A Day At The Pumpkin Patch

Today, we traveled to the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas to enjoy a day at the pumpkin patch! The twins also took part in their first hayride. A photo montage is featured above in the "Day At the Pumpkin Patch" slide-show featuring some of the highlights of the day.

And, just for kicks, a few miscellaneous pumpkin facts we learned today to help you also get in the Fall spirit.....

* Pumpkins are not vegetables ... they're fruits.

* Pumpkins, gourds, and other varieties of squash are all members of the family Cucurbitacae, which also includes cucumbers, gherkins, and melons.

* Pumpkins have been grown in America for over 5,000 years. They are indigenous to the western hemisphere and were completely unknown in Europe before the time of Columbus.

* In 1584, the French explorer Jacques Cartier reported from the St. Lawrence region that he had found "gros melons," which was translated into English as "ponpions," or pumpkins.

* There was probably some kind of pumpkin served at the first Thanksgiving Feast. Pumpkins and other forms of squash made up one leg of the triad -- maize, beans, and squash -- that once formed the basic diet of American Indians.