That explains it!

For any of you who saw the slightly disgustified pumpkins on our porch this fall and wondered what happened, all your questions are about to be put to rest. For those of you who didn't see them...

We never actually got around to carving our pumpkins this year ... so the squirrels started eating them from the rind, in .

It was a momentous occasion on the day the squirrel broke through the rind and gutted the first pumpkin. We were so amused that we left the pumpkins in the yard, and they made short work of all three.

Humorous? Definitely. Gross? A little, yeah, I'll admit. But why? I didn't figure it out until this week.

According to CNN, the second-best source of all truth and knowledge (the first being Wikipedia), there was a huge acorn shortage this year. And this wasn't just in Virginia, but all up and down the eastern seaboard. The squirrels' version of the Irish potato famine. Scientists are predicting record squirrel deaths all over the east coast if they can't adjust fast enough to find other sources of food before winter. The wildlife expert's solution: leave corn, peanuts and sunflower seeds on the back lawn. Our solution: don't put away your Halloween decorations too early!

Help!

Let the festivities begin.

It's October, which means it is officially my favorite season. The leaves on the GW Parkway are finally starting to change colors, the weather is finally turning cooler (in theory) and I now have an excuse to bundle up on the couch with a cozy blanket and a book. Autumn also brings two fabulous holidays - Thanksgiving and ...drumroll please... my birthday (don't worry, you haven't missed it yet). The one holiday, however, that I have never really understood is Halloween.

I mean, I understand the history of it. It started with the pagan Celtic holiday of Samhain, when the ghosts of the dead rose from their graves and the people believed that their presence made it easier for the Druid priests to predict the future (sounds a little Ghostbuster-ish to me...). Then a few hundred years later, a Catholic pope adopted the holiday, but tweaked it to honor dead saints and martyrs, and called it "All Saints Day" or "All-hallows". Hence, "All Hallows E'en" or "Halloween". You see where we're going with this.

That's not the part I don't get. I've just never understood why we enjoy trying to freak ourselves out. We pay to go into haunted houses, hoping that they'll be scary enough to make us want to leave. We use it as an excuse to eat so much junk food that it makes us sick (fun!), and we stress for weeks over what costume to wear. This is probably my biggest challenge, and why I'm not looking forward to October 31.

Past years. You see the problem.

Italy. 2005.

The idea: Wear as much black as possible and pretend it's a costume.

Verdict: Bad idea.

2006. The Wizard of Oz

Verdict: More creative, a lot of work, and still somewhat ridiculous

2007. Last minute costume from Jill's stash.

Verdict: Take a good look, because this picture will probably be coming down. :)

Help! I seriously need Halloween ideas.