Some of you may know from years past that Farmers’ Almanac Editor Peter Geiger has a penchant for giant pumpkins. More specifically, Peter has competed in 10 giant pumpkin races over the last several years, most of the them here in Maine at the annual Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and Pumpkin Regatta. Though he lost his first race in Windsor Nova Scotia due to inexperience – he mistakenly thought bigger would be better and picked a pumpkin that was too large – and kept flipping another boat, which had been painted to look like a cow, he wins these races more often than not, armed with nothing more than a kayak paddle and a little elbow grease.
This Sunday, October 7, Peter will compete in his 11th race. His 500-lb pumpkin boat has been decorated by resident artist Scott Gooding to resemble a bat. Previous years have had Peter paddling pumpkins decorated as a turtle, a beaver, a spaceship, and Moby Dick.
Will this year’s pumpkin fly? Or will Peter go batty trying to keep the thing afloat? Only time will tell.
Good luck, Peter!
Jaime McLeod is the Web Content Editor for the Farmers' Almanac. She is a longtime journalist who has written for a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including MTV.com. She enjoys the outdoors, loves eating organic food, and is interested in all aspects of natural wellness.
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.
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