Where Have All The Big Ones Gone

Pumpkins are native to America and can be grown just about anywhere. Most of the pumpkins you see in your local market come from farms in the surrounding area. There seems to be an urban Pumpkin Patch at every church and non profit organization but there is trouble brewing in the pumpkin patch. The weather this year in North America was very unusual. Some areas saw very little rain, some saw way too much rain and the temperature in a lot of the country was not normal. These conditions caused this years crop of pumpkins to be lacking their bright orange color and the extra large pumpkins were no where in sight.
I am not a pumpkin lover and I am not afraid to admit it. I can never get excited about the orange gourds until I watch "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown"
Even then I don't rush out looking for that perfect pumpkin to carve into a Jack-O-Lantern just so I can set it on my front porch. Since when did carving a Halloween pumpkin become a competitive sport? Competitive carvers are first in line for the biggest pumpkin on the lot but this year they will be disappointed because there are no large pumpkins. The real Halloween lovers are the kids and they do not care what size their pumpkins are, they just want to carve a couple of eyes and a few teeth.
This years pumpkin carving contest at the Carver Museum in Austin Texas drew only a few kids. The carvers seemed to be as far and between as the large pumpkins.
If you are buying a pumpkin this year, what kind of pumpkin will you buy? A quality pumpkin of course and the pumpkin seller knows that! So if you want a dark orange one and a very large one, you better stop at the bank to take out a pumpkin loan before you head for the Pumpkin Patch. It may not be long before the government steps in to regulate pumpkins just like they regulate everything else. Only pumpkins a certain size an certain shape and just the right shade of orange will qualify as a Grade A pumpkin. They will probably even limit the number of pumpkins that can be planted and sold each year. All this will only make the price for the large pumpkins go even higher causing a revolt among competitive carvers and maybe even a great pumpkin war.