Cindy’s Blog

I came across the Egypt project report Garrison wrote in 6th grade on mummification. Its so cute I had to share! I believe this may be one of the best homework assignments he’s done. At least its the most engaging. He actually went through the steps to mummify a stuffed bear and a cornish game hen while photographing and describing the entire process.

We still have the mummies, as you can see. Menwi, the hen, is usually kept in a sealed plastic bag, but she was let out for this photo shoot. Read the report for yourself. Mummification of a Stuffed Bear and a Cornish Game Hen

I didn’t plant anything this year, unless you count the kale and broccoli I planted last Fall. But this wonderful cucumber plant appeared and is growing well anyway. I haven’t even watered it.

Its doing even better than last years cucumbers, which suffered from crowding by the overplanted soybeans. I have a garden this year after all.

Here’s the shell tank, finally finished.

The point of the V turned out to be quite low. I’m not sure why. The armholes are small. It would be more comfortable if they were larger, but they’re small on the model in the book the pattern came from too. Even so, I like it.

round 2 smackdown hat, originally uploaded by cwalker5555.

Here it is. The finished round 2 yarn smackdown hat. Pixieknit should have received it yesterday but she hasn’t posted a message about it. Come on Pixieknit. Confess.

The wisteria is blooming. Here are some shots of it.

But the wisteria pics are really an excuse to try out a new technique I learned for rounding image corners.

Here’s our ridiculous ground cover, winter wheat and hairy vetch. The passages through it were made by the rabbit, Fred. He’s constructed his own maze so he can hide from hawks and eat at the same time. Its so cute.

Here’s the broccoli and kale crop. All that survived is the few plants that were protected inside fencing.

johnmaestro, originally uploaded by cwalker5555.

John and the neighbor’s cat, Maestro, take a nap.

hat2, originally uploaded by cwalker5555.

Here Garrison models my finished yarn smackdown hat. I took Thursday off hoping to finish it in time for the 5 pm mailing, but it was done and sent off at 11:10 am.

Garrison came home for the first time last Friday. Its so nice to have him here, even if it means the return of laundry on the floor. He’s already put on his freshman ten, but in his case its mostly muscle from what I can tell.

The picture of him with his roommate may have been the last time they were both cheerful in each other’s presence. They are not the best of friends. You can’t have everything now can you?

Here’s this year’s list of garden costs:

compost - $47.31
fertilizer - $7.00
seeds - $20.10
rebar/fencing - $31.87
winter cover crop seeds: $4.98
soil / peat pots - $4.98
TOTAL: $127.52

So much less than last year’s $375. But I underspent on fertilizer. I think that was a big part of the reason my pumpkins didn’t do better. Compost will probably cost more too because I’m going to give up on ordering it by the yard and will instead buy different types of bagged compost and manure. There will be no fencing costs next year. I already have fencing but the rabbits won’t be free range. I guarantee that.

Two of the rabbits escaped last week. They were out only for a few days, but it was long enough for them to take out almost all of my kale and broccoli.

Here’s Garrison and his roommate after a long hot day moving into his dorm.

They seemed compatible on move-in day. We’ll see how long that lasts.

The dorms have a new arrangement, each side having a bed above a desk to leave more floor space. Its much better than what we saw on the dorm tour or on Chico’s website. The downside is that no matter what your height is, its hard to remember to back up before you stand up from the desk to avoid hitting your head on the underside of the bed.

Pumpkin season is over already. Here’s the biggest one. Only 11.4 pounds and 32 inches around. Look how square it is from above. So much for being an Atlantic Giant.

Here’s the rest of the backyard. The area closest to the camera is where I had the toughest time getting anything to grow, including the Atlantic ‘Giants’. Its also where the crimson clover cover crop was growing over the winter.

But at least the santa claus melons and canary melons are doing well. Look at ‘em spilling over onto the patio. Brandywines and volunteer tomatoes are crowded together behind the melons.

Here’s one of our first watermelons. So small, but so tasty.

It has a split in it like about half of the melons and tomatoes. What on earth is causing this?

And now for a shot of Jack’s man boobs. They’re visible since his fur hasn’t grown back in after a piece of a sponge ball was removed from his duodenum. A week and a half of not eating much caused him to lose a noticeable amount of weight, probably making his man boobs saggier than they were.

My cat has bigger breasts than I do! Should I knit him a manzierre?`