Hoppy Halloween

The kids on my bus brought their pumpkins home sometime last week. Not everyoe had one to show off, but the ones who did made up for it.

These three images are all the same pumpkin! He carved two sports symbols (bronco and falcon, sorry, I didn't recognize the bronco...) and his initial, and the pumpkin wasn't even weak and falling under its own weight. Mastercutter, that one.

This fun goofy face fit very well with its owner, I would say. If she could speak, her voice or personality would match, I think.

And these last two pictures are also the same pumpkin. I wonder when the last time I cut more than one image into one was?

And here is me today! I spent literally all night (Jamie said 10 hours) putting it together from scratch with no pattern, and I walked out the door to work after just finishing the gloves. My hands and feet were supposed to have cute frog-toes on them, but I simply ran out of time.

The temperature said it was up to 74 today. I was definitely hot, but it wasn't unbearable in all that fleece. I did lower my zipper a little and occasionally unsnap the hood to let my poor neck breathe and cool me off better, but no big deal. Biking in this outfit was no problem at all since a breeze could hit my skin through the fleece a little bit. I do admit that the morning ride in was downright comfortable except for my hands. 

I've decided that fingerless gloves are the invention of some weirdo who must not have had feeling in his hands- there is no point to them at all. If anything I need the finger mitten and not the rest of a glove. 

I only got sleepy with the last 2 kids on the bus, and thankfully it didn't last long. However, I am now 36 hours awake and a bit foggy to say the least. I have laundry to hang up and then the king size bed with two puppies on it definitely has my name on it.

Today- See My Newest Bike Accessories and Ride Home With Me

In an odd sort of non-photographic mood, I still managed to snap a bunch of neat pictures on my trip through the "long" route home. Also, before I left work, I got current photos of my beloved Zoomie with some new accessories that I made this weekend. Yesterday, actually.

On the way to work. I stopped and looked backward, wanting to snap a picture of this early when I had gone home in the morning. A lot of the leaves now are becoming duller, a sort of pale gold where once were vibrant yellows and reds. The chance is interesting. Also, why are the leaves all flattened?

Zoomie has breaktime while I ride the bus.

New accessories! For some odd reason, I decided she just had to have a cushion. You know, in case I wanted to give someone a ride... Hmm. Well, it looks awesome and was a blast to make, anyhow. I made sure to use a scrap of my Babyville Boutique PUL waterproof fabric beneath the fun layer- this way the cushion should never get wet and soggy, and the thin plywood should last longer.

The cushion ties on like my saddlebag does. This way I can always take it off to use the rack's springy latch. It can stow inside the saddlebag when not out on the rack.

I also got sick and tired of having STUFF in my saddlebag all the time. I can never roll it up all cute-like if there is stuff in it! So, I made a toolbox. 

Erm, that zipper was supposed to go in the end, not in the side behind those rack stays, but I wasn't paying attention during construction. Also, it's slightly squished into the fender, but this doesn't really bother me.

 I can now carry around a full spare tube in addition to my multi-tool, a pair of latex gloves, plastic tire iron, a few valve caps and rubber bands. Also a glue tube for a spent patch kit. I need new patches. Still, this thing is not full, and things rattle very slightly on the piece of cardboard I have riding in the bottom for some structural stability. I love it.

Tied with pink ribbon instead of green. This type of ribbon seems to slip, I've tied a couple into double bows to see if that helps.

Now for the trip home:

Prairie dogs!!! They are so cute! They became tons more shy when I stopped the bike to take pictures, whereas normally I could literally have kicked one, it was so close as I pedaled past. See that one right at the edge of the pavement?

A funny pagoda in the middle of a Colorado park. Who knew?

Fun path-side chairs! A blue one is to the left. Later on there is a similar bench seat.

The Bike-Ness monster!

Construction to make lovely bike pathways and underpasses. I don't mind the detour at all- after all, look at how awesome the Greenway is ALREADY! I can't wait to see it when they are done.

One of the tunnel underpasses. I think these things are just fantastically awesome and fun, not to mention convenient. No fighting with traffic!

Honey I blew up the bugs.

Pretty autumn path, even if a skewy photo.

I love how this overpass is branded with the left hand symbol. This is the Left Hand Greenway (as opposed to the St Vrain Greenway)

The Lobo trail.

I exit the Lobo trail and have to cross a highway, which is very easy even at 5pm due to a light that must be creating the large gaps in traffic. I simply wait patiently at the stop sign for a moment. 

Can you see the hill way up there?

Closer to the hill. It looks pretty intimidating to me, but its not that hard to cycle up it. Usually the wind makes it more work than should be needed, but there is a long gentle decline afterwards as a reward.

Headed home on a beautiful warm autumn day.

I love my bike.

Pumpkin Fun

Last weekend my family came up to visit with my niece, and we all went to Anderson Farms. They advertised a corn maze and pumpkin patch among other fun activities, and I didn't have a pumpkin yet. Plus, I've always wanted to go through a huge maze cut into a field of corn!

The entrance fee is $12 and that includes the wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch, the corn maze, pedal-driven go-karts, a train ride in either adult-sized mine carts or child-sized blue plastic barrels, a petting zoo of sorts, and of course all the photo opportunities you could want. At night the farm does a zombie paintball course where you shoot them and they don't shoot back, and Terror in the Corn. Those are separate activities and not included in the admission price, though.

Here are some pictures!!

Waiting in line to enter.

Natalie thinks my earrings are neat. 

She also tend to pull on necklines right now, so unfortunately, you don't get to see us with Batman because my bra was showing >.<

Yay!

A bug that tried to sneak in with us without paying the fee. We left him on the wall beside the ticket window.

Pumpkins everywhere!!

Thirsty bunny. The sign said not to try and pet them because they would bite. Vampire bunnies!

A barn you could walk through from one animal pens to the larger areas.

Inside the barn.

The coolest train ever!!

Sunny and slightly warm, today. Perfect for some family fun.

Waiting our turn for a wagon to arrive to take us out to the pumpkin patch.

The steed doing the wagon pulling.

This pumpkin can be seen for miles and is what originally had me thinking about hay rides and pumpkin patches back at the end of September. I see it every day from the bus.

Normally we would feed the cows, but they overate this morning.

A buffalo!

These guys make up a really cool little village. I think that becomes the paintball area at night.

Riding along.

The man said there were I think 32 varieties of pumpkins in the fields. I saw types I've never seen before including pinkish ones, gray-green ones, white ones, funny little double-ended ones. Lots to choose from! The vines looked dead and whithered, but the pumpkins were bright and firm and fun to hunt through.

I passed this little prisoner maybe two or three times, and it turns out this is the one I chose. Since there were so many different kinds, I definitely didn't want an "ordinary" orange pumpkin this year. I had visions of carving a skull face into it.

My dad has ideas for a warty witch, and he made sure to get an extra "nose".

Pumpkin cart :P

Our roommate's dad goes by the nickname of Pappy, so I simply had to take a picture of this.

Corn maze!

I got to navigate. We didn't get lost a single time.

Punching our map cards.

Bridges didn't stop us.

Pettable feedable goats. 

That wooden structure goes up very high and gives the cute little guys something safe to climb on. 

The best photo place, I think. 

We had plenty already, so I just waited until no one was around to at least get a picture of it.

The map front and back. Obviously, they cut the maze early in the summer.

I could not find a skull face I liked. Perhaps it has something to do with my preference for happy pumpkins. I was grumpy and slightly ranting when Jamie gently said to me "Well ghosts are white too.." and then suggested the adorable little ghost balls that chase you around in Mario video games. This is how they look when your back is turned, but when you face them, they become shy.

I don't have any candles yet. Pretend I do.

BOO!