Halloween Traditions

Friday was such a delightful day as we hurried to decorate the kitchen, make soup, and set some bread dough to raising. The grand daughters with their parents were arriving around noon to have lunch and carve pumpkins from our garden.

Pronghorn Antelope fawn

As we hustled about in the kitchen, we watched a group of antelope in the yard eating the grass under the snow and the willow branches that had fallen in the wind storm. No matter that we see antelope every day, it still is a special thrill when they are up close. This bunch was at times twelve feet from us when we peered out the garage door to take pictures.

Our grand daughters have never carved pumpkins and so my husband and I thought it was high time to rectify that. The oldest grand daughter, who's four, took part in every phase from the drawing to the carving. The youngest, who's nine months, dug inside the pumpkins to pull out the stringy pulp and seeds with her chubby little fists. The rest of the time she spent peering inside as her mother scraped with a serving spoon. But the middle grand daughter, who's three, wasn't impressed with the feel of the pumpkin on her hands and soon abandoned the cleaning project for a cute baby doll and blanket.

This made it pretty hard to get pictures of her with her pumpkin until we were done carving. Unfortunately, the only shot was this one and you know what her mother was saying. The same thing every mother repeatedly says to children at this age.

There father was excited about the prospect of making pumpkin pies after they used them for Halloween when I told him of our family tradition. Every year with our young children we carved pumpkins on the day before Halloween and then put them out on the porch on Halloween night with a candle inside. Then as we turned the porch light out after the trick or treaters had gone, we hauled in the pumpkins. The next day we cut them up, cooking them in the oven, and pureed them for pumpkin pie or pumpkin pie bars. I made up the bars by using a favorite bar recipe bottom, cooking it part way in a cake pan, and then poured my pumpkin pie filling mixture over the top. When baked I cut the creation into bars. It freezes well and goes great in lunch boxes adding a warm homey taste of fall.

Have a Happy Halloween!!!

I loved the paintings of Halloween on Everdello.blogspot.com. Check it out, she is a very talented artist.

(My daughter has requested that I not use facial shots of her children in my blogs or I'd show you some real cuties.)