Friday, November 02, 2012

The Scariest Jack o' Lantern


Back in September Olivia brought me a pumpkin to carve for Halloween, and I promptly set it on my front porch and forgot about it. It was way too early to start carving pumpkins after all.

The girls (Cecilia and Raina) pointed out to me that the squirrels had been nibbling on it, and sometimes they'd ask me why I was letting the squirrels eat my Jack o' Lantern. "Because I'm lazy," was usually my response.

Then a few weeks ago I went to Seattle for the weekend, and when I returned I saw that the squirrels had inflicted heavy casualties on the pumpkin, opening several mortal wounds and completely eviscerating the innards. Being the savvy homeowner that I am, I realized it was better to join the squirrels, having previously acknowledged that I could not beat them.

So what you're looking at is an entirely untouched pumpkin (well, untouched by human hands, that is), into which I've simply placed a candle. I've been told by several trick-or-treaters that this was the single most terrifying thing they saw all night, and that it's scared them away from a life of petty pranks and misdemeanor crime.

I can't wait to see what the squirrels carve next year. Happy Halloween, everyone!

5 comments:

Mom said...

Let's hear it for the squirrels! I think they would have won the "scariest jack-o-lantern contest," had they entered. Looks like they both "tricked" and "treated!"

Lisa said...

Squirrels have been particularly devious this Halloween! Copy and paste this:
https://twitter.com/RibbonsofRed/status/263399164338118657

Ben said...

Wow, Lisa! That's pretty great. Reminds me of this YouTube video: http://youtu.be/xKExXjFAQz4

And, Mom, I made sure the squirrels ate lots of veggies before they got any candy. Actually, they didn't get any candy. So I've probably got some squirrel pranks in my future.

Steve Barnhart said...

Those squirrels aren't as scary as the one that tried to chew its way into the power transformer out at the road many years ago. Though I'll give them a higher mark for brains, if they were doing it themselves. Personally, I think they were working for the crows. Most domestic wildlife does these days. The crows will do anything to scare kids into dropping candy.

Mike said...

Remind me not to lay around on your front porch or in your yard. I don't want to look like that pumpkin.