Oh my gourd!

For me, gardening is a little like having a crush on a bad boy: you never know when things will go wrong, although you know they will, and the most insignificant positive feedback sends you into dizzy glee. The past few seasons have been rocky. We've battled blights, lost almost-ripe veggies to giant, hungry caterpillars (yea, organic!), and witnessed our zucchini and cucumbers start out strong and then, nah, give up.

Except for the pumpkins. Hands down, they are the most rewarding crop. These guys are my troopers, never breaking my heart. Yes, we watered them, fought off giant gophers and tossed fresh compost on them every few weeks, but otherwise these happy, chubby little guys just seemed psyched to hang out and chill. And GROW. And now, two of our three giants weigh more than my kids.



When ready to harvest, we rolled the big guys to the front yard and displayed them under our elm tree.

Last week, when Lucas was getting off the bus, I heard another kid say, "Wow! Where did you get the pumpkins?"

He proudly replied, "I GREW them!"

And that's why there will always be room in my heart-- and our garden-- for pumpkins.