Happy Birthday, Aug. 31

For Cousin Erin!

A League of its Own, Aug. 30

Pumpkin pie, anyone? Aug. 29

Hey, cupcake! Aug. 27

Deer hunter, Aug. 26

In keeping with the Wisconsin theme. Thanks to Matt and Megan who not only supplied the cheesehead for yesterday's photo but also the deer antlers. (Complete with partial skull attached. And fur and whiskers.)

Packer backer II, Aug. 25

OK, so the jersey is a bit outdated, but it was only $3. And you know you're in Wisconsin when the first person you ask for a cheesehead actually has one.

Pumpkin Shark, Aug. 24

Boo, Aug. 23

OK, so not one of my more time-consuming costumes...

Easter Island, Aug. 22

Thanks to my fairy godmother Kris for the chocolate rabbits. I wish they ate mosquitoes -- I'm losing blood out here.

Dexter Pumpkin, Aug. 21

About 315 pounds. Growth seems to be slowing...

Fifty-fifty, Aug. 20

About 310 pounds.

Do you wanna hula? Aug. 19

I don't know... it kind of reminds me of something from Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.

Pumpkin of the Evening, Aug. 18

This 300-pound lady is not for sale.

Angel of Gourd, Aug. 17

Thanks for the loaner, Kate. Today about 289 pounds.

Have a Nice Day, Aug. 15

The shoe doesn't fit

Wishful thinking, Aug. 14

About 269 pounds. It's getting harder to dress -- that scarf is about nine feet long.

Under the weather II, Aug. 13

Weight currently unavailable. Looks bigger, though.

Under the weather, Aug. 12

About 250 pounds.

First tomato, Aug. 11

Baked potato impression, Aug. 11

I wish I'd stuck something in the picture for scale. It's hilarious in person. About 236 pounds -- not much of a gain from yesterday.

Bug damage

We're still working on the bugs. Damage doesn't appear any worse today.

Rodent repellent

Dad sprinkling chili powder on the vine to deter whatever little critter has been gnawing on it.

Captain Jack to the rescue

Dad thinks the bug invaders are flea beetles, which make a "shotgun" pattern of holes on the leaves they infest, which is what's happening to our pumpkin vine. So today he found this stuff to spray on the leaves and told me it was called Captain Jack's Bug Killer. I said, that sounds like something from "Pirates of the Caribbean." He said the main ingredient is actually from the Caribbean. (Spinosad) The proper name of the product is Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew. Which reminded me of Dale Gribble from "King of the Hill," who has an extermination business called Dale's Dead-Bug. The illustration of Captain Jack also looks a little like Dale Gribble with a moustache and Panama hat instead of baseball cap. Coincidence? In any case, the stuff seems to be working.

Off the wagon, Aug. 10

About 232 pounds.

We've got problems

It's not just the bugs. Something is gnawing on the vine (like a mouse) and the leaves are turning yellow, even brown in spots. Yikes.

Visitors

Yesterday we noticed a bunch of little black bugs swarming on the pumpkin leaves, which now have some tiny holes in them. We'll have to figure out what they are and how to get rid of them... We don't want to spray the pumpkin with chemicals.

Exercise Plan, Aug. 9

About 216 pounds.

Under Construction, Aug. 6

About 184 pounds.

Love at First Sight, Aug. 5

About 169 pounds.

Squeaky Clean, Aug. 4

About 160 pounds.

Party Animal, Aug. 3

About 140 pounds.

Howdy pardner, Aug. 2

About 126 pounds.

Belly dancer, Aug. 1

About 113 pounds.

Packer backer, July 31

About 104 pounds.

Bright idea

I threw my shoe in the picture for scale. And then took it a step further.

Growth spurt

Since June we've seen some fantastic growth. There were two pumpkins on the vine but we waited until this one was melon-sized before removing the other. Each time a flower appears we must remove it so it doesn't grow another pumpkin, which would divert energy away from this one.

Incubator

This is from early May, when Dad created a mini-incubator to shelter the pumpkin from the chilly spring while it got some sun.

The beginning

Last year Dad and I tried growing a giant pumpkin. It never took hold, probably because I'm the one who planted the seeds (I've killed cacti.) This year, I'm helping by not touching it -- except for the costumes. This is what our pumpkin looked like in early May. Today it's an estimated 216 pounds. We're going for a thousand, or as close as we can get by the Pumpkinfest weigh-in Oct. 16.