Last summer we chose a spot in the corner of the yard between two trees to be our compost pile ("area" might be a better term). We dumped kitchen scraps, yard trimmings, some grass clippings and leaves into it over the course of the year and turned it occasionally. At some point we must have dumped the "guts" of a pumpkin we carved or cooked because we got a surprise this Spring when a vigorous pumpkin vine started growing there and eventually set six pumpkins! We had to move our composting operations elsewhere, but loved watching our little pumpkins grow. I don't really have a lot of culinary or decorative uses for pumpkins at this point in the summer, but by the middle of August, most were completely orange, so we have harvested three and will get the others in the next week or two. They should store well for a couple of months in our basement. Dwayne's mom gave me the idea of etching the boys' names in them when the skins were still soft and green, so maybe you can see Stuart showing off his "STUART" pumpkin in the picture.


Stuart also has a tomato plant that has been ultra-productive this summer. On the day this picture was taken, we picked 82 of the little pear-shaped yellow tomatoes from his plant. It must know how much he loves it, so is happy to produce a bountiful supply of fresh snacking material each day for its little gardener.

Just because the pumpkins are in the picture, I'll include this one with this post. Simon has heard me and Dwayne talk about playing "Settlers of Catan" on occasion and convinced me to teach him the basics. He can keep track of the rules pretty well, Stuart is another story, and Daniel is the Destroyer of Catan, so basically it just boils down to a good exercise in patience for me. It is fun to have Simon learning to play games that are actually interesting to us, though.