Pumpkin Cultivator ExtraordinaireA few weeks after we moved into our new house Steven noticed a very large vine slowly taking over our back yard. Steven became convinced we had pumpkins growing in our yard and began nurturing this vine. I was far from convinced. Because this vine appeared shortly after we had a ditch dug around the house for a french drain, I assumed t
he people who reseeded the yard mistakenly planted some foreign weeds instead of the grass seed most commonly used to reseed a yard. Nevertheless I let Steven carry on with the delusion, occasionally asking him to prune the vine when I began to fear the neighbors would report us to the homeowner's association.As time went on I decided to "Google" pumpkin and squash leaves. I have very little knowledge of gardening, but from what I found online we most likely had some sort of squash growing in our back yard. Only time would tell what kind. On Sunday we finally got our answer. We indeed have pumpkins growing in our back yard. We have one small, hardy green pumpkin on the vine and three or four mini pumpkin sprouts.
Now during our afternoon yard play Edmund will frequently ask to touch the pumpkin. He gets a kick out of giving the pumpkin a quick pat, then giggles as he announces, "I touch it." After touching the pumpkin on Monday he discovered a bale of hay, again left by our french drain diggers, and began bouncing on it. This gave me a great idea. The Pattishalls are going to have their very own pumpkin patch this year. $5 gets you your pick of the finest pumpkins Durham has to offer followed by a frolic in a very filthy bale of hay. You think I'm kidding? Just wait until the goats arrive!
