Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve received a number of pumpkin donations from a few different sources. One of them had been sitting with our scarecrow, Henry, in the front entrance. Another was carved as a jack-o-lantern for enjoyment at Halloween time.
We also received many small pumpkins, which the school children at St. Michael’s and a couple other local catholic schools had decorated. They were really cute setting in our activity room during our Halloween party and in the days that followed.
This past Monday, we cut, baked, peeled, mashed, and strained a few of these, freezing eleven quarts for future use in baking. The rest of the full-sized pumpkins were spared (temporarily, at least) for decorating our chapel around Thanksgiving.
In order to keep them from rotting, we have been keeping the pumpkins cool. For a little while, some sat outside, near the building in back. They have gradually all been making their way to the garage to avoid freezing.
This growing congregation of pumpkins has diverse demographics; it includes three white pumpkins and a square one, along with the more customary orange variety. They will indeed enhance our chapel decor on Thanksgiving Day, although they look a bit odd congregated in their present location.
If only we could get our congregations at Mass, Protestant Services, and resident activities to grow as quickly!