We Interrupt the Fall Patch Prep for Marriage Counseling

The weather this fall has been unusually warm so I've been waiting for the leaves to fall so I can finish my fall patch prep. Finally I've accumulated a good pile of shredded leaves to till into the pumpkin patch and I set aside some time for today to till my fall amendments into the patch when our plans got changed at the last moment.

Amber had heard an announcement on the radio that the producers for the NBC show The Marriage Ref were in town doing auditions for next season's show so she shot off an email and to her surprise got an email back a short while later saying that they wanted us to come down for an interview today.

I already had a busy day planned so I started my tilling early so I could get everything done before going to the audition. The Marriage Ref is an NBC show where couples air their humorous disputes before judges and a live audience and then there is a decision made on which person is correct. The dispute that Amber and I were going to take is no surprise. Pumpkins. A discussion that has come up more than once over the last three years. Amber isn't against me growing pumpkins. As a matter of fact she wants to to grow a big pumpkin. But she doesn't want me to take any time away from the family to do it. It has been the source of more than once discussion in our home. Being pretty opportunistic people, it wasn't beneath Amber or me to air our dirty laundry to millions for the chance to win $25,000.

I wore my Rocky Mountain Giant Pumpkin Growers gear and Amber wore pearls for the audition. We worked out our positions before going which wasn't hard because those lines have been drawn in the sand for years. After filling out some paperwork and going through some basic questions they turned the camera on and started the interview.

Both of us kept a level head as we stated our positions and tried to make the whole thing funny during the interview but there were moments of passion. Both Amber and I felt like we did pretty good but weren't sure where we stood when our interviewer said we were done and to turn off the camera. I knew we nailed it when the camera was off and our Marriage Ref interviewer shook her head, smiled and said, "I've never seen anything like it. We have got to get you two on the show."

They asked for the pictures that we had brought and for us to video tape the pumpkin before it rotted away and said that they would be making their final decisions very soon but there is a good possibility they want to bring a camera crew by the home in the next three weeks to do the interview for the show.

Who would have guessed that the final "weigh-off" wasn't done and that I still had a chance to win first prize with my pumpkins?! This weigh-off I'm going to take my Honey down and get that $25,000 prize.

Now back to our regularly-scheduled program already in progress....

Today, as I mentioned, I did my fall patch prep. I tilled in about 3 yards of shredded leaves, 4 pounds of blood meal, 5 pounds of 7-2-3 fertilizer, five pounds of elemental sulfur, 1 pound manganese, 15 pounds of gypsum and about 5 pounds of alfalfa pellets. After raking it smooth I will let that sit for the winter and I'll get a soil test in the spring to make my final adjustments. In the spring I'll probably add some finished compost with my final amendments before planting.