It is good to live in a fertile valley where one can gather wild blackberries from the briar, forage for chestnuts, fill baskets of apples from the orchard, chop down your own Christmas conifer, and pick the perfect Halloween pumpkin straight from the patch.

At a providentially-timed break in rain showers, the Muddy Boot Brigade descended on a local farm in search of squatty squash that even Linus Van Pelt would envy.

Next up, carving jack-o-lanterns & roasting seeds!