The Great Pumpkin Disaster

Last Halloween, Ava and I were quite fond of our pumpkins (refer to last year's post for details). So fond, in fact, that we couldn't quite bring ourselves to dispose of our prized jack-o-lanterns at the end of the holiday. Yes, I admit it, we allowed them to simmer in their own juices, slowly rotting into nothingness and disappearing into our front yard. Perhaps not our brightest idea.

However....

Imagine our surprise when, this spring, a suspicious-looking series of thick vines protruded from our lawn and began twisting themselves around our front porch! What? Could it be? Dare we hope? PUMPKINS?!?

Thus, our pumpkin pleasure returned two-fold when we realized we could take our mania one step further and actually CARVE OUR OWN HOME-GROWN PUMPKINS! Oh, wonders never cease! Rapturously, Ava and I watched those vines grow, stretch, thicken, and flower. With bated breaths, we waited for a baby pumpkin to appear. Finally, a fledgling jack-o-lantern. Oh, excitement! Oh, joy! Oh, unexpected holiday cheer!

Then came Erik. He complained about the vines. They were unsightly. He could hardly be expected to mow around them. They needed to be disposed of immediately. For weeks, for months, Ava and I begged for the lives of our pumpkins. Each time he walked past the porch, every day he mowed, he made comments. We begged. He made comments. This went on and on and on.

And then....The. Great. Pumpkin. Disaster.

Yes, he accidentally mowed over them. Cut them down in their prime. They barely had time to develop that beautiful charcteristic orange color. Now these pumpkins too are rotting in the yard. And this vicious cycle can begin again.

Maybe next year....