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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2015)
Polk County Living Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 21, 2015 7A PUMPKINS TO JACK-O-LANTERNS LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer Pumpkins of all sizes were available at Rogue Farms’ Pumpkin Patch Party on Saturday. Families chose and decorated their pumpkins to get in the Halloween spirit. JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer Not a masterpiece, but still festive, reporter Jolene Guzman’s tribute to her favorite team was a lesson in learning to plan better before putting a pumpkin under the knife. CARVING PROVES TRICKY LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Amelia and Isaac Williams work on decorating their pumpkins at Rogue Farms’ Pumpkin Patch Party on Saturday morning. Reporter shares tips learned while carving her lantern By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer I should be better at carving pumpkins. As a big fan of Hal- loween (and the Oregon Ducks, obviously), you would think carving a cre- ative pumpkin design should be something I could do in my sleep. Well, not so much. I had ambitious visions, starting with picking a green pumpkin to go with the team theme. From there, I had hopes of carv- ing the Duck logo the team wore on its helmets versus the Washington Huskies on Saturday, or the fighting duck, or a helmet with the “O” logo. I soon realized those would stretch my carving abilities, so I went with the outline of a webbed foot with “DUCKS” in yellow paint below it. But even that didn’t quite go as planned. The template I found was too small for my large green pumpkin and I picked the wrong sized paint brush (I don’t often paint, so I had to buy one). Nor did I real- ize that painting a design on a pumpkin is not as easy as it looks. I had to improvise, or more truthfully, my more artistically talented friend had to come in like Vernon Adams Jr. and help rescue my team tribute from com- plete disaster (she’s a fan, too). So, to help you avoid those difficulties, I’ve found a few pumpkin carv- ing tips. Have fun! — Think about your de- sign before selecting your pumpkin and pick one that fits with what you have in mind. (I didn’t do this.) — Use a template. Un- less you are good at free- lancing, transferring your design beforehand is a good idea. — Use the correct tools: • Ice cream scoop for cleaning pumpkin innards. Clean out as much as you can to avoid rot. • Cookie cutters can be used to cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin for the candle or for carving designs. • Push pins for transfer- ring the template to the pumpkin. • Knives — your best bet is a carving kit. The knives are safer and designed for the task. — To avoid fire hazard, use a battery operated tea light or candle to illumi- nate your pumpkin lantern. Some even flicker like a real candle. — Finally, to prevent your creation from rotting away, keep it out of the ele- ments as much as possible or use a pumpkin preserv- er. Bleach works well, for example. P.S. Before you ask — I’m talking to you Beaver fans because this seems to mat- ter to you — yes, I’m a UO graduate. Class of 2006. Go Ducks! Source: www.myscience- project.org/pumpkin.html and www.funtober.com. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Rogue Farms’ Pumpkin Patch Party provided an opportunity for families to find pumpkins both large and small on Saturday. LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer Left to right: Tatum, Tara, Konnor, Ethan, Cody, Rhylynn and Ella show off their Halloween costumes and outfits at Rogue Farms on Saturday morning. Chase Arguien, 2, examines a pumpkin during Rogue Farms’ Pumpkin Patch Party on Saturday. Arguien later worked to decorate his pumpkin.
