So OK, the pumpkins in the garage had to be....re-arranged. Due to several weeks of temperatures hovering around zero, some of the pumpkins in the garage had gotten frozen and now were unfrozen and soft. Some of them were even leaking onto the garage floor. I promised my mountain boy husband that I would take care of the over ripe squash while he was out of town. So today I hauled the orbs out of the garage and every so gently pushed them off the sled into the field next to the snow covered garden. There was a small pile of pumpkins and it took me 157 sled loads before I got the garage cleaned out. OK, maybe just 6 loads but it felt like 157.

And of course I had help.

Lots of help.

Now they are all gone but this one:

This one had to stay. His shell is still firm. His skin is still orange. His handle stays in place when yanked upon. So he stays....for now. I just can't bear to put him out there in the field like so many rotten fruit.

Most would think upon this as a failed experiment in food storage. But not me. We only lost about 1/8th of the pumpkins I bought post Halloween. That means the chickens have eaten A LOT. And the soft ones were not thrown away but put out in the field. I'm hoping these garage babies will go-forth-and-multiple of their own accord and we will have a ready made pumpkin patch this summer! Maybe we won't have to even plant pumpkins seeds. Though we lost a few squash, hopefully we will have a great pumpkin patch to show for the sacrifice.

Look this one was so "broken up" about the change in scenery that she's "spilling her guts" to the other pumpkins. I'm sure as soon as she gets used to her new snow field, she'll "seed" her life in a new light.