Pumpkins
PUMPKINS IN THE ROSE GARDENBY HALLIE MILLS ON OCTOBER 31, 2014
Photo by Monica Crawford
It’s that time of the year again. The pumpkin spice lattes have come out at Starbucks and the leaves are changing. It’s October, and the search has begun. Whether you are a last minute pumpkin shopper or you started searching a month ago, everyone knows that Halloween means pumpkins. Greenville has many places to go search the aisles for that one pumpkin that catches your eye.
Junior Sam Matney is not just an ordinary pumpkin carver. Matney has spent the past two Octobers trying to improve at his hobby of 3-D pumpkin carving. First, he went to St. Paul’s Pumpkin Patch to buy his pumpkin and then begin practicing on apples. The process of 3-D carving involves using clay carving tools, such as a loop-shaped blade, to carve off the rind of the pumpkin and then begin sculpting. After Matney finished practicing, he sculpted a 3-D face into his pumpkin and preserved it as long as possible using lemon juice. “I’m trying to carve a face into the pumpkin,” Matney said. “It’s not like the traditional jack-o-lantern where you see the candle inside, but more 3-D stuff.” Although most people enjoy carving pumpkins, others enjoy eating them. Freshman Ari Blemur enjoys both. Blemur has been to a pumpkin patch before, but it is not a tradition of his to carve a pumpkin each October. Although he has carved a witch on a pumpkin in the past, Blemur prefers eating a pumpkin to carving it. “I eat pumpkin pie a lot,” Blemur said. “It’s tasty.” Junior Jermichael Williams, like Blemur, thinks that pumpkins are tasty. However, Williams prefers the seeds of the pumpkin rather than making it into a pie. “I baked them,” said Williams. “They’re best when you eat them baked, [but] no spices.” Sophomore Casey Bell passes a pumpkin patch each day on her way home. Her house is located near Briley’s Pumpkin Patch and she and her family go there each year. This year Bell plans to carve either a superhero or a zombie in her pumpkin. Each year she searches for a pumpkin that is not too big or too thick so that it is easy to carve. She and her family all go and search for their perfect pumpkin. “My mom and dad will normally have one and my sister and I each have our own,” Bell said. “We all carve our own thing in them, and I normally look up stencils.” Whether to carve or eat, it is that time of the year to search for the perfect pumpkin at your favorite pumpkin patch. |
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