Also a good refreshment, when you can get it.

"Today is August 5, 2008, today is August 5, 2008, today is ..."

No soft rains forecast today in this watermelon patch, only garden hose mist and fur-fading sun.

MTD

For me, there is something magical about a watermelon vine. Many years ago, when I was in grade school, a classmate of mine (Paul Kuhn--I wonder where he is now?) brought in a small flower pot with a watermelon vine growing out of it. I was intrigued by the deeply scalloped, almost oak leaf-shaped leaves. I would go over to it many times, just to look at it. That school is gone now, torn down to put student housing where it once stood. I am sure Mr. Bradbury would appreciate having such memories. Whenever I am out in the old neighborhood and go past where my school once stood, I close my eyes and look away. If I do not see that it is actually not there any more, I can convince myself that it is still there (reminds me of The Cherry Orchard).

Viktoria - Bradbury was right - It is good to renew one's wonder, and I'm glad to know that my watermelon vine helped you do just that.

MTD

Mog the Dog here, reporting that in the dwindling hours of August 5th, 2008, in the backyard of a house that is located approximately 38.2 miles southwest of Allendale, CA, precisely 3 soft drops of rain have fallen upon the watermelon on which I wait.

Soft rains yes, but not of the Teasdale variety.

Not yet anyway.

Tomorrow is August 6, 2008.

MTD

quote:

Originally posted by MogtheDog:
...in the backyard of a house that is located approximately 38.2 miles southwest of Allendale, CA...

You mean Mill Valley?

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:

quote:

Originally posted by MogtheDog:
...in the backyard of a house that is located approximately 38.2 miles southwest of Allendale, CA...

You mean Mill Valley?

You overshot a bit.

Oh, OK. I was going as the raven flies.

Mog, thank you for your kind words. Some of the best memories I have of that old grade school were the Fall Festivals and, later, a Hallowe'en spook house that was set up down in the basement. I remember an exhibit set up that looked like a wrapped corpse lying in a coffin, covered up to the chin. Somebody was hiding behind a curtain with a mallet or hammer or something and whacking passersby on the toes when they walked past. Sometimes I get a Bradbury-like fantasy and think that some Hallowe'en night I should walk out to the old school-that-isn't-there anymore and, to my wonder, see that it was there again, all lighted up, all the dear childhood friends I remember, and the Hallowe'en party going full-blast! However, I guess that somebody has already written such a story--

Hallowe'en is a good word.

MogTheDog, after all of this waiting, waiting, anxiously waiting for the melon to ripen and grow to the right size (are you measuring by girth, weight or a combination of these things?) you have to, and I repeat have to post a photo of you having split said melon revealing its bright red interior and then you delicately cutting away a slice to eat.

How you might do this I am not sure, but I am anxiously awaiting this follow-up photo!

Mog, why don't you try for a pumpkin next year (too late now, unfortunately)? I mean a PUMPKIN (Howden is a fine variety that grows to a good size and has a fine, heavy handle), not those gargantuan lopsided "pumpkins" that are really SQUASHES. (The way you can tell a pumpkin from a squash is that a pumpkin has an "insie" and a squash has an "outsie." The blossom scar on a pumkin is an indentation, and that of a squash sticks out. All pumpkins are squashes, but not all squashes are pumpkins, in so many words. You could show us the seed that you will plant, raise the fruit to maturity, then give it the greatest "end" for your pumpkin--a Jack o' Lantern! Then keep sending us images as it develops "character." Sounds like fun!

quote:

Originally posted by biplane1:
MogTheDog, after all of this waiting, waiting, anxiously waiting for the melon to ripen and grow to the right size (are you measuring by girth, weight or a combination of these things?) you have to, and I repeat have to post a photo of you having split said melon revealing its bright red interior and then you delicately cutting away a slice to eat.

How you might do this I am not sure, but I am anxiously awaiting this follow-up photo!

Glad to know I'm not the only one waiting! I'll slice up the melon on the 22nd. And, of course, there will be a photo to post. Only 15 more days to go!

By the way, what is the best way to tell if a watermelon is ripe?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MogtheDog,

Viktoria - I like the way you think. And I like reading about your rich childhood memories.

Check out page two of this thread to see one of the pumpkin plants I'm presently growing. Unfortunately, the first baby pumpkins shriveled up and died. They always do. You see, the male flowers arrive on the scene too early and spend themselves out before their female counterparts show up. As a result, the first of the pumpkin "ovaries" don't get pollinated and the poor little things dry up and die.

I think there must be some baby pumpkins out in the yard that have set on the vines by now. I planted three different varieties that should produce ripe pumpkins by Halloween.

MTD

MogtheDog, could it be thumping or is that with cantalope?