How to Preserve Your Carved Pumpkin to Make It Last Longer!
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A little simple Halloween magic with household items will make your Jack O'Lantern last a week longer!

from: Pumpkin Patches and More

Did you carve a great pumpkin last year only to have it rot days before Halloween? Here's how to preserve and protect it!

What causes the pumpkin to decay?

There are several primary causes heartbreak of "pumpkin rot"

The intact skin of a pumpkin protects it until you carve it. But then various organisms (fungi, bacteria, molds, fungi, protozoans, insects - scientifically know as "those little buggers!") can get inside and start to break it down.
Oxygen in the air can also easily enter and break down the pumpkin (oxidation).
Simple dehydration (drying out) will will begin the moment the pumpkin is carved.
All of this will turn your carved young happy pumpkin face into a sad old man in several days time!

How to stop pumpkin aging:

Get Dad's Rogaine and Mom's Botox.... no, just kidding! What we need to do is

Sterilize the pumpkin's carved surfaces (to kill fungi, mold, bacteria, bugs)
Seal the surfaces to prevent drying and to keep out new "little buggers" and reduce drying
Essentially, we're going to embalm your Jack O'Lantern, just like the ancient Egyptians did their mummies! (Hey, maybe they practiced on pumpkins!)

Here are the simple steps:

Remove dirt: Wipe the exterior surfaces of the pumpkin clean using a damp cloth.
Make a bleach solution of1 tablespoon of bleach (typical brand name "Clorox) per quart of water and put it in a spray bottle.
Spray the pumpkin inside and all cut areas of the pumpkin with the solution. This will kill much of the surface bacteria and mold that cause rotting.
Let it penetrate and dry for about 20 minutes
Next, rub all of the carved or cut surfaces with petroleum jelly. This will keep out new bacteria and molds as well as dramatically reduce the dehydration!
Wipe away excess with a paper towel!
Now, keep your pumpkin out of direct sunlight and try to keep it as cool as possible (but above freezing!) and you should get at least a week's enjoyment out of it! Then when it's time to go, you can employ several thousand laborers to build a giant pyramid in your backyard to entomb your Jack O'Mummy! Next week: building a pumpkin sarcophagus! Ok, maybe we're getting carried away. But hey, kids love the analogy; anything having to do with mummies or dinosaurs!

The PineWood Derby

We had a great time today at H.'s Cub Scout Troop's Pinewood Derby. He came in first 4 times in a row in his heat. Then, from the other heat's winners, he came in second (the other car should've been disqualified since its wheel distance was too small to fit on the track, but they don't really disqualify people in this troop.)....

FIRST HEAT-first place:


THIRD HEAT-first place:


I. was super cute with her train-car and her graphite smudge on her nose!



H. got a 2nd place trophy. Pretty exciting.

The pinewood derby painting session

Thursday evening we were painting our pinewood derby cars and other wood items. A. started painting herself. When H. told me and I looked at her in a little bit of shock, she turned to H. and she said, "Shhh!" We all laughed. It was so funny. She'd been ratted out.

It's about time...

...we are studying time in math, so I found directions for a sundial. Pretty fun in our great weather, so before the heat of summer gets you, make a fun springtime sundial. :-) Did I say spring? Well, it is 65 degrees outside today. :-) You were wrong little ground hog!

Here's the website: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/kids/roofus/sundial.html

Here are the directions if you don't want to go to the link:

U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Roofus' Solar and Efficient Home

Build a Sundial

Sundials are the oldest way to tell time. The position of the sun changes during the day. The sun doesn't move; the Earth rotates around the sun, making it seem like the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. As the sun goes across the sky, the post in the center of the sundial casts a shadow on a circular plate. Marks on the plate tell you what time it is. It's just like reading a clock!

To make your own sundial, you need:

• A large styrofoam or paper drinking cup with a plastic lid and straw,
• A wristwatch
• A permanent marker
• A pencil
• Tape
• Some small pebbles (enough to fill the cup about half full)
• A compass

Now you are ready to build:

1. Use the pencil to poke a hole in the side of the cup approximately 2 inches below the top.
2. Put the pebbles in the cup so it doesn't tip over.
3. Put the lid on the cup.
4. Put the straw through the hole in the cover and the hole in the side of the cup. Let it stick out about half an inch from the side and tape the straw to the cup.

Finished building—Let's give it a try!

Start using your sundial on the morning of a sunny day when you'll be home all day. Find a spot out in the open that is sunny from 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. Look for a good, open view to the South with no trees or buildings in the way. Place the sundial on level ground or on a level table.

Use the compass to find North, and point the straw to the North. Now be careful not to move the sundial. Just in case, you might want to make a mark near the bottom of the cup and on the ground or the table, so you can line them up again if they get moved. Or you can just line up the sundial to the North again using the compass.

At 10 a.m., use the marker to mark where the shadow from the straw falls on the lid of the cup. Repeat this every hour until 3 p.m. Make sure your marks are neat and straight. If you have to leave or if it clouds over, you can always finish doing this a few days later—you don't have to do it all in one day. Once you have marks for all the times, you're ready to use the sundial. Wait until the next day and try reading the time by comparing the shadow to the marks you made. How well can you tell what time it is?