Pumpkin Etching…

A few days ago I was able to take a pumpkin etching class. The class itself was lovely and delightful. The methods are actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it, and the result is so beautiful. More than a few of us commented on how meditative it was. This method does not harm the pumpkin in the way that carving does, because the etching makes the pumpkin ‘scar’ over the etching. You can see what a finished product looks like in some of the pictures, particularly on the white heirloom pumpkins.

The real star of the show, though, was the urban farm the class was located in. It absolutely blows your mind. These are neighbors to my mother, and from the front, it looks like every other nineteen eighties era ranch. You assume it’s got a decent back yard. And then you go around the back, through the side gate, and here is a two huge plots growing all manner of things, plus a chicken coop and large sized green house- it was large enough to fit fifteen people in the center aisle comfortably and could probably have fit ten more. Alas, alack, I completely forgot to take pictures of it…I was rather distracted by the beautiful pumpkins. Aren’t they just darling?