Pumpkins

There is just something about pumpkins that makes me smile.  I can't help myself.  Maybe it's because they are so outrageous, so orange and full of attitude.  Maybe it's because I grew up in England where we celebrated the Harvest but with piles of apples and vegetables, not pumpkins.  I don't think I'd ever seen one till we moved to California.  

For the last few years my daughter and I have driven to a farm shop a few miles away to get our pumpkins.  They are always fresh with dust from the surrounding fields and they all have lovely, long, intact stalks.  We take our time picking out some different kinds, load up the car and drive carefully home with our precious cargo.  

There are fancy pumpkin patches near us, with hayrides and little trains to ride.  One even has a carousel and a large pyramid of pumpkins but I love the farm shop best.