Another TLT inspired by the picture prompt chosen by Sonya at Only 100 words.
Week 39’s image by Shaun Holloway is very appropriate for this, the scream season.
The scooped out pumpkin innards were piled high; now began the tedious job of separating seed from pulp.
“Damn,” Calyx swore as the slippery seeds escaped her fingers, skittering across the kitchen floor, or the pulp stuck like glue.
Eventually, the familiar rhyme and rhythm set in: “seeds for roasting; pulp for composting” – pumpkin season had begun.
© my frilly freudian slip
October 30, 2016 at 4:57 am
What a cool name Calyx is!
LikeLike
October 28, 2016 at 4:18 am
I quite enjoy a repetitive little job like this, like when I stone cherries from our tree each year. You end up with brown hands from the juice, but that’s kind of satisfying too – a badge of honour for the work done. Lovely, warm tale. Quite fancy a pumpkin seed now :)
LikeLike
October 28, 2016 at 7:52 am
Thanks, Lynn. Like shelling peas, or making relish, there is something in the tactile nature of such jobs, tedious as they can seem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 28, 2016 at 7:57 am
Very true :)
LikeLike
October 27, 2016 at 2:36 pm
Lovely story. I associate good memories with this, carving pumpkins with my Dad and separating the seeds for roasting.
Great take.
LikeLike
October 27, 2016 at 8:58 pm
Glad my story reminded you of good memories! I haven’t battled the seeds and pulp for a few years now, but that picture certainly brought back the slippery, sticky, fun feeling.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 28, 2016 at 2:04 pm
It’s a good memory. But I hate the picture, it grosses me out lol.
LikeLike
October 29, 2016 at 1:12 am
The picture is pretty gross, lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 27, 2016 at 4:00 am
That’s what’ll be happening at my house this weekend….except the dogs get the ones that make it to the floor and some of every pumpkin are set aside to plant in our own garden next year! Happy to see you back again joining us for 3 Line Tales :-)
LikeLike
October 27, 2016 at 4:51 am
The image brought back memories — some to wash and air-dry for the birds, too.
Love to be at your house this weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 27, 2016 at 6:41 pm
Great idea!! They get enough of my garden seeds when I plant carrots, beets, and flowers — not to mention sunflower seeds! I’m a little stingy with my pumpkins ;-)
LikeLike
October 27, 2016 at 9:02 pm
Good luck! We’ve tried various methods over the years to keep the birds from eating too many of the seeds or tiny shoots.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 28, 2016 at 1:14 am
I usually spread dried lavender stems over the freshly planted seeds the last few seasons which seems to have helped immensely! Good luck :-)
LikeLike
October 28, 2016 at 7:54 am
Thanks for the tip — there is lots of lavender this year. Another deter for some “critters” is fresh basil leaves, or planting basil in with like planting marigolds in with veggies to help with bugs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 31, 2016 at 2:09 am
I do the same! ;-) Love my gardening!
LikeLike
October 31, 2016 at 10:09 am
I miss my days on the farm with a real garden space. Corn, potatoes, pumpkins, peas, squash, tomatoes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 2, 2016 at 6:10 pm
I know what you mean, but even in my small garden, I grow herbs, flowers, vegetables, and the like. It’s lovely!
LikeLike
November 2, 2016 at 8:11 pm
We rent, and the landlady lives in the same space, so we are very limited to land — I’ve planted tiny saplings 3 times, tied string to indicate not weeds, put tiny fence around, and she or the landscaping crew have pulled them up each time. These were trees to transplant to public spaces as part of my guerilla gardening. She puts all sorts of garden statuary where we might put in a row of peas, so we are reduced to using very small containers. That’s what I meant. The house before we downsized had limited garden space but I could grow what I wanted without interference. Sorry if this is a rant, but the landscaping crew was here today messing things up as usual. At least it will be nice tomorrow so I can set thing straight. I keep telling her I will do the same thing for a lot less, but her idiot boyfriend has her brain washed. sigh.
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 3, 2016 at 3:17 pm
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear it! We’ve totally had these issues as renters. Even in the home we own now, both neighbors on either side of us have a different idea of what a yard/garden should look like. Our front yard is a wildlife buffer zone. It draws in deer and we often hear a coyote or two, but we live in the Pacific Northwest USA with mountains and wildlife not far from suburbia ;-) Here’s to container gardening, windowsill gardening, and gardening dreams galore! I’m preparing for a quarterly event with other local gardeners called a Green Elephant. We exchange or give green/plant items for other green/plant items {or cookies are a popular second!}. I blogged about it here: https://bikurgurl.com/2016/03/09/gardening-with-a-green-elephant/ — Happy Gardening in your corner of the world :-)
LikeLike