Pumpkin Cutting, Mid November 2012

There are MANY reasons for cutting inoffensive squash with swords.  For one thing, it really teaches "edge consciousness", a skill which can be learned like any other.  Cutting pumkins, watermelons, or cabbages helps to provide feedback to crisp up this skill.

Of course the real reason one does such an oddball activity is because all in all, it is great fun.  We had a bonfire, with plenty of hot apple cider.  Kept everybody happy.  I didn't see a single long face there the entire day.

Above and below you can see Shayne and Lorne using the biggest baddest sword on the planet.  This anime scaled blade is particularly large, especially when you consider the guy holding it is 6 foot 4. 

The pumkin Mayhem has begun.

Above are a collection of the assorted exotic weapons available for use.  All, sooner or later, passed through a pumkin.  In the back you can see the pumkin on my archery target.  We stuck to throwing weapons since we did not think it good practice to use an unsecured archery lane in the midst of a crowd.
    (well, duuuuh....grin!)

Many thanks go to John at Bowman Farms, and Canamore Orchards for all the pumkins.  Very decent of them.  They tell me they were more than happy to get ME to compost them.  Ah shucks...

The metal stantions that Brian Fence made us came in really handy when it came time to define the thrown weapons lane.  

Eventually we shoveled 3 trailer loads of smashed pumkins to the cows, and there is this much yet again preparing to render down into compost.  Cows didn't quite know how to take it.  I think they eventually decided that broken pumkins were edible, but not like tasy fresh grass of course.   We had left on the ground a plethora of seeds which has kept the squirrels, rabbits and racoons VERY happy. I don't imagine many of them will germinate next spring, but believe it or not, under that orange carpet of yellow fleshed mayhem is my plowed garden.  So, you never know.  Most of the seeds will fall victim to undersnow field mice I am fairly certain. Did we have a good time?  Oh, lordy!  The feast later on was stunning,  with cider and ribs with pulled pork in the tent.  It was becoming a bit cold (Jeff said he had trouble deciding whether the sauce covered items he was sticking in his mouth was ribs or fingers, his hands were so cold) so I may have to think of a way to warm the tent next year.
  
And yes, there WILL be a next year. You know, we had between 120 and 150 people!  How am I gonna feed all those people if they ALL buy meal tickets?  In shifts I guess. 

We had a thousand pictures, but I think I liked Natalia's pictures the best.  I know there are a dozen sword handlers with photo accounts, please feel free to post the addresses of such accounts in the comments below.