Wicked Grin

Had a day off from work yesterday and had a creative impulse. This is the result - an impromptu finger-painting to hang above my workshop table. Made with acrylic paint on a quarter-inch sheet of plywood, this was done in about an hour. The shape of the pumpkin shows up better in person - it's a very deep orange/black that disappears as the workshop grows dark (and the eyes and mouth are painted with glo-paint so they light up at night).

The face was borrowed from here:

http://ericfreitas.deviantart.com/art/Jack-o-lantern-2-184798515

Head Shop

This past winter I picked up a foam pumpkin from Michael's at 90% off and decided the time had come to give our scarecrow, Jack, a new head. He's switched between two different heads for the past ten years, but this third version is by far the creepiest and most extreme. While work on the head is not quite finished, here's a little sneak preview of what you can expect to see come October...

Time Lapse

From Rob Zombie's YouTube channel...

Gang 'O Jacks

Some of the jack-'o-lanterns we carved from pumpkins picked from our garden. Counting pumpkins we brought home from visits to two different pumpkin patches, I ended up carving 20 jack-'o-lanterns in total.

Lurking

Took the kids to a different pumpkin patch and found some interesting help working on their staff. Most of the folks just kept to themselves, but some looked like they could really get nasty if you provoked them...

Pumpkin Patch

Some pics from our annual visit to Seekap's Orchard (otherwise known as 'The Pumpkin Patch'). It was a beautiful October 1st, with the temperature hovering in the upper 70's and just enough breeze to keep those pesky noseeums away. We each picked out our own pumpkins - mine topped out at 30 lbs.! - had fun racing through the cornstalk maze, bought some apple cider, and then dined on caramel apples. A great Fall tradition that I look forward to every year!

Pumpkins as far as the eye can see. Beautiful!

Some gorgeous gray pumpkins they featured this year.

My daughter looking angelic in the corn maze.

Garden Gourds

Once again we got hit with the white spots of mold on our leaves this year - so our pumpkins are only about half the size they should be. I treated them with a fungicide, but I think it was already too little too late. Anyone have any reliable home remedies for this?

Most of these are slightly smaller than a basketball, but a good crop considering we didn't get ANY pumpkins at all last year - just vines and flowers! We ended up with about a dozen medium to small sized pumpkins this year (our most ever was 26!)

Found this one that snuck into our strawberry patch. A nice, cozy home - he's the biggest by far!

I love this little pumpkin flower. Long after the rest have gone, this one just keeps on blooming each morning on a vine that's barely there.

And not to be outdone in the color department, these peppers have turned the most amazing shade of yellow and orange. Beautiful!

Pumpkinhead

Scarecrow Pumpkinhead
Originally uploaded by Mstrsail

Wonder what the box of stuff is at his feet?

Quote of the Day

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion."

--Henry David Thoreau