At the farmer’s market, I picked up two kinds of apples (the developer of one was there at the time, which was interesting), local honey, green beans, a couple of different loaves of artisanal bread, bitter melon, and hot peppers. Then I bought these three handsome pumpkins and set off walking the five blocks to my car. It must have been humorous if there were any watchers. If there were any watchers, however, then shame on them for not coming to help me.

 

Three pumpkins were not enough, though, so the kids went out and bought a couple more. This is the Garden of Eden, a strange travelling nursery that sets up at various times during the year in the parking lot of a local movie theater. We can get plant starts there in the spring, pumpkins and mums in the fall, and Christmas trees in their season.

With the proper seasonal sustenance, carving ensued.

 

 

We had free-form large-knife carvers, pattern and special tools users, cutter-and-mallet users, and paring-knife users.

 

My husband wanted to leave the green one uncarved and bake it instead, on the grounds that it smelled good and could be eaten.

 

 

 

His pleas went unheard.

 

 

And we ended up with a nice group of Jack-o-Lanterns on our porch.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps you can see their spooky candlelit grins.