Pumpkin Patch

I have been wanting a big pumpkin patch for several years now.  A patch big enough to satisfy my pumpkin greed would take up a huge area and the thought of either killing all the grass underneath the vines or having a mess of weeds covering 1/4 acre or more has kept me from pursuing the patch of my dreams.  This year we planted a large galvanized tub with pumpkin plants, gave the vine a structure to climb and waited for the magic. 

We got lots of vines, huge showy flowers, and not a single pumpkin.  

Around mid summer we noticed a healthy plant sprouting from the compost pile.  As it grew to amazing proportions we realized it was a pumpkin, or actually several pumpkin vines.  I must have tossed last years decorative stock on the compost and never thought another thing about it.  This is the harvest from those vines.  A few got eaten by wildlife, and there are still many little tiny pumpkins forming on the vines.  My favorite is the really warty one.   Aren't they wonderful? 

Proving once again that God is a far better gardener than I will ever be.  I think these will go back on the compost when I'm done with them.  Maybe I can keep the pumpkin patch going :)

The trees are just beginning to turn here, a few in full glory and a few just starting to change.  The sun is shining today and I need to be outside for a while. I can hear the birds singing and there are apples to pick and make into cider, crabapples to harvest and make into crabapple jelly. It's been another good year for apples and I have to use as many of them as I can.  There is a walk in the state park along a path completely golden with oak trees in our near future, and I can't let the week pass without a fire outside and possibly some s'mores.

How are you enjoying the autumn season?