The pumpkin results are in!

Growing a giant pumpkin or squash requires a lot of work, special seeds, a lot of water, a lot of time in the garden and a little bit of luck. Please join me in congratulating all of our growers! They have all worked so hard this year to grow these giants.

The top three in the long gourd category:

Congratulations to Connecticut grower Ken Carlson whose long gourd took 1st place measuring 110.5 inches! 

Next up were the giant squashes!

Ridgefield's own giant pumpkin and squash grower (and the person who co-chaired the weigh off with me!), Steve Maydan, brought this giant squash to Ballard Park. His squash weighed in at 322 pounds! Congratulations Steve!

Sandercock's squash weighed in at 461 pounds!

Joe Jutras brought this 812 pound squash to the scale to take 2nd place.

Box took the 1st place win in the squash division with this giant green squash that weighed in 

at 894 pounds!

Lastly, the giant pumpkins made it onto the scale!

Connecticut grower Larry Brown brought his 249.5 pound pumpkin to Ballard Park!

Connecticut grower Roger Spencer's pumpkin weighed in at 832.5 pounds.

Labosky's pumpkin brough the 1,000 pound mark weighing in at 1,031 pounds.

Vogler brough an exhibition pumpkin that weighed in at 726 pounds and his pumpkin that was competing in the weigh off that weighed in at 1,113.5 pounds!

The giant pumpkin growers worked together to get all these giants to the scale (also, have to give a shoutout to Bob from Ridgefield Supply for the amazing job he did lifting these giants).

Box, who won the squash category, also brought his giant pumpkin to the scale. This giant weighed in at 1,195 pounds!

Bobier's giant pumpkin broke the 1,200 pound mark weighing in at 1,244.5 pounds!

Vincent's giant pumpkin weighed in at 1,321 pounds!

Giarusso's pumpkin traveled by ferry to come to our weigh off! He took third place with his giant that weighed in a 1,415 pounds!

Connecticut grower, Ray Leonzi took second place. His giant pumpkin weighed in at 1,525 pounds!

Ron Wallace brought this giant pumpkin all the way from Rhode Island. He took home the first place prize when his giant weighed in at 1,767 pounds. Wallace set a new Ridgefield Weigh Off record with this giant pumpkins! Congrats Ron!

The top three pumpkins!

Ridgefield Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off 2015

Yesterday, giant pumpkin growers traveled from all over Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island to bring their giants to Ballard Park. In addition to these giant pumpkins, the park was filled with vendors, farm stands, animals, music, food. It was a perfect start to Autumn in Ridgefield. 

Not only was Ballard Park filled with giant pumpkins, visitors could buy these adorable jack-be-littles to bring home with them!

Children had the chance to pet this sweet sheep and many of his little farm friends.

The cutest teeniest tiniest pumpkins!

The giants started rolling in in the back of trucks. Imagine seeing one of these driving down the highway to come to the weigh off!

Connecticut grower, Ken Carlson took home the 1st place honors in the long gourd competition! Congrats Ken, and all the long gourd growers!

Ridgefield's own Steve Maydan with his giant squash entry. Congrats Steve!

Box took home top honors in the squash category with his awesome green giant!

Ron Wallace brought this giant all the way from Rhode Island and took home the first place plaque. He set a new Ridgefield record, topping the scales at 1,767 pounds. Congrats Ron!

The top three giants! That's over 4,500 pounds of pumpkin!

More pumpkin pictures coming shortly of all the growers with their pumpkins and squash!

Memorial Day 2015

The Memorial Day Parade in my town is one of my favorite events of the year (up there with Halloween). This year, for the first time, I joined my children and marched in the parade. I don't have as many photos as previous years, but many many memories of a special day.

I also learned something about myself….just as I can't sit on the sidelines and watch the parade without getting a bit teary eyed, it seems I can't march in the parade either without getting teary eyed. The feeling of gratitude is overwhelming.

Here's a small glimpse into the parade from the our spot in the line up.

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Another visit to the Cornish Estate

You may remember my previous visit to the Cornish Estate from my previous posts. It has been a year since we visited, and this is one of those places that calls me back. So we decided it was time for a road trip and a hike to a favorite forgotten spot.

We hiked up to the house, and it was just as I remembered….amazing. 

The stack of fireplaces balancing in the center of the structure still capture my immediate attention, however it is the giant arched window that is my most favorite spot here. Imagine how beautiful that giant window must have been. Imagine the light coming through it, watching the sun set or snowflakes gently falling. 

I love seeing the tiles that remain on the fireplaces. While time has not been kind to this building those last few tiles remain…a reminder of the beautiful details this house once possessed.

It's impossible to stand in the middle of the remains of this house and not try to picture what it must have looked like…so many fireplaces, so many fabulous windows, and so much space. 

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