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Danny was spending quality time with Jacob. They were going to the pumpkin patch at Aloun Farms to pick some pumpkins for carving, decorating the house for Halloween and for making pumpkin pie (Steve’s favorite).
After the forty minute drive to the pumpkin patch, Danny set about explaining to his son the proper way to pick out a pumpkin. When they entered the farm, they were given colored and numbered stickers to identify the pumpkins they’d like to buy.
Hand in hand, they walked toward the area where all of the pumpkins were and Danny started the lesson.
"First we have to decide the shape," Danny said. "Do we want tall and skinny," Danny pointed at some pumpkins that were indeed tall and rather narrow. They wouldn't be good for carving up, but they'd probably be okay for cutting up for the pie. "Or, do we want fat and round?” Danny pointed to some larger pumpkins that would be great for carving.
Danny could see that Jacob was anxiously going for the fat and round pumpkins and stopped him. “There’s more we have to look for, son,” Danny said as he led Jacob around the patch to look at more pumpkins. “If we get a big one, we have to make sure it’s smooth for when we draw on it before cutting into it. If not, the picture won’t be that great.”
Jacob looked at the pumpkins he stood in front of then looked at Danny. “These aren’t good. They have a lot of cuts and are rough.” he rubbed his hand over the biggest one in front of him.
Danny nodded his head in agreement. “That’s right. The jack o’ lantern won’t come out that great on that one.”
“What else do we have to look for Danno?” Jacob asked.
Danny went on to explain how they needed to check to make sure it sat up right, that it didn’t tip over to the side when left alone. The pumpkin also needed to have hard brown stem and sound hollow when you thump on it.
The pair spent a long time looking for just the right pumpkins for carving, then sweeter pumpkins that would be used for the pie. While Jacob walked around looking and thumping pumpkins, Danny pulled out his phone and snapped some pictures.
In total, they found twelve pumpkins of varying sizes. Many would be used for decorations, or practice carving, but three of the largest ones would be the final carving pumpkins. With their pumpkins paid for, Danny, Jacob and a couple of pumpkin patch workers loaded them into the back of the Camaro.
“I had a lot of fun, Danno!” Jacob said from the back seat of the Camaro.
“I did too, Buddy,” Danny said as he looked at his son in the rear view mirror. “We’ll have even more fun carving funny or scary faces into them later this month.”