Washingtonians

[FirewifeJess]

Hey this is for Jess. There is a thread for those folks that are on a primal/Paleo diet. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/639775/primal-paleo-folks

Thanks!! I'll go there later. Home right now with a sick boy; he was up all night with a fever, crying and screaming for us. We tried to help him but after a while it became quite apparent that he was calling the shots (even though he's sick, not OK) so we left him to go back to sleep. *sigh* There was a lot of screaming last night and I'm tired and he's quite chipper and in a good mood.

Gonna make myself a latte and enjoy a nice morning with him though, everyone else will be gone until 1:15 or so. Can't wait to meet Robin at Reber Ranch this afternoon, and Renee is coming too (who I obviously already know

 

[apowell]

Wanted: Hatching eggs in Olympia area

I have two broody hens that look committed to the process. I had intended to pick some fertile eggs up at the auction yesterday, but we missed the eggs. Does anyone in the Olympia area have a dozen or so eggs they would be willing to sell? Looking for inexpensive / "barnyard mix" eggs, these are maiden hens and I don't want to put anything that I really care about under them for their first try.

Willing to pickup between Chehalis / Tacoma - Yelm / Shelton.

 

[Greg Richardson]

World’s largest-ever fruit dominates Super Bowl of pumpkin weigh-offs
THIS STORY APPEARED IN

September 29, 2012|Billy Baker

• • Print

• 

Ron Wallace exulted after his pumpkin weighed in at 2,009 pounds Friday… (Aram Boghosian for The Boston…)​

TOPSFIELD — History was made Friday in Topsfield. Ron Wallace of Greene, R.I., became the first person to grow a 1-ton pumpkin, shattering the world record at the giant pumpkin weigh-off at the Topsfield Fair. It is the largest fruit ever grown.
There had been a huge amount of buzz about Wallace’s pumpkin, “The Freak II,” leading into the Topsfield Fair, which is considered the Super Bowl of pumpkin weigh-offs. So when the gourd finally made it to the scale, it could not have been more exciting. The digital readout danced around the 2,000-pound mark as handlers moved it into position on the scale and removed the straps used to hoist it.

​

When the dust settled, the scale read 2,009 pounds, and Wallace erupted.
“Ron Wallace is back!” he yelled again and again, pounding his chest. “Ron Wallace is back! It took six years, but I’m back!”
The 2,000-pound barrier is the giant pumpkin equivalent of the four-minute mile. It was so elusive that Topsfield offered a $10,000 bonus for the first grower to break it.
Wallace’s record comes just a day after a pumpkin at the Deerfield Fair in New Hampshire moved the world record to 1,843.5 pounds.
Until recently, many considered a ton to be an impossibility. Some thought the structure of the pumpkin could not support the weight; others thought it simply impossible to grow 2,000 pounds in one growing season, starting from a single tiny seed.
The 1,000-pound barrier was not broken until the year 2000, and it took all of pumpkin history to get that far. The thought of going farther, to hit the heaviest word we use in colloquial speech — a ton — seemed too much. It would mean doubling something already dangerously huge; there didn’t seem any way the pumpkin could structurally support itself. Certainly no one thought they’d be having this conversation in just 12 years.
But as the weigh-off kicked off Friday night, all eyes were on Wallace, a well-known grower who has been the talk of the pumpkin world since he hosted many growers for a tour of his patch in Greene in August. At that time, he had two huge pumpkins, and when he arrived at Topsfield with one — “The Freak II” — it was visibly larger than the rest of the field. Estimate charts showed it might indeed weigh more than a ton.
The chief difference between the 1,000-pound barrier and the 2,000-pound barrier, growers say, is the Internet. With it, mistakes were shared and avoided, techniques spilled because half the fun is bragging, and the whole thing opened up to everyone. As a group, growers simply got better at it. Weights have raced forward every year. The world record almost always falls. In 2006 at Topsfield, Wallace was the first to break 1,500, and the next year nine people beat that. They pushed. They pollinated earlier and took risks.

​

Pumpkin growers live uneasily until the pumpkin hits the scale. Anything can happen at any point in the season: Only an estimated 50 percent survive to maturity, because of the extreme growing conditions. Once they start adding weight, slow growing is a pound an hour.
Weigh-in day is one of the most precarious, as they try to get their pumpkins out of their gardens, to the fair, and onto the scales. Earlier in the evening, a disaster happened – the first anyone could remember at a weigh-off – when a pumpkin slipped out of the straps holding it in place and crashed from the forklift to the ground, cracking open like Humpty Dumpty. It was carried onto the scale – it took six men to lift its largest piece – where it weighed in at 822 pounds. “It was just a small pumpkin,” said its grower, Barry LeBlanc of Merrimack, N.H., “so now at least I get to live in infamy.”
As the weigh-in got down to the monsters — there were a handful over 1,500 pounds — Wallace was visibly panicked. He paced back and forth in the dusty ring, away from the crowds, stopping to take the occasional congratulations, but mostly keeping to himself.
Woody Lancaster, a Topsfield grower and crowd favorite, owned the penultimate pumpkin to be weighed, and he shattered his personal best by more than 400 pounds with his 1,649-pound pumpkin.
But Wallace knew his was bigger. Or at least it was supposed to be. They use estimate charts to predict the weight, but “you never know until it’s on the scale,” Wallace said repeatedly. Some pumpkins are “balloons” and go light.
When the numbers stopped moving and 2,009 was locked in the history books forever, Wallace stuck his finger in the air and his eyes welled up with tears. He pulled his father, Dick, in for an emotional hug.
In addition to the orange ribbon, a place in the history books, and the $10,000 bonus, Wallace won $5,500 for finishing first.
Ron Wallace is indeed back. And next Saturday, he will be back again with his other giant pumpkin, which is nicknamed “The Pleasure Dome.” He’s taking that one to a weigh-off at Frerichs Farm in Warren, R.I. And he thinks it’s even heavier.
Billy Baker can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @billy_baker.

 

[JennS]

World’s largest-ever fruit dominates Super Bowl of pumpkin weigh-offs
THIS STORY APPEARED IN

September 29, 2012|Billy Baker

• • Print

• 

Ron Wallace exulted after his pumpkin weighed in at 2,009 pounds Friday… (Aram Boghosian for The Boston…)​

TOPSFIELD — History was made Friday in Topsfield. Ron Wallace of Greene, R.I., became the first person to grow a 1-ton pumpkin, shattering the world record at the giant pumpkin weigh-off at the Topsfield Fair. It is the largest fruit ever grown.
There had been a huge amount of buzz about Wallace’s pumpkin, “The Freak II,” leading into the Topsfield Fair, which is considered the Super Bowl of pumpkin weigh-offs. So when the gourd finally made it to the scale, it could not have been more exciting. The digital readout danced around the 2,000-pound mark as handlers moved it into position on the scale and removed the straps used to hoist it.

​

When the dust settled, the scale read 2,009 pounds, and Wallace erupted.
“Ron Wallace is back!” he yelled again and again, pounding his chest. “Ron Wallace is back! It took six years, but I’m back!”
The 2,000-pound barrier is the giant pumpkin equivalent of the four-minute mile. It was so elusive that Topsfield offered a $10,000 bonus for the first grower to break it.
Wallace’s record comes just a day after a pumpkin at the Deerfield Fair in New Hampshire moved the world record to 1,843.5 pounds.
Until recently, many considered a ton to be an impossibility. Some thought the structure of the pumpkin could not support the weight; others thought it simply impossible to grow 2,000 pounds in one growing season, starting from a single tiny seed.
The 1,000-pound barrier was not broken until the year 2000, and it took all of pumpkin history to get that far. The thought of going farther, to hit the heaviest word we use in colloquial speech — a ton — seemed too much. It would mean doubling something already dangerously huge; there didn’t seem any way the pumpkin could structurally support itself. Certainly no one thought they’d be having this conversation in just 12 years.
But as the weigh-off kicked off Friday night, all eyes were on Wallace, a well-known grower who has been the talk of the pumpkin world since he hosted many growers for a tour of his patch in Greene in August. At that time, he had two huge pumpkins, and when he arrived at Topsfield with one — “The Freak II” — it was visibly larger than the rest of the field. Estimate charts showed it might indeed weigh more than a ton.
The chief difference between the 1,000-pound barrier and the 2,000-pound barrier, growers say, is the Internet. With it, mistakes were shared and avoided, techniques spilled because half the fun is bragging, and the whole thing opened up to everyone. As a group, growers simply got better at it. Weights have raced forward every year. The world record almost always falls. In 2006 at Topsfield, Wallace was the first to break 1,500, and the next year nine people beat that. They pushed. They pollinated earlier and took risks.

​

Pumpkin growers live uneasily until the pumpkin hits the scale. Anything can happen at any point in the season: Only an estimated 50 percent survive to maturity, because of the extreme growing conditions. Once they start adding weight, slow growing is a pound an hour.
Weigh-in day is one of the most precarious, as they try to get their pumpkins out of their gardens, to the fair, and onto the scales. Earlier in the evening, a disaster happened – the first anyone could remember at a weigh-off – when a pumpkin slipped out of the straps holding it in place and crashed from the forklift to the ground, cracking open like Humpty Dumpty. It was carried onto the scale – it took six men to lift its largest piece – where it weighed in at 822 pounds. “It was just a small pumpkin,” said its grower, Barry LeBlanc of Merrimack, N.H., “so now at least I get to live in infamy.”
As the weigh-in got down to the monsters — there were a handful over 1,500 pounds — Wallace was visibly panicked. He paced back and forth in the dusty ring, away from the crowds, stopping to take the occasional congratulations, but mostly keeping to himself.
Woody Lancaster, a Topsfield grower and crowd favorite, owned the penultimate pumpkin to be weighed, and he shattered his personal best by more than 400 pounds with his 1,649-pound pumpkin.
But Wallace knew his was bigger. Or at least it was supposed to be. They use estimate charts to predict the weight, but “you never know until it’s on the scale,” Wallace said repeatedly. Some pumpkins are “balloons” and go light.
When the numbers stopped moving and 2,009 was locked in the history books forever, Wallace stuck his finger in the air and his eyes welled up with tears. He pulled his father, Dick, in for an emotional hug.
In addition to the orange ribbon, a place in the history books, and the $10,000 bonus, Wallace won $5,500 for finishing first.
Ron Wallace is indeed back. And next Saturday, he will be back again with his other giant pumpkin, which is nicknamed “The Pleasure Dome.” He’s taking that one to a weigh-off at Frerichs Farm in Warren, R.I. And he thinks it’s even heavier.
Billy Baker can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @billy_baker.

Wow. That's amazing! 2,000 lbs in ONE growing season. Thanks for sharing!

Jennifer

 

[Chickielady]

OK Chickielady, here's just a few of my mom's quilts. I can't find my Air Force quilt right now and it's really worrying me though, it's my favorite and I have no idea where it is!
Our wedding quilt, all batik fabric my mom collected over the years:


William's cowboy quilt when he was just born (she makes each grandson a cowboy quilt):

The kids "I spy" quilt with all different fabrics:

John's cowboy quilt (all Roy Rogers fabric):

Scripture free-stitched into the borders:

John's airplane twin bed quilt:

Another airplane quilt for JOhn:

Jeanine's baby quilt (all Mary Engelbreit fabric):

Her name free-stitched:

Scripture free-stitched:

Baby doll quilt:

Oh my they are all gorgeous !!!!
Almost all of mine are packed away so will have to waite to show you more.
I LOVE your wedding quilt !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot waite to have my crafts room, which will be the upstairs loft of our barn house...it will have a nice high ceiling with the Gambrel Roof !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chickielady]

I just ordered my Halloween costume.... now I have to put together a "nest" to sit on my shoulders. My husband is going to think I've gone off the deep end.

Holy Cow that is hysterical !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chickielady]

Sounds YUM. We can't have dairy, gluten, or soy here. No yummy cheesy goodness in this house!

I miss cheese though!

have you tried Velvetta ?
It is basically Alginates, which is algae (aka: Seaweeds) and is 'clean' in that there is little fats/oils unlike cheese......Alot of people sensitive to real cheese/milk can have a bit of velvetta on their food without any issues.
I do not have a full box here to read off ingredients, so take a look next time you are in a store.
I used to hate the thought of Velvetta, as in "What the heck is it? Phoney chemical stuff ?"
But once I realized what it was, I have used it with no gut issues at all.

 

[Chickielady]

OMG! I just saw all the quilts. I'm drooling and jealous. They are all so awesome.

I have lots of fabric that mom gave me. I should try and make a quilt. It won't be as good, but I figure if I keep it up, over time I might get good at making them.

Quilting is addicting !
There are also alot of Quilting Clubs around, and many of them offer classes or you can sit in on a quilting 'bee' and learn so much !
Whatever you do, when first starting out, don't pick a pattern that is too difficult, try just squares to start out with, and you will learn & get better with time.
I made alot of sampler wall hangings & baby quilts to start out...4-8 blocks per, very fast & easy.
Now I am over the edge with addiction !

 

[Chickielady]

Loving all the quilts too!

I'm a fairly new quilter, only have made a few small one's so far. I get my craft on when the weather turns foul, and I already have the itch, but can't bear to pull myself out of the garden yet!!!

I copied Chickielady's idea today of putting seeds in the dehydrator. I put in a TON of Rudbeckia, and after looking online I think it is the Goldsturm variety. Also a TON of Crocosmia Lucifer. Let me know if anyone wants any of them, or, someone fill me in on the seed swap?

I seem to recall one here late last winter? Or was that just veggies? I want in on it this year though either way!!!

I'm especially looking for more blue/purple perennials......if anybody has some they want to trade for the above plants, let me know!

Dry them on low heat, or they cook.

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote: Thanks! I love that quilt too. I'll take a couple good shots for you today of that one, it's simply amazing! I don't know if you can tell from this picture but theres another full pattern hidden in the one you see, my mom used barely lighter and barely darker batiks to make the windmill type swirls. It's hard to see in this crappy pic though. This quilt is a king bed quilt as well.

Quote: I'm seriously intrigued here...I always thought Velveeta was one step away from actually being plastic and not food

I'm gonna have to look into this!! If we could even make some mac n cheese occasionally as a treat it would be amazing. That's one thing the kids miss a lot! No quesadillas, grilled cheese (because I don't make GF bread, we just eliminated it), mac n cheese, etc. Sad