Gourds and Rocks

Once an avid gourdaholic, I've been thwarted by having moved to a growing zone that doesn't yield the strongest gourds, but here are some examples of what I created and sold over the years. The rock houses are miniatures (I should have had a coin for relativity). The hen gourd is to honor my remarkable Ginger Red Bantam companion, Izzy, who attended many festivals, was fearless, affectionate and adventurous, and laid the cutest little eggs. Two of her offspring, Dirk and Gus, found new homes one year at the Ohio Renaissance Festival after some fun weeks of pretending to be falcons and posing on children's arms until the morning they were no longer cockerels as hormones had kicked in and changing them to roosters who were intent on fighting mercilessly.