Halloween forum “Secret Reaper”. Couple new sculpts, some challenging for me. But, as it’s still a surprise, pics will have to wait, but here’s Talia’s interpretation of one of them.

The corn is done, the pumpkin plants are fading fast.

Odds and Ends

Lots of little things to update on.

Finally getting around to raiding Kyle’s camera, we get to see what that skull I secretly made for his scout troop looked like in the dusty dirt they found it.

Pretty pleased it even fooled Kyle into thinking it was real.

Alec’s been bugging me to see Devil’s slide ever since he had a school report on Morgan County. So, when we were invited to go fishing near it, we had to stop.

Speaking of the fishing.

Got to see lots of deer on the way home too.

Kyle and Talia helped get the rest of this year’s tombstones etched. My hands hurt just thinking of all that painting…

Meanwhile, the pumpkin patch is consuming the scarecrow.

Redesign of the chiller portion on Trevor.

Have a big machine on order, will do a full on ice in the chest test once it arrives.

Messing around wondering what I could make out of some corn husks.

A very trying adventure attempting to find/buy/resorting to MAKE Talia’s Ruby Gloom backpack this year left me with a bunch of leftover transfers, so Tshirt time…

And since I was doing THAT, they all have been wanting some of “the pumpkin” shirts, so I printed off some of those as well.

Weekend roundup.

Busy weekend here.

Woke the kids up before sunrise on Saturday.

First up was cutting the reed grass for the year.

We bundled it as we cut this year, and had a right and proper scythe to use, so overall the cutting went much better this year than last.

We cut a larger area, but I’m not sure just how much more quantity that translates into compared to last year. Got home from that at 9:30 in the morning. Kyle had to get to a scout project, Alec took a break. I unloaded the truck, figuring I may as well set it up as I went.

From 2011 buildup

Then, we all loaded up and headed out for the afternoon work…

From 2011 buildup

Had someone even ask to buy some out of the back of the truck on the way home. I guess I did rather look the part…

Unloaded on Sunday, they presently fill the entire porch. We’ll probably begin the final setup this weekend, so much work left to do…

Chimera 2 takes shape, and pumpkins.

We started making serious progress on Chimera 2.

From 2011 buildup
From 2011 buildup

And as we did a lighting test…well…To be perfectly honest, I’ve been struggling with Chimera 2 for some time. This and that, here and there, it just wasn’t coming out ‘right’.

From 2011 buildup

Then, the boss commented that it needed another arm.

The whole idea was for this one to LACK that arm, and be more deformed. “Even things deformed have a certain symmetry”.

So, enter a smaller, secondary arm….

From 2011 buildup

Loving the new burlap in case you couldn’t tell.

From 2011 buildup

Need to do some retrofitting on Chimera 1 in that regard.

Hope to do some more lighting tests tonight with better light/camera.

From 2011 buildup

I scarred our 3 best growing pumpkins with the kid’s names. Hidden from view, it will be a nice little surprise for them later. And, I seem to have hit the jackpot in getting some warts starting on my pumpkins…hope that continues.

From 2011 buildup
From 2011 buildup

This is the one that started yellow…not sure what I think of this variety…this is the only pumpkin on the vine…the temps seem too hot as the female flowers are just never opening now…

From 2011 buildup

I’m hoping this conjoined sucker grows big and carve-worthy.

From 2011 buildup