It’s that
time of year. Vines stretch outward, twining around any unsuspecting thing they
find and holding fast. Emerald leaves hide the ballooning bulges in murky
shade. Yes, PUMPKINS ARE UPON US!
We’ve been
trying for a couple years now to determine the exact perfect time to start
pumpkin seeds in order to have healthy plants by the time the sun warms the
ground enough…but not so early they starve for sunlight outdoors. After
mediocre results last year on our patio, this year I planted some sugar pumpkin
and mini boo seeds indoors around mid-April. Three plants have survived; one
mini on our patio just starting to flower:
Another
mini bravely struggling in the garden soil.
And THIS
beast, which daily attempts to eat any passing children small enough to be
consumed whole.
I have been
trying to train the beast up a makeshift cage. It has other ideas.
But
LOOOOK!
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| Mmmm. Yes, my darling, groooowwwww |
If you’ve
never eaten fresh pumpkin, there is a vast difference between fresh and canned
or processed. The first time I cooked a sugar pumpkin, my tongue was opened to
the glory of the Orange Wonder, and it’s impossible to go back to the insipid
goop in cans. If you don’t have a spare acre or two in your graveyard or lab to
give over to the monstrous vines, some grocery stores sell fresh pumpkin in
September and October, and of course it’s always worth a country drive to find
local pick-your-own patches. Just remember in that case to bring a sharp stick
to fight off any roaming vines, as they’re more aggressive than kudzu.
Don’t just
think PIE, although pie is of course perfectly acceptable, if you’re into
mundanity. Think chili. Think smoothies. Here are some links to pumpkin recipes (yes, some are Martha, don’t judge me).
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| Tineh boos planted by my sweetie's brother Shane. |
 |
| Another tineh of Shane's. |
In other
pumpkiny news, the craft stores have Halloween stuff incoming, and our local
Goodwills have Halloween aisles already! I’ve nabbed a few things; this is my
one consumer weakness. Very happy that Goodwill has so much neat stuff, else
I’d be broke. No idea what my costume will be this year; was fairly happy with last year's witch, and the sugar skulls and pumpkin carvings. My sweetie still needs
to finish his awesome plague doctor outfit. And we have tombstones to
papier-mache and paint. And I have a miniature tableaux to create. SO MUCH TO DO
BEFORE OCTOBER.
For anyone
else interested in propmaking and home haunting, may I direct you to my friend Sabrina's hauntmaking blog. She is highly talented, and has no skeletons in her
closet because they’re all in the basement instead…
Happy
Pumpkining!
