Puzzling Pumpkins

Thursday, October 28, 2021 (November’s full moon [“Beaver”] will rise on the 19th.)

I’m still obsessing about pumpkin-cutting, one of the toughest knife chores. Not from wanting to create a jack-o-lantern but from wishing to feed pumpkin to my resident goats, chickens, and horses.

Recently, I learned that those animals love to eat pumpkins. The person telling me said her family drives into their pasture with a cargo of smashed pumpkins. They drop all onto the ground, and their goats and cattle devour everything.

Encouraged, I brought home a small pumpkin and attempted to cut into it. In a nanosecond, I understood that cutting into a pumpkin can result in finger losses. I began handling the cutting very carefully and diligently. The hard work demanded time, patience, and intent attention to finger-safety. Finally, I did haul out pieces out for my animals, and they devoured every bit of flesh, seeds, and skin.

My neighbor and friend, Susie, with whom already I’m “into globes” (we chase and photograph the monthly fullest-moons), has some decorative pumpkins that, after Halloween, she’ll contribute to my animals. We discuss ways to prepare raw pumpkin treats, from cutting the globes with a chain saw, to climbing onto the barn roof and hurling, to smash them onto the ground.

Her latest idea is a folding handsaw. She has one that I may borrow.

Meanwhile, I’m checking pumpkin-cutting methods on YouTube University. The cutting demos are performed by hand, and include warnings about finger safety and cautions to use very sharp knives.

Dear Friends: This will be pursued, for a cutting method accomplished more-easily. Diana