We had a Pumpkin Fest this weekend. The weather was chilly, but bright. I had many lovely, well-organized plans in mind, but as always happens, they sort of tumbled aside and landed haphazardly into a series of disjointed happenings.I took out a handful of lovely pumpkin books from the library. Caelah read most of them aloud to her siblings. Some of our favourites were "Pumpkin Soup" by Helen Cooper, "How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?" by Margaret McNamara & "Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie" by Jill Esbaum.
We had a pumpkin hunt. This was initiated by a inter-sibling tiff regarding who would get to carve which pumpkin. I told the kids that each of them would carve the pumpkin they found first. My kids, being wily, soon learned to pretend they didn't see the pumpkin right in front of them, in hopes of holding out for the one they really wanted. Sigh.
I hid six tiny pumpkins around the yard; one in the wood pile, another up in a tree, another in a mossy log. . . The kids had loads of fun searching for them. I, however, was busy scanning the ground for dog poop, and hollering at them to veer left or right.
We spent the afternoon carving. I happened to have a collection of clay-carving tools. They were perfect tools to use for baby pumpkins-- allowing for fun shapes without bloody fingers. I wasn't nervous allowing the kids to work with them. Gabriel went for the polkadot look, while Elijah made his pumpkin very sad. As we worked, I commented to my mom-in-law that this is the language I speak to my children: art, creativity, colour. . . Each mom has a language of her own.
I used my rubber-carving tools for my pumpkin. Ginkgo leaves! I wish I could say I came up with the design myself, but in fact, it was one of Martha Stewart's employees. I simply carved what I saw. I know these lovely creations won't last more than a week, but why not enjoying them now? A pumpkin-saving tip: Spray your design with hairspray or some form of lacquer. It will slow the decay.
