This is it.

For most people I know, fall is their favorite time of year.  And it looks like from your comments, most of our readers agree.  And although I love many things about Fall (mostly my Broncos), I love summer.  And it's really hard for me to say goodbye.  But I have one remaining item from this summer.  This is it:

A pumpkin.  One pumpkin.  There is a story that goes with this.  I think it is pretty funny so I will give you a short version of it.  

Back in the beginning of May, my husband and I were in Lowe's. That could be a story in itself because my husband doesn't go to Lowe's.  He doesn't go to any stores.  Ever.  Unless he is with me and I absolutely need something.  I can't remember what I needed that day, but my husband immediately found something that he fell in love with.  The garden seed display.  

He had big ideas.  Really big.  He chose about 26 different seed packets.  It included everything from sweet corn to cucumbers, radishes, green beans, lettuce, peas, watermelon, carrots, peppers and pumpkins.  And we had to have different varieties of each of these.  He was so excited about this gigantic garden we were going to have that I didn't even mention that I really didn't have time for another job. Which I knew I just got.  

Before I go any further with this story, an important part is to know that he is a farmer.  A farmer with a capital F.  Not just "I have a few acres" kind of farmer.  A huge farmer.  That is what he does for a living, and he has been doing it since he was about 4.  A backyard garden should be easy, right?

Wrong.  Everything that could go wrong with this garden did.  A few highlights:

• We have about 3000 bunnies.  That might be an exagerration, but not by much.  We knew this going in.  That is why we put up a bunny-proof fence.  Well the bunny fence was about as effective as air.  They ate everything just as it was coming up.  Didn't get a carrot, radish, pea or green bean all summer.  They got them all.
• The bunnies didn't seem to like the pumpkins, so we had hope.  Until a wind storm in early June wiped out all the pumpkins.  We then had to replant.  And again they got a very good meal.
• The most important part of the garden was the sweet corn.  My little boy loves sweet corn and that is the only crop he cared about.  The day we planted, I counted 216 corn seeds we put in the ground.  5 came up.  We couldn't figure out what happened, but some kind of animal kept eating the seeds.  Every morning, we could see little holes in the ground where they snatched them out.
• So at least we had 5 corn plants.  When we saw that the few ears were getting ready to pick, my little boy and I decided we would do it the next morning when my husband was there.  Well, our freindly raccoons decided the corn was ready, too.  By the next morning they had them all.  Except for one little ear left on a stalk.  My little boy grabbed it, cleaned it a little and ate it right there.  He didn't even want to cook it.  I think he was afraid a raccoon would come back and snatch it out of his hand.

A lot of other things happened, but those were the biggies.  So we are left with this one pumpkin.  The prize of the summer.  And I am thankful we have it.  My little boy thinks the garden was a huge success because of this one pumpkin.  

So my plan next year- keep my husband out of Lowe's.  Just kidding.  He will have big ideas again.  And we will try it again.  Goodbye summer.  Can't wait to see you again.

As for our contest last week, we have a winner:

Mary Ann who wrote:

EVERYTHING !!! I LOVE EVERYTHING about Fall !!!!! The colors, the weather, sweaters, wool plaid skirts, knee socks , the food !!! NO HUMIDITY !!! .... and I LOVE every single thing you gals come up with !

Congratulations, Mary Ann.  Just e-mail us and we will get the scraps to you.  

Hope you had a great weekend.  I did.  The Broncos won and everything is right in my world once again! 

Comments

[BLT]

I have emailed your blog address to all my Master Gardener friends and eaters of garden fresh produce concerning the "Lonely Pumpkin and Ear of Corn " story.[Some are quilters, too.]

We have had a drought here w/ no sign of recovery in the near future. Our friend's water well is depleted; he is trying to feed his remaining 40 head of cattle. He has sold off the rest of his herd. My DH did not have a garden except for a few tomatoes and peppers even though he has been watering the garden and yard. He tilled up the garden except for the pepper plants which have sorta come back to life in 80 degree temps. But of course, the weather people are predicting freezing temps in Northern Oklahoma this weekend. We will cover them w/ tarps and hope for the best. :-)

[Cindy]

I am sooo sorry but I laughed sooo hard reading your story!! But really- that is a Bummer to lose everything, except the pumpkin of course and the little ear of corn your son got to enjoy- he probably did think a raccoon would come back for it!:) You sound like a great wife (to allow your husband to do this) and a great Mom!!:) I sure hope you have better luck next year!

[Jeanne]

PS- The soap is supposed to keep deer out too. I don't know about raccoons though.

[Jeanne]

We kept the bunnies out of our garden by putting boxes of Irish Spring soap around the outside edge of the garden. Any soap works-you're just supposed to use the strongest smelling one you can find. I could smell the Irish Spring before I got near the shelves so bought that one. In my smaller planter boxes we only needed one box of soap.

[SuzK]

My son lives in a city in a 3rd floor apartment with a large deck (no stairs going up to the deck - only accessible from the apartment). He tried his hand at container gardening last year and an old racoon managed to get up to the deck and eat everything. This year squirrels harvest his entire crop as quick and it grew! Next year (yup, he's going to try again-it's that old Yankee attitude) he's planning on getting wolf urine to spray on the porch. I'll be curious to see what happens!

[lou]

You gotta love gardening in Colorado! We are just now getting tomatoes, and raspberries and pumpkins are the big winners here in Parker this year. We have both in record numbers.

[Linda]

Bunnies were thick this year. This was the first time they had ever eaten anything in my garden and they kept the lettuce chewed down! We have a hard time with corn at our house as the coons and the coyotes both love it. The coyotes howl when it is supper time, they howl when there bellies are full then they howl when it is dessert time. Thank goodness, they haven't found my son's corn field, thus we get all the corn we want!

[Helen LeBrett]

So sad (but funny too, the way you told it!) about your garden. I'm not too good of a gardner, and this year something took over the tomatoes and all the leaves are yellow now, except the heirloom tomato! And our pumpkin came up volunteer from the one that rotted and got thrown out last year :-P
Better luck next year: we can always hope, can't we!!

[Margaret]

Wow! And I thought I had problems with deer! That must have been heartbreaking.

[audrey]

Funny story! I live in the Colorado mtns. and I have deer! I have a similar story, they ate everything, except ONE cabbage. I harvested my one lonely cabbage last week.

[Karen]

Oh no, such a bummer. I grew up on a farm and we always had an electric fence around our garden.

[Pam]

A pretty pumpkin. One is better than none.
Thanks for the amusing update!

[Katy]

ROFL! Sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but that totally perked up my Monday :oD

[Linda L]

We are going to garden next year in our new house. Haven't done that for many years. Hope we have better luck. At least you have well-fed, happy bunnies! Congrats on the pumpkin, must be a real tuffy.

[Marcia Timmerman]

Hilarious garden story --- and we CAN relate!! While we've gotten the bunny population under control, the momma deer introduced their babies to our garden this year.......how can you get mad at a fawn?

[Gertie Pye]

Ha ha your pumpkin story is so funny! Dang those varmints!

[Seaweed & Raine]

So will we see a rabbit & raccoon proof enclosure in the foreseeable future? Bravo to that one pumpkin!

[Nicola Dodd]

Well done for getting the seeds in the ground in the first place. And it's a lovely pumpkin! x