Good news and better news!

If you read the previous blog entry on the 30th (click here), you learned that I was denied entry into the Kansas State Fair.  The word was I was past the extended "late" deadline.  However, the website clearly stated that late entries would be accepted, WITHOUT a deadline listed.  I fought it with the competitions director and lost, initially.  When I pointed out, again, that a late deadline was NOT listed, she went to the General Manager of the Fair and after discussion I was granted the right to enter (but I had to pay a $50 late fee - which was acceptable).  That is the good news.

So, now I wait!  The pumpkin has to be delivered to the fairgounds on the 9th with a 30 minute window.

The  better news?  I taped (measured) the pumpkin this afternoon and came up with an estimated weight of 994 pounds!  I could be off because it is difficult to measure by myself.  The length was 94 inches, the width was 98 inches and the circumference was 160 inches.  It "seems" to have put on quite a bit of weight this past 4 or 5 days, or it could be that my measurements are off a tad.  The pumpkin "feels" heavy with perhaps very thick and dense flesh, which means it could be much heavier than estimated. 

So, next Thursday I'll know for sure as it gets weighed.  Will it be at or above my goal weight of 1,000 pounds?  Will it be the heaviest pumpkin in the contest (another goal)?  Could it even break the Kansas State Fair record of 1,034 pounds (yet another goal) Who knows, there may be others entered this year that put mine to shame. There are at least 2 growers in the state that have grown much bigger.

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