In honor of my Gaelic roots, I carved a rutabaga this year. It takes some doing (scooping out the guts isn’t as efficient as it is with a pumpkin), but the end results are creepily worth it. STAY AWAY, EVIL SPIRITS!
Category: plants
Photo a Day 2011, #8
Abominations
So, that’s five 100 (or so) pounders and one 50 to 60 pounder, as well as two younglings that, I suspect, aren’t going to make it. We turned them all over to see if they’ll pick up a bit more sun.
No! No! No!
The main pumpkin root shows its horrific face.
“Most plants thrive on animal waste, but I’m afraid this mutation possesses an appetite for the animal itself. ” Day of the Triffids
I don’t think I’ve adequately described the viney nightmare in our backyard. Back in 2006, I raised a 120 pound pumpkin. This year I have five of what look like 100-pounders or more. Didn’t do much more than plant the seeds, spread a little compost, and walk away. But that’s all that pumpkins really need. I tried to clip a few of the vines and bury the ends in the ground, but more and more kept springing forth, like the proverbial hydra. On Saturday my photographer friend Kathy is stopping by with a real camera to commemorate the madness. I’m looking forward to it.
By the way, this vine managed to vault over a lilac bush and latch onto the bird feeder. What? How? Why? It is known but to God.
