Gifts from the Garden

I didn't plant any of these lovely pumpkin or squash, they all grew as volunteers in the compost pile. Every year something tries to grow out of the compost pile and usually gets buried or burned or dies back midway through the season. But this year was a bounty of gifts!

Thirteen in all, a good number for October fruit. Three blue hubbard squash, one decorative white pumpkin, the green and white pumpkin in the front I think is actually a squash as well, or a combination of pumpkin and acorn squash (we'll find out when I try to bake it), and the rest are pumpkins in various stages of turning orange.

After discovering this harvest Hubby and I went to the pumpkin patch last Thursday and bought MORE squash and pumpkins - oh, wait 'til you see all the pretties! But that will have to wait. I'm back from a weekend of family, football, food, and shopping and the things I want to show and share are piling up faster than I have the time to post them. I think I need TWO months to Post Spooky. But priorities must prevail and there is unpacking to do, not to mention laundry, a run to the supermarket at the top of the list (we're almost out of toilet paper and soy milk), and the most urgent of all, I need to start decorating!

I've decided that no matter if any family is coming this year or not, I only have one shot at the season for my own personal enjoyment. I don't have to put out all my decorations, but I do have to put out enough to feel like I'm interacting with the holiday. Fortunately my baseline decor is pretty spooky to begin with, the gargoyles and cats and even some of the witches are already hanging out with us year round.

But more, we need more! Off to... well, to do all that regular chore stuff first, but then .... off to unpack dancing jacks and scarecrows and witch's hats, off to light pumpkin candles and hang ghosties and spiders, off to transform lawn into graveyard....... oooOOOOooooOOOOooooh!