Pumpkins

A few more days until October and I have pumpkins on the brain. I love having carved pumpkins on the front porch before it gets too cold and the frost does them in , so that means pretty early on I need to start thinking about what sort of jack-o-lantern I'm going to create. This year I have an easily spooked toddler to consider and I imagine we will be going the happy, smiley route- that is more my style anyhow. These examples were seeming simple and cheery (even the mouse house pumpkin is fun).
If I thought I could pull it off (and it wouldn't terrify my three-year-old), it would be a major artistic challenge to try something like this- but what a cool result.
I also like the idea of stacking pumpkins and gourds. A tower of Halloween greetings for any style....
When the carving goes beyond goofy or scary faces it can result in really beautiful seasonal decoration- the second set of carved pumpkins are truly elegant.
Finally, how could anyone resist something like this sitting on the front porch?

{All images courtesy of Google images}

To get you started on your own jack-0-lantern, howstuffworks has a comprehensive pumpkin carving tutorial- everything from the very basic to the extremely ambitious.