Here at the bottom of the world, you get used to being half a year out of sync with the majority and most of the time it doesn’t even matter. Our May Day is a little more dismal than that on the other side but we win January/February hands down; you say Spring Equinox, we say Autumnal…you get the idea. Having experienced two “proper” Christmases in our lifetime, we can definitely see the benefit when it comes to lighting displays and stowing figgy pudding – and making sense of those Christmas card scenes – but we also like our the long, temperate Yuletide holidays falling so wonderfully at the end of the calendar year (it just makes sense) during which the world pretty much stops for six or so weeks because everyone’s “at the beach”. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
But one calendar milestone has been irking Farm Girl…Halloween. No, she has no desire to do the whole dress-up-trick-or-treat thing. As a concept it doesn’t really work with our way of living and if there’s any treats lurking in the Homestead pantry, we want to know what’s wrong with them. No, it’s the whole pumpkin carving thing that annoys her. Carving up a pumpkin in October in New Zealand is just not going to happen in this house. Seasonal eating? I don’t think so.
So, when a monster kamo kamo was spotted peeking out of the tangle of a front garden it was decided that Halloween would come early – or late – to the Homestead.
First plans were drawn up
Then the scooping and sculpting began
Currently our meal times are presided over by a slowly crumbling Jack o Lantern peering through the window at us
Because sometimes that six month difference really does matter.
Union Homestead 
For the longest time I had no idea that pumpkins were edible – I thought they were grown solely for the purpose of being carved into jack-o-lanterns. I was probably an adult when I clued in. And then there’s the time I made a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner, and my grandfather remarked that it was tasty but quite different from any other pumpkin pie he’d ever had – the next day talking to the neighbour who’d given me the pumpkin I made the pie from, it transpired that it wasn’t a pumpkin at all – it was a squash that looked like a pumpkin. Who knew? So I figure if I can make a squash pie for dessert there’s no reason anyone can’t carve any squash they like, whenever they want. And your kamo kamo carved lantern looks fantastic!
I think a dessert pie made from squash is inspired. Hectors, our local cafe, made pumpkin pie the other day and I felt it only right to sample it…my first ever. Not bad but still can’t lose the idea that pumpkin means soup or roast.
The kamo kamo did her proud 🙂
What a splendid idea and so well executed too.
The planning was very exact 🙂
I’m not a fan of playing with your food, but I feel that I can make an exception here! Good work Farm girl… and you celebrate whatever you like whenever you like – that’s how the world should work.
The whole using food for decoration is a bug bear of mine too but that kamo kamo was fit for only the chickens (they loved the scoopings). How it had evaded our eagle eyes is beyond me…one minute nothing, the next it was leering at bus stop patrons through the fence 🙂
I can guarantee that whenever I grow squashes, there’s always one that remains invisible! At least this one was put to good use in the end.
They’re wily vegetables 😊
Excellent planning and execution.
I have never carved a pumpkin! In fact, until about 15 years ago I had never seen a pumpkin lantern either. Strange but true! It probably has something to do with climate change, our longer, slightly warmer summers and the availability of home-grown pumpkins. FG has done an amazing job – well done!
Easter, with its spring time symbols – eggs, bunnies, easter bonnets – what’s it doing being celebrated in Autumn? Easter is a strange mixture of observance of one of the most significant events on the Christian calendar with a good dollop of pagan spring joy thrown in for good measure.