Not Your Ordinary Pumpkins

Hi ho ... it's off to the pumpkin patch we go.  Another beautiful but chilly and windy day.  I didn't stay long however.  Once we got the snack shack up and running, I took off for greener pastures.  My couch!!

Hunter Farms grows most of the pumpkins and squash they sell at the patch.  Here's a field of more ordinary Big Max and Big Moon.

There are ghostly whites, baby boos, Cinderellas and Fairy Tales.  Here's a unique one.  These are Cheddar Pumpkins, mostly because they look like rounds of cheese.  Someone came up to me in the patch and asked for the cheddar pumpkins ... the ones that TASTE like cheese.  Rachel Ray said to ask for them at your local pumpkin patch.  I had never heard of them before.

So here they are ... Long Island Cheddars.  I have my doubts that they taste like macaroni and cheese, or cheese of any kind, but what can I say, I haven't tried one ..... YET.

There are an amazing number of colors and lumpy bumps.  Many are grown for their grossness, covered with warts from top to bottom.

I think my all time favorites are the blues.  There's the blue lakota, the blue max and Jarrahdales from Australia, which are supposed to be the absolute best for pumpkin pies.  Like heirloom tomatoes seeds, these are heirloom pumpkins.

From minis only three inches wide to monsters two feet and bigger, you can buy all of them at this pumpkin patch.  They also grow all 5000+ pumpkins that are given away to school children.  They range from 6-9" across with nice long stems like this one.  The kids LOVE them!!  If the schools can't bring the kids, the farm takes the pumpkins to the school.

So keep a pumpkin farmer in business and buy a few to carve up for Halloween.   There are hundreds of examples on the internet, both scary and sweet.

Of course you KNOW this would be MY favorite.  Not sure I'll have time to do any carving this year, what with my ten hour days.  I'm lucky to make it as far as the couch when I get home.

I'll try to get more pictures today.  I'm determined to slow down and smell the sunflowers!!