Sharing the Bounties

It has been a wonderful fall in the mid west. The days are cool, sunny and a bit of a breeze to blow the crisp leaves around. There are days you can walk swishing leaves and smelling decay of leaves, flowers and the summer garden plants. Our soil is moist with evening rains and a few of the annuals are continuing to bloom even after nights in the upper 30’s.

It was a summer of flowers and veggies. A fall of discovery that so many fruits provided a great dinner for the neighborhood critters. They have eaten many a tomato, green beens and flower heads.  I had left one last plant to pick just now before Halloween. There is a prickly plant of thorns called Pumpkin on a Stick. It grows tall and besides leaves with thorns it grows small orange pumpkin type fruits along its branches.

I did not want to pick it early for fear it would dry out before Halloween. So yesterday I decided it was the day. I marched out to tangle with this sticky plant. I had promised many people a branch or two to decorate their homes and now was the time.

This plant is in a raised bed with a fence around it and it is thorny – right I told you that but it did not matter. The squirrel family decided they wanted to have them for lunch or dinner or to store them for winter. I have know idea but there sits the plant with no orange pumpkins.  Absolutely none!

So once again I have generously share the bounties of gardening with my “friends” in the neighborhood!