Scary Glowing Pumpkin Faces

Yay. Nothing like carving pumpkins and turning them into jack-o-lanterns.


Students from my ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) conversation class managed to stump me. They asked why we call them jack-o-lanterns, and I had to answer, "I don't know." The best answer Wikipedia gives is the origin from the latin phrase ignis fatuus which is sometimes translated "will-o'-wisp, corpse candle, jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, gunderslislik, and wisp, a Folklore depiction of ghostly light sometimes seen at night or twilight over bogs, swamps, and marshes." Meh. That hardly helps. And the History channel will tell you a folk tale, but I think the common thread is that we don't know.

So why are you called jack-o-lanterns, scary glowing pumpkin faces?

Falling for Fall

Even though I'm not too found of fall, because it represents the death of summer, I do appreciate autumn leaves (apple cider, campfires, fall fashion, and pumpkin carving).


There is no better place to experience fall colors than than in south central Pennsylvania. A drive through the mountains reveals stunning natural scenery at every turn. The photo above is from Laurel lake at the base of an amazing hike, Pole Steeple, that looks over the whole valley. So despite the dropping temperatures and shorter days, I still have a soft spot in my heart for fall foliage.

First Day of Fall

The first day of fall was September 22nd, and I completely missed it.

How sad. There were no grand celebrations. No groans about how summer has passed us by. No fall festivities to welcome the new season.


The day came and went with no recognition.

How remiss of me. Well, apple cider, falling leaves, pumpkins, and crisp autumn air: hear my apology and know you will appreciated in due time.

Pumpkins Continued

We also made English muffin pizzas (a few in scary faces) and toasted some delicious pumpkin seeds. And to be honest, pumpkin seeds with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on them weren't half bad.

We couldn't find a pumpkin patch nearby, but at least we got to pick our pumpkins and take them inside. Who said we had to pick them straight from the vine?

Pumpkin Carving

Alright. Some backtraking. A few weeks ago, some friends came over to my house for a pumpkin-carving-good-time. We went to the little farm store, Maplewood, got our pumpkins (in the pouring rain) and went to work. We used the little tools that Emily got, that actually cut better than large sharp knives. It was amazing, really, that little plastic things could function so much better. Here you see our lovely creations. Mine went from scary face to sad French guy with fangs. hmmmmm, yeah. I made the eyes slant the wrong way and the mouth was too mustache-looking. I think I have some pretty talented friends. Theirs all turned out pretty well.