Pumpkins on my mind

Autumn is the colorful, yet subtle, interlude between summer and winter. A grace note, that slips in quietly and then one morning, after a rain or blustery winds, disappears. This year, with controversial political campaigns across the United States, a war in Ukraine, and the devastating toll of Hurricane Ian in Florida, our focus has shifted from thinking about the seasons. Perhaps the beauty of the fall and the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival will change that. This year the Pumpkin Festival has added a craft and artisan show on Beacon Street, next to the Belknap Mill. Vendors with a variety of crafts will be in downtown Laconia.

We can also anticipate Halloween. My neighbors have already started decorating the façades of their homes with scary spiders and webs that entangle ghosts and skulls. Pumpkins line the steps leading up to the front door. Witches are posted next to pots, stirring their brew. These decorations bring a smile and a moment of fantasy to our minds.

One of my favorite drives to take advantage of autumn’s subtle beauty is on Route 25 through Warren, across Cube Mountain, down through Orford to Piermont and back through Plymouth, enjoying the covered bridges, meandering rivers, and brick farmhouses along the way. There is a brick farmhouse with a large maple tree on the front lawn, its branches spread out to shade the lawn. The house is one I imagine filled with stories and memories of long-ago days. In October the lawn, under the tree, is covered with pumpkins. It’s where I buy my pumpkins.

Last week I made my first pumpkin pie of the season. Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors and I enjoy pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin ravioli, and pumpkin soup. The list goes on. We shift our seasonal taste palette just as we shift the clothing we wear. The cooler weather entices us back into the kitchen, and in my case, I don’t just think about pumpkin pie, I crave it.

Living in New Hampshire, October is one of the most glorious months of the year when the changing leaves transform the landscape into a dazzling palette: brilliant reds, alluring yellows, and regal golds among green firs. Autumn must be treasured as it can be one of the shortest seasons, as soon enough the trees are stripped naked and one morning the ground is covered with a white frost, heralding the beginning of winter. Then we just have a few more weeks before we start thinking about hot chocolate and Austrian sacher torte, wrapped in a warm blanket in front of a roaring fire and reading a book.

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Elizabeth Howard is the producer and host of the Short Fuse Podcast, found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or through the Arts Fuse. Her career intersects journalism, marketing, and communications. Ned O’Gorman: A Glance Back, a book she edited, was published in May 2016. She is the author of A Day with Bonefish Joe, a children’s book, published by David R. Godine. You can send her a note at eh@elizabehthhoward.com.