Pumpkins

People think I'm crazy because this is my favorite time of the year.  As much as I love the whole Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's triad, I sincerely despise cold weather.  (I can't be the only one-- we may celebrate Christmas in winter, but you'll notice that according to history, God Himself chose to become human flesh in the Spring.  I think this affords some vindication for my dislike of the cold.)  I'm a summer baby by birth, and a Southern summer baby, to boot!  Whenever I hear someone say something like, "I wish I lived in a place where it was 70 degrees, year 'round," I think, "Why on earth would you want to be that cold, all year long?!"  I mean, come on-- you need at LEAST 80 degrees for things like enjoying the beach, pool, or whatever other body of water you frequent during the warmer months.
But today we planted pumpkins-- they have to be started in July in order to be ready by October.  And a little, small, tiny part of me is now anxious and ready for Fall.

If all goes well, in a week or so, there will be seedlings in this pot, and those seedlings (again, if all goes well) will soon become vines loaded with pumpkins!