It is ALIVE!
I'm so excited I just HAVE to share! I decided to try my own sourdough starter this past Friday, and after doing some research on here and looking through my pile of library bread books, I settled on using Peter Reinhart's method from Whole Grain Breads (which is essentially a variation of the pineapple juice method using different ratios). The first and second day I was skeptical because it didn't seem to do anything, but I knew it just needed more time. I prepared myself for a long wait...
Lo, and behold! The next day it had risen a was bubbling! I transferred it to a glass jar so I could observe the rise better, and fed it with flour and some more pineapple juice. It just took off! I fed it again yesterday, this time with flour and water, and then fed it again today, discarding about half and adding 2 oz. flour and 1.5 oz. water. This is what it looks like after two hours!
I can't stop looking at it and smelling it! I named him Wilson :-)
I'm gonna keep feeding and try to make bread sometime this weekend if possible. I just need to figure out a regular feeding schedule. Any suggestions?