LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Pumpkins Are Back

My husband came in to make the announcement.  "The pumpkin people are back."  I had lamented the fact that the place where the pumpkins stood every year had been purchased and was an unsightly detail shop.  The people who had previously owned the space have opened up a little coffee shop near us.  And they continued the annual practice of having the pumpkin people wave as people traveled US 276 through the mountains.

They are a bit different this year.  Always a male and female before, it seems to be two guys this year.  Well, either that or she has quite a growth of "lip hair."  Before I could get a picture, we had heavy wind and a few of the pumkins shifted on their legs.  But no matter, I am happy to see them once again smiling and waving.


Hello everyone!





They don't seem to mind at all that they have lost the gorgeous mountain view.  Perhaps that's because it was behind them and they never got to see it anyway.



It's mid-week again so quickly.  Sometimes we feel as if we are simply passing time, or watching time pass us.  This sign expresses it well.


As Lewis Carroll said, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there."

For many years I hated that phrase because it was invariably used in those annual Strategic Planning sessions I had to endure.  It seems one cannot go through that tedious process without hearing it at least once, and usually more often than once.  Since retirement, I've come to like the phrase once again.  So often we get in the car without a particular destination.  Simply driving through the beautiful countryside is destination enough.  When we do that, almost any road will take us there.

To wax philosophical, life is not about getting there.  Life is about enjoying where you are.  As some wise person observed (this is from one of my favorite tee shirts), THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION.

BTW:  Whoever said the Pine Siskins would not be irruptive in our area got it all wrong.  They came in such huge numbers and were throwing birdseed all over the place and totally disrupting our other birds.  So we brought in all the feeders except for the suet.  Too bad for the cardinals and the finches, but we still have our chickadees, nuthatches, wrens, titmice and woodpeckers.  We'll put the feeders back out this weekend.  One or two Pine Siskins are cute.  Dozens of them are not.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love those pumpkin people. Wonderfully done. Very interesting to learn that that quote is from Lewis Carroll. George Harrison has a song called "Any Road" that has those lines as its refrain.

Folkways Note Book said...

Yeah -- the pumpkin people are back! -- barbara

Nance said...

Politics has yanked me from my Be Here Now bliss for months, and my resentment is toxic. Must. Beat. My. Way. Back!

Thanks for the signpost!

Rudee said...

I love the pumpkin people.

Maybe you should make a trail of bird seed for you bird pests. Point them in a one directional path out of there. While doing so, murmur gently that it's all about the journey.

Valerie Cummings said...

HI sorry we havent been around much! But I used ne of your saying on my blog hope you dont mind!!!! We love your Fridays!!!! HUgs JOey and Kealani

Taradharma said...

2 pumpkin dudes for sure. Their creators must be pushing some homosexual agenda!

Love the sign post...and gawd I hated those strategic planning sessions: full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Everybody with their fake smiles company espirit de corp ... then back to business as usual.

How I adore retirement. If I have to work again, let me pump gas or stock shelves.

Kerri Farley said...

Oh how neat to see the pumpkin people!! No pine siskins here yet that I've seen ... but i'll be on the lookout!

How Sam Sees It said...

I'm not sure what a Pine Siskin is, I will have to look that up. Those pumpkin people seem very cheerful, indeed!

Sam

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Oh My Gosh---hope the Pine Siskins don't find us this year... Two years ago--I had 100 or more of them at a time... Last year, NONE.... I haven't seen any this year so far --and hope that I do NOT.... As you told me about the snow, I'll keep the snow --and you can keep the Pine Siskins.... Yipes!!!!!

Love the Pumpkin People... Glad they are back...

I have always thought that the journey itself is what is fun... That is why --in retirement--we amble along stopping all along the way... AND--when we can, we stay OFF of the interstates.

Hugs,
Betsy

Vicki Lane said...

So glad the cheerful pumpkin folks are back.

My mother-in-law always called the siskins 'damn suskins' and blew an air horn at them to chase them from her feeder.

Karin said...

Did you have a photo of these last year already? Wow, where has the year gone! They look fun and funky!

George said...

It's wonderful to hear that the pumpkin people are back. I think they look great.
We're hoping that the pine siskins stay on your side of the mountains.

Golden Samantha said...

Love those waving pumpkin people - they really are amazing! Sorry you got so many Pine Siskins - I've never heard of them before and had to look them up! And yes... the journey is definitely what it's all about! We've been on a break, but saw your quote on Joey and Kealani's blog - it's a winner!
Hugs xoxo
Sammie and Avalon's Mom

Jayne said...

Glad to see your pumpkin people back Carolyn. Man, I hope those Siskins stay away from Chickadee. Those little jewels brought me Salmonella two years ago. I had flocks of hundreds. It was not a pretty sight.

SouthernSass said...

The pumpkin people are great!

Busy Bee Suz said...

Love those pumpkin people. Looks as though they are pointing us in a direction of many paths.
I agree...the journey is the best part.
Have a great day!

Unknown said...

I find the Pumpkin People a little creepy, but maybe that's just from reading too many Stephen King books. Have you ever wondered, though, what they do in the middle of the night? Thanks for sharing ... I think. ;>)

KB said...

Now I know where our Pine Siskins went! We have dozens and dozens for many random months of the year but none now!

I love the pumpkin people!

Finally, I couldn't agree more about the journey. My hobby - riding my bike in the woods - emphasizes that more than anything. It's about being there and enjoying it rather than getting anyplace.