Pumpkin Patches 2013

On Monday morning, the exterminator killed the large underground nest of yellow jackets that had attacked John last week.

What I think could accurately be called a supercolony had an entry hole into the earth the circumference of a baseball and the exterminator found five queens--perhaps a result of our more mild winter last year? According to our exterminator, we need a full week of sustained freezing temperatures in order to naturally kill most insects.  Our southern winters are not always cold enough to do the job.

I read on Wikipedia, for what it's worth:

"In parts of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and southwestern coastal areas of the United States, the winters are mild enough to allow nest overwintering. Nests that survive multiple seasons become massive and often possess multiple egg-laying queens."

After that drama, we were off to meet friends at the pumpkin patch of a local family farm! The farm has many children's play areas, open for free, which is so much fun.

These overalls were found in a bin of my mom's stuffed animals, so they belonged either to her or me as a toddler. They're worn with age and oh-so-cute!

Margaret in the sand box

Mary riding one of the many riding toys

Mary wildly pumping the water pump game

Two adorable babies socializing!

Mary is still a climber: she sees a bean bag toss game, but she immediately climbs it instead!

Always happiest at the top

Unfortunately, the pumpkin patch itself was picked over ten days before Halloween. We couldn't find any round pumpkins that weren't flat on one side or rotting. So, we just enjoyed the experience, the children at their first funnel cake, and we went home.

The next afternoon we went to the more commercialized pumpkin "patch" that rents space each year on the lawn of a nearby shopping center. I enjoy how this seller specializes in various weird and unusual pumpkins and gourds. Colors and shapes I'd never even seen!

Our front porch, festive for the fall season