I find the soft and delicate color of this kind of pumpkin to be very beautiful, I first saw these pumpkins 3 years ago when I was living in Kentucky. In Nicaragua we have the ayote (squash), which is very similar in shape but has a dark green color.

Squash is used in the US and in Nicaragua during holidays that involve going door to door and asking for treats, just in different ways. Here in the US it's used as a decorative piece during Halloween. In Nicaragua during La Purisima, the ayote is cooked with sugar cane and eaten as a dessert. During La Purisima, adults and children go door to door to houses celebrating la Purisima yelling out, "Who causes so much happiness?" Treat givers respond, "The Conception of Mary!" and then hand out candies or brindis. 

La Purisima is celebrated the 8th of December culminating nine days of prayer. It's one of my favorite Nicaraguan holidays and something that I really miss from back home.

Some "healthy flavors" from the kitchen.

7"x 5"
On sale now through Sunday evening on my ebay shop: http://tiny.cc/MelvinToledoSaltandPepper

   

   

My wife and I enjoy exploring the different hiking trails and state parks around the Atlanta area. In September, we went to Arabia Mountain in Lithonia (www.arabiaalliance.org). It reminded me of Stone Mountain without all of the people and without the view of the city. The view was spectacular, however, and once we reached the top we could look out across the rolling hills and down to a small lake. It was a great afternoon.

As the weather turns a bit cooler and we start to see the changing leaves here in Georgia, I increasingly look forward to fall. This past weekend, we went to a farm in north Georgia to stock up on pumpkins for carving and soup making. I hoped to capture the spirit of this time of year in my Small Works Series with Still Life with Pumpkin.