The air has cooled and the rains have lifted our spirits, and the hearts of the grasses, and while Christmas is usually what the commercial realm labels "jouyous" for us it has begun-with the harvesting of the pumpkin friends!
We shall eventually eat them all in one way or another-be it pig, dog, chicken or goat-but before we do we admire them, roll them around, and stand in them.
Harvesting of the pumpkins has become more complicated due to Muddy and Marcella. We used to bring choice pumpkins out to the house for decoration and enjoyment-but one by one, Mud would relish the flesh of his orange friends. I don't know if your dog has ever consumed a pumpkin a day, but the gas that ensuea is pretty overwhelming. Then it became apparent that Marcella would go to great lengths-although with her innate shape shifting abilities I don't think it was difficult for her- to dig under the pumpkin patch fence and eat parts of pumpkins, bringing the chickens in with her, and maybe a duck or two, to finish them off.
So this year I gathered the ripe ones and hid them in the vegetable area. We still are waiting for Old Man Guinnias's giant pumpkin-every year I plant seeds on Guinnias' grave, and a huge elephant sized pumpkin emerges. Of course you will be invited to that special event and I will write about here later this month.
