Blogger: Where Have All the Punkins Gone? Look West

Our beloved farm stands are beginning to close for the season. The landscape is the poorer for that. For all the complaints about, we miss the sight of hay bales, the riotous colored shelves of mums, all those fresh late fall root veggies, and yes, the gourds and pumpkins to grace our holiday tables. It begs the logical question: where does it all go, that bounty from our fields and farms?

A recent visit to The City (is there any other like it?) in a grim, driving rain was an eye-opener. There along the glistening sidewalks was an enduring tribute to our North Fork lifestyle. Corn shocks stood tall against trees and lampposts. Pumpkins, now past their prime, graced tiny wrought-iron enclosed urban gardens. As we picked our way along the rain-slick streets, night was fast upon us. My husband, a professional photographer, saw the shot first. Generously, he held the umbrella as I broke out my camera. Neon bulbs came on in a blaze of red and yellow. And so we said a last goodbye to our North Fork gardens in the rain — transported an Island away — but beautiful all the same.