Spring Pumpkins

I love watching the life of my pumpkins. I love discovering the flower on the vine in late summer and then waiting to see if it will turn into a small pod. I get excited watching it get bigger and rounder each day. And once its size has been determined it slowly begins to change colors and I love the day that one of the kids asks if they can pick it and they celebrate finally being able to hold it in their hands. I love that moment when I decide, after watching and waiting that I will pick one. We worship our little pumpkins through the harvest when we put them up on the wall to be admired by all who pass by. They make me smile seeing their round bellies all lined up in a row keeping watch over us working and playing outside.
And then when the cold comes the less frequent visits are surprising ones because of their diminishing color and warping bodies. And when the snow falls they are buried until...today. He's so beautiful isn't he?

This year I only managed to save one and I photographed him a few times. Compare these with the 2009 pumpkins here.
They shell is thin, dry, and dotted with mold and fuzzy growths. The hole appeared this week and seems to be his way of trying to tell us something.

The view from the back looks as though he has turned and is leaning his back so as to face the sun.