Nature's bounty from the farm……………

Hello sweet October.  

This is always my special month.  A birthday for me, 

other special family members, and this year I will celebrate 

52 years since coming to live in the United States of America.

Sunday afternoon, dressed up in sunshine and blue skies. 

A few fields of tobacco, dry and golden, awaited the 
last harvest.  

Cotton and soybeans were picked clean. 

Sunflowers, their huge blooms long gone, stalks plowed under.

Horses stood quietly in pastures. 
Now and then a dog barked in a far away field. 
A hawk circled above.

Tractors were still.

The countryside appeared to be at rest in the warmth 

of the afternoon.

We were thrilled to return to Johnson's Pumpkins with 

our granddaughter Cassie this time. She wanted 

pumpkins to decorate her home, and being another 

photographer in the family, I knew she'd capture 

some colorful shots at the farm.

Doug and Freda farm a lot of land in this lovely area 

of North Carolina. 

This is their family farm which goes back several 

generations. They told me this time, now that we know 

each other better, that they were high school sweethearts 

and have been married fifty years. They gave me the OK to 

publish their photo here online - and you have to admit 

they are a very special couple.

I believe the pumpkins are Freda's babies! She planted 

six acres of pumpkin seeds back in the Spring.

After a lot of damaging rain early on, the sun and heat 

of Summer arrived and the pumpkins did well.

She also helped harvest them, and then displayed them 

beautifully in their yard, ready for sale, by the side of 

the country road.

How could anyone resist pulling into the farmyard, 

grabbing a wheel barrow, and loading up with 

such awesome pumpkins, gourds, squash etc.

Cameron, Freda and Doug's lovely granddaughter, with 

Lucky the cat. 

We loaded up the trunk with colorful beauties - mostly 

Cassie's, but I admit to buying a few more too!

There's just something very special about a pumpkin patch.

I think it brings out the child in us.

Surrounded by almost comical shapes and raucous 

colors, the pumpkins seem quite magical.

But, perhaps even more special, is a pumpkin patch 

where the delightful family who grew the pumpkins

are there to tell their story, with laughs, jokes, and 

great pumpkin and squash recipe tips.

Try to visit a pumpkin patch this Fall - you'll have 

a wonderful time.