Pumpkins!

Every October for well over a decade I took an employee pumpkin decorating contest waaay too seriously. These are some of my submissions.

This lorax has a mustache made of painted weeping willow leaves!

a pumpkin decorated to look like Dr. Suess' Lorax

This frog has legs made of corn cobs and eyes made of "Tennessee Spinning Gourds".

a pumpkin painted to look like a chubby frog prince

The mushroom is made from an upside down "Cinderella" pumpkin, and the gnome and bugs are made from gourds.

a gourd decorated to look like a gnome reads a story to some gourd bugs under a pumpkin decorated to look like a mushroom.

This bunny was inspired by the terrifying rabbits in watership down.

a battleworn one eyed rabbit screaming from the animated film 'Watershipdown'.

Here is a closeup of the doomed veggies.

raddishes, turnips, beets and a cabbage adorned with felt faces and squiggly pipe cleaner arms appear to be screaming in terror.

The flowers are made from painted pine cones and various Ericaceae leaves.

a pumpkin carved and painted to look like a skull, decorated with colorful flowers made from leaves, surrounded by blooming cacti made from squatty pumpkins

Close up!

close up of the pumpkin cacti with their long spines made of toothpics, and leaves being painted to look like colorful flowers

My niece got very attached to the "cherry" and was devastated when it finally rotted.

two pumpkins decorated to look like an ice-cream cone and a cherry, they are both smiling despite clearly having been dropped