Last year's jack-o'-lanterns; this year's, too.

Another from last Halloween. I'm quite proud of my pumpkins.

I still have some of this year's backyard pumpkin crop. I have about ten very small ones that are just sitting around the house, and two big ones on the porch. Will the big ones make it to Halloween? Not a chance. But I can still carve them early, like the one I carved last week, and have jack-o'-lanterns on my porch all month long. The first one has rotten and I threw it into the compost pile. Friday night was its last night alight. I put a big candle in it (I think the across-the-street neighbor saw me lighting it and figured I was a lunatic, since it wasn't even October yet). Kim left at 7:00 the next morning, and said it was still lit!