The Pumpkin Story

Hello. My name is Gourdon.
(Get it? GOURDon?... I was the clown of the patch, I tell ya.)
Then one fateful day I was chosen to leave the Patch.
I'd heard stories about this day...
would I become a PIE or a PERSONALITY??

Could I possibly turn into this...Oh, please, please, I hope so!!

But NO, NO! I was to become the center of attention at a...a...a...
Costume Party!
My hopes of showing a terrifying persona were squashed
(get it...SQUASHed? ~~~!)

That's me: Mardi Gras mask, googly eyes and pink dentures...EGAD!!

Soon others show up at the Party. This guy becomes my instant buddy,
but I have NO IDEA who he is... seems just too happy.
I think he's had a few too many sips of Pumpkin Punch.

Oh geez...here's another party-goer and he is WAY too happy...
Maniacally happy.
Do I look alarmed to you?

Even my bottom teeth fell out.

Okay, who invited the pink lobster?? Look at those googly eyes...

I mean, seriously, isn't that one creepy crustacean??

So after the party I end up at the Halloween House.
Look close. See arrow.
On the left, between the yellow garden hose and the skeleton skull stack.

At least that spider's got other things to catch for dinner.
No pumpkin pie tonite!!!

Click on the picture for an even bigger view...then click on the back arrow at the top left corner of the screen, to return.

BOO!!Yeah, I didn't think you were scared.



Oh well, I still love a good laugh....


Happy Halloween!!



P.S. I need to acknowledge V at A Fanciful Twist blog for the stunning carved pumpkin picture!!

Down at the Farm

We took a drive down south about 20 miles to a working farm.
We had two quests in mind:

1. Find a pumpkin in the daylight.
2. Navigate a corn maze at night.


And here is where we headed...

There were rows and rows of colorful flowers...


Zinnias...
Ummm...It's so pretty, but I don't know what it is!

Raw cotton...those who once picked this for a living say that those bolls are very sharp and make deep cuts in the fingers...t-shirts have a savage history.

ummmm...this is a tricky one. It's big. It's round. It's yellow. Make a guess! And no, the seeds aren't ready to eat yet.
Now this is the cotton bud and doesn't it look a little sinister, like the plant in the movie 'Little Shop of Horrors'?!

Ah, now for the first quest, the search for the Perfect Pumpkin...
Taking the long, bumpy, dangerous road, on a wagon pulled by a tractor ...
(Will we run out of gas? Will a tire blow out? Will our cell phones work??! Yes, dangerous.),
~~~~~to the Pumpkin Patch...

Then searching through the Patch, passing by the too-small, the too-large, the blotchy, the blighted...

Until at last...Success!! We find an Orange...uh...watermelon?
Well, try tilting your head to the side and the possibilities take shape.

It's part of the family now...riding back and carefully kept from rolling out.

A walk in the sunset. A sideways grin.

A really BIG game of checkers, while waiting for the night to arrive. The flashlights are at the ready...


And here is the beginning of the second quest...The Corn Maze...a gigantic puzzle based on the Twilight Series of vampire books. And for those who may not know the story, the action takes place in Forks, Washington between a human girl, Bella, and a vampire, Edward. And a werewolf, Jacob. See the truck? That is Bella's old truck.




And here is an aerial view of the clever cornfield maze! There is the wolf head at the top, and under is the scene from the book jacket, hands cupping an apple.

And here the time is finally right to venture into the maze...
note the slice of moon in the twilight sky...

Well, You will have to imagine our trek into this otherworldly place.
There was no map.
There were dead end trails and thick 8 foot tall cornstalks.
It was totally FUN!!
There were other groups doing some navigating,
Every so often Mark would give a realistic howl.
There would be screams of delighted fear ...
And the sound of running feet.

And Despite my incredible lack of directional skills,
We found our way out.
Because Mark and Amanda took the lead.
I know when to be a follower!!

Now what about our Perfect Pumpkin??? That saga continues next time!!

Halloween approaches, Ghoulies!!

Humpty Dumpty Pear

I placed a pear on the windowsill,
And it wasn't really long until...

A furry paw reached from the left,
And gave that pear a mighty heft...

And Lo! the pear fell to the floor.
Far away and now a bore.

The pear, once rounded, hit the mat,
And rolls no more, it being flat.

Oh could we play the game once more?
The dog will clean the messy floor.

Smiles :o)

The One Pear Tree

Our Pear Tree stands alone far in the back of the property.
By the gnarled look of it's limbs, it must be very old.
In March this year, Pear Tree stood tall, leafing out and budding,
looking like a fireworks display...(thanks Roni for seeing that!)

By August the incredible weight of the pears has broken the showy top branch and bowed the other limbs toward the ground...




The waxy white flowers of one branch will give way in good time...

To the golden-green bounty of that one branch...

And here is the size of one of those pears !...

Who eats all these pears?
It's not near Christmas, so there is no partridge in our pear tree.(ha!)

So, as some pears grow heavy as cantalopes and fall to the ground....
It's anyone's harvest!...

Oh well, if just one small doe enjoys a bite...

And she just invites her two little fawns... (yup, twins!)...

And she sends out an invite and other guests arrive...

Then the boys find out about it and make an appearance.
And pears continue to fall!

*sigh* The first dinner date and the doe takes a ravenous, unladylike chomp...

It's too much for the proud buck and his 8 point antler rack. He leaves.
He's looking for a doe with more class.
Also, he doesn't care for pears laying on the ground.

Well, despite the bounty on the ground, there are still handsome pears on the tree, even at the end of the season in September...

That will soon be part of someone's dessert plate!

I could not get a photo of the one squirrel who loved pears.
Even though we live in the country, we have only ever seen this ONE squirrel.

He was comical, running out to the tree, climbing up and knocking down a pear.
Down on the ground, picking it up like a football in his teeth.
Then bounding away.

No.....then lurching away. It was a heavy pear.

He had to stop, set it down and rest before continuing.
Sometimes he set it down and left, unable to manage.
If it was not there the next day, did he come back and haul it away??
Or had others benefited from his work?

Alas, no photo. He was a sneaky squirrel and wouldn't wait until I could get my camera, unlike the deer and crows.
And the harvesters intent on their dessert!

P.S. The pear tree is located far from the 'photo window' of the house...deer and crows scatter at the sound of a door opening and someone sneaking out with a camera, so the photos are taken from inside. That's why they are blurry. That, and the window might need cleaning. Might.

Thanks for reading!!

Just Petalling Around the Yard

Pinky Rose


Morning Glory


Hummingbird Vine


Passionflower


Just a sampling of what goes on around the homestead, without any help from us!