Snapshot at a Pumpkin Patch

Boo! We’re so close to Halloween night, I can almost taste the mini Almond Joys! It’s currently the 29th of October and I’ve made the most of the month by watching Hocus Pocus four times, carving/decorating two pumpkins, working pumpkin into as many dishes as possible, enjoying three different kinds of pumpkin beers, and dressing up as a Care Bear for our company party. For the fourth year in a row we visited the pumpkin patch at Tanaka Farms in Irvine last weekend. What I expected to be a picturesque trip to the farm turned out to be a sweaty, dusty trek in which we waited 30 minutes in the line to park. Don’t let the photo below fool you, the patch was packed. Though it took Michael about 2.5 seconds to find a pumpkin. But, like every year since I have been been old enough to pick pumpkins, Christmas trees, etc., it took me a little bit longer. I take a lot of factors into account, okay? And it’s not about finding the perfect pumpkin – I prefer the ones with irregular bumps and colors. A nice, pronounced stalk is important. And the surface of the pumpkin needs to allow enough space to carve a scene into. This year I carved a “Wavy Ghost.” It’s suuuuuper scaaaary. Michael fancies himself a semi-pro pumpkin carver (I’m kidding …) and always challenges himself to carve something even more technical and impressive than the year before. As you can see below, his haunted castle was a great success.

We’ll be spending a low-key Halloween night at our friends’ house passing out candy to trick-or-treaters, barbecuing, and carving pumpkins. Have a safe, fun, spooky Halloween!