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Well, tonight I found out why you carve pumpkins in October... or November.

Yeah. I know, I know. It's January and I'm carving a pumpkin. I just didn't have time to carve more than one this year. By the time I thought of something non-Halloween to carve, it was just too dry.

The insides were shredding. Badly. It was dried out. Mold had started growing inside (just in the strings of seeds). But, a quick cleaning removed the mold. The shell was still 1/2" thick, so I thought... what the hell... and started carving.

I don't know if it was because we'd been keeping the pumpkins in front of the fireplace or because it was so dry inside the pumpkin-- but the shell was rock hard. I had a difficult time getting my knifes through the shell... and when I got down to the detail work... well... one rough puncture later and the shell had ripped through the middle of my design. =(

SoOoOoo... I guess what I have to say is-- CARVE YOUR PUMPKINS IN OCTOBER!

I actually have one small pumpkin in my driveway--college son had had it in his dorm room, and brought it home with him for Christmas. I've been wanting to roast the seeds, but I have no idea if they are still any good. As you say, the things frequently rot from the inside out.

I would have left it to dry out completely, like people do with gourds to make those oddly shaped bird houses.

http://www.amishgourds.com/

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