The Great Pumpkin Mystery

Over the weekend the boys and I went apple picking, and after getting their fill of the orchard, the boys were determined to find the perfect pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. I agreed that they could choose a pumpkin, but just one. After searching around for a few minutes, O settled on this one.

I was surprised when C immediately agreed that this was just the right pumpkin, as I had been expecting some bickering over this decision. But it was indeed a great choice, with a good shape, intact stem, and no major dents or soft spots. When we got home the boys proudly displayed their find on the front steps. The plan was to keep it intact until the week before Halloween, when we would finally carve it into a Jack-o-lantern.

So it was very disappointing when we went outside yesterday and discovered this...

We immediately began hypothesizing about what might have happened to our pumpkin. Had it somehow rolled off the step and been damaged? Or, more likely, was this the work of the annoying groundhog that roams brazenly through our yard, and has previously been the prime suspect in the disappearance of our tomatoes?

While I think the groundhog was indeed the culprit, I truly fell in love with O's suggestion.

"Maybe while we were sleeping, a star came down and poked our pumpkin. And then said 'Oopsie!'"