NORTHERN WISCONSIN / NORTHWOODS October Kids Activity Calendar

Click on each month for a world of activities and fun... || January || February || March || April || May || June || July || August || || September || October || November || December || KIDS PAGES -- OCTOBER ACTIVITY CALENDAR! WOW! HERE'S A TON OF WONDERFUL ACTIVITIES TO DO EACH DAY IN THE MONTH. WE HOPE YOU'LL KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE FUN AND INFORMATION EVERY CHANCE YOU CAN! PERHAPS YOUR TEACHER, PARENT, OR OLDER BROTHER OR SISTER CAN HELP YOU GATHER SOME OF THE MATERIALS YOU NEED OR HELP YOU DO SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES. MAYBE YOUR CLASS, BROWNIE TROOP, CUB SCOUT TROOP, 4-H GROUP, OR A GROUP OF FRIENDS WOULD LIKE TO DO SOME OF THESE ACTIVITIES TOGETHER. October Kids Calendar Fresh October Brings the Pheasant, Then to Gather Nuts is Pleasant. October 1 Make a Bird Feeder Birds eat a lot of food in winter in order to stay warm. You can help out by supplying them with some of the foods they enjoy. With a few bird feeders on your property, you can entice all sorts of birds to visit you during the winter months. Some birds prefer to eat at ground level, so scatter some seeds for them. (When there is snow, tramp down a patch so the seeds wonât sink.) But many birds can be tempted with food placed higher up. Make a simple table feeder for them. Use a scrap piece of lumber about 20ä long by 10ä wide. (This give the birds lots of room to perch.) Nail or glue down thin strips of wood along the sides, leaving gaps at all four corners for drainage. Nail the platform to a pole, placing it about 5 feet from the ground. Or hang it from a tree branch with chains screwed into all four corners. Put just enough seed on the table that will be eaten in a day or so. Make sure you clean off the shells that accumulate, as well as any wet or spoiled seed. Rig a roof over the table if wetness is a problem. Birds feed in the morning hours, so hang a feeder where you can see it from the breakfast. You can recycle all sorts of containers and found objects and turn them into bird feeders. Here are some suggestions to get you started. For seed: *Coffee can with half a plastic cover on both ends *Glass jar hung horizontally *Empty coconut shell cut in half For suet: *Mesh bag (the kind onions come in) *Coconut shell filled with melted suet *Drill holes in log and fill with melted suet Other ideas: *Slather peanut butter on pine cones *Hang coconut half upside down (some birds love coconut!) *String peanuts on wire or heavy string October 2 Collect Wild Food for the Birds Thereâs a wide assortment of food you can put out for birds that is free for the taking. Many fall-ripening berries can be harvested and dried to be put out later. Look for red-cedar berries (which are actually tiny cones!), serviceberries, devilâs-walkingstick berries and elderberries. (Try some elderberries yourself!) Many birds also enjoy the fruits of the hawthorn known as haws and crab apples. You can crack open some of the hard-shelled nuts you find in the wild for the birds, too. Many relish walnuts and butternuts. Of course, sunflower seeds are a staple for many species. Leave them growing on the plants for the birds to find on their own, or harvest them to put out later. October 3 Make a Suet Bell Many birds benefit from some fat in their diet during the winter. Put out a piece of suet (get this from the meat department of your supermarket), or make a sue bell. Round up some fat such as suet, lard or the drippings from roasts and bacon, and some filler. You can use purchased seeds, bits of dried fruit, cake and cookie crumbs, and cheese - - or whatever else you might have on hand. Use roughly 1/2 pound of fat for every pound of filler. Melt the fat in a heavy saucepan (have your parents help you at the stove) and add the dry ingredients. Mix well. Let the mixture cool slightly before pouring it into a yogurt container that has a piece of string or wire stuck through a small hole in the cartonâs bottom. Make sure enough is hanging outside the carton so that you can hang the bell when itâs done. When the fat has hardened, pull off the yogurt container and hang the bell from a branch outdoors. What birds come and nibble on it? October 4 Watch for Migrating Birds One of natureâs mysteries is the mystery of migration. Scientists have learned a lot about the kinds of animals that migrate (including people!), but there are still some unanswered questions. How do animals know where to go each year? And when to go? How do they navigate (many fly over open water for hundreds of miles)? Have you ever seen flocks of swallows on their way south? They arrange themselves by the hundreds on telephone wires. These birds have a long flight before them. Some fly as far south as Argentina! The Arctic tern summers in the Arctic, only to fly 11,000 miles south for the winter! You may see some of these birds assembling by day, but most birds fly by night. Have you ever seen birds flying by the light of the moon? When the moon is full (or nearly full) focus on it with a pair of binoculars or a telescope. You may be able to see whole flocks flying by, silhouetted against the moon. Bald eagles and ospreys start migrating as early as August, golden eagle depart as late as November. October 5 Read a Story or Poem about Migrating Birds The time has come to bid adieu. Goodbye, farewell! See you next year! Back Again Aileen Fisher (poem) How? Par 1 Aileen Fisher (poem) Journey of the Storks Ivan Gantschev (story) The Restless Robin Marjorie Flack (story) Something Told the Wild Geese Rachel Field (poem) October 6 Look for Owl Pellets Owls are among the birds that are permanent residents in much of the United States. They are nocturnal, but even if youâve never seen one, youâve probably heard one. ãHoo, hoo-hoo, hoo,ä hoots the great horned owl (whose ãhornsä are really tufts of feathers). ãWho cooks for you all?ä cries the barred owl. You can find where owls live by look for their pellets. Because birds have no teeth, they swallow their food whole. For owls (and other birds of prey) this means bones and all! What these birds canât digest they eliminate. Instead of passing this hard matter through their intestinal tracts, it is coughed up out of their beaks as pellets. Pellets vary in size and shape from species to species, but most are oblong, with bits of bone, fur and feathers sticking out. Fresh pellets are covered with a slimy mucus (all the better to slip out with!); weathered pellets are dry and hard. Look for pellets at the bases of trees, and in barns (where barn owls live). Dissect a pellet to find out what the bird has been eating. Break one in half and soak it in warm water until it loosens up. Pour off the water and pick the pellet apart with a toothpick or a darning needle. Can you identify any of the tiny bones? October 7 Watch for Leaves Turning Color Sometime in late September or early October, the leaves on the deciduous trees in the northern parts of the United States being to turn colors. And what a display it is! Some leaves turn brilliant red; others fiery orange. Some turn a shimmering gold. Thereâs even a rich purply-red. Why do leaves turn color? These color are actually always present in the different leaves, but are masked by chlorophyll which our eyes perceive as green. Once the chlorophyll (which is the substance trees use to make their own food) beings to break down and separate from the proteins in the leaves, the underlying colors show through. Among the first leaves to change color are the sumacs and Virginia creepers, followed by willows and ashes and then the red and sugar maples. Other trees follow, including birches, hickories and ending, roughly, with the oaks and beeches. Keep track of the trees on your property or in a park near you. When do they start to turn? Which ones go first? October 8 Press Some Autumn Leaves Finding autumn leaves to use in various projects will be an on-going activity. Tree leaves turn colors in a certain order, and youâll want to collect the leaves fresh from the trees as they turn. There are lots of things you can do with the vividly colored leaves. But donât forget to press some of the better samples you find. You may want to add some autumn leaves to your tree leaf scrapbook. Include some in the profile of your special or favorite tree. Smaller leaves can be used with other pressed plants in pressed flower pictures. Enjoy the display of color! It wonât be long before most of these leaves fall from the trees and turn brown. Fall is all too short! October 9 Print with Leaves Leaves come in all shapes and sizes. some are squat, some of long and skinny. Each has its unique design of veins and lobes. You can really see these differences when you make leaf prints. You can make prints from the leaves that are turning, as well as the leaves from houseplants and other garden plants. (Just make sure you ask before you trim any plants!) Use leaves to print patterns on wrapping paper and note cards. Or use them to adorn trays, gardening pots, and drinking glasses. You can use poster paints for printing cards with, but acrylic paints work best wherever you want a waterproof design. Paint a little paint on the underside of the leaf where the veins are more pronounced and make a better print. Carefully place the ãinkedä leaf where you want the image printed. Cover the leaf with a piece of folded paper toweling. Roll a brayer (a small roller used for making prints), a rolling pin, or a spoon over the paper with firm strokes. Remove the paper towel and carefully life the leaf. Presto! Quick Change Artistry Many states (especially those in northern areas, like Wisconsin) have whole forests of the kinds of trees that turn beautiful colors in autumn. Would you like to make a special trip to view the fall foliage? Keep in mind that the farther north, the sooner the leaves turn. Nature is also unpredictable, and some years the trees may turn and lose their leaves earlier or later than usual. You can find out when the trees are expected to ãpeakä by sending us an e-mail (see our ãKids Guestbookä for information on how to send us an e-mail), and weâll clue you in on some of the great ãsecretä places here in northern Wisconsin where there are actual self-guided ãtoursä on roads that are just filled with the beautiful leaves. October 10 Make Leaf Stencils Leaves can also be used as stencils, which makes a reverse impression. This technique works best with pressed leaves. Keep the leaves in place with small pieces of tape folded over itself, and placed on the underside of the leaves. With a small sponge, or stubby bristle brush, dab paint around the outline of the leaves. The leaf shapes will show up white or whatever color paper youâre stenciling on. You can also use the splatter technique. Dip an old toothbrush into watery paint and draw a popsicle stick across the bristles to make the paint splatter. This is a messy activity at best! Make sure you protect yourself and your area from the flying paint. October 11 Make Leaf Rubbings Fleshy leaves are good for making leaf rubbings. Here pressed leaves just donât work as well as fresh. Place the leaves wrong side up - - that is, with the raised veins showing. Place a sheet of lightweight paper over the leaves and carefully feel where they are. Rub over them with the flat side of a crayon. You can even match the leaf colors by choosing crayons that are close in hue. Try using shoe polish instead of crayons. Polishes come in an array of autumn colors. Remember to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from stains. Most leaves are simple (this means there is one blade). Some are compound (each blade is divided into three or more leaflets). October 12 Rake Up a Pile of Leaves Autumn has its share of chores, and raking leaves is one of them! Do you help out when itâs time to rake? Make sure you rake up a nice big pile to flop in! Youâll even be doing your parents a favor. All the jumping helps to break the leaves into smaller pieces. The leaves that you add to your compost pile will decompose all that much faster and not take up nearly as much room. There are all sorts of ways you can have fun with a pile of leaves. Rake a mountain of them beneath a tree, and jump out of the tree into them. Rig a jump to ride your bike over - - and make the landing safe with a big pile of soft leaves. Or play hide-and-seek in the leaves. You really can lose yourself in them. Are there any special games you like to play in the leaves? October 13 Compost Fallen Leaves Not long ago, leaves were raked and piled in most communities and burned. The smoke pollution and the hazards of fire put an end to that, and not knowing what to do with all the leaves, most homeowners took to bagging them in plastic and putting them out with the weekâs trash. Leaves are not trash! In nature they are recycled and turned into soil. You can do the same. Leave some under bushes and low-growing plants on your property. Add the rest to your compost pile. Leaves take a long time to decompose, but you can help speed things along by shredding them. The easiest (and certainly most fun!) way to do this is to play in them. Theyâll be broken into little bits in no time. October 14 Plant Some Spring Bulbs Before the ground gets too hard, you should plant your spring-flowering bulbs outdoors. Just like the bulbs you potted for indoor blooms, outdoor bulbs need to lay dormant in the ground for several months. You can plant bulbs in the same gardens where you have other flowering plants growing (the bulbs will bloom and the foliage die back before the other plants take up the space), or you can ãnaturalizeä them. To do this, toss them on the ground in a random pattern under trees and in open areas where the grass is now mowed. Where they land, is where youâll plant them. Check the instructions that come with the bulbs. They will tell you how deep to plant the bulbs, how far they should be placed from one another, and how tall they can be expected to grow. Most bulbs appreciate soil that drains well, so loosen the soil to about 10ä and mix in a little bit of sand and peat moss or compost. A small handful of bonemeal mixed in each hole will give the bulbs a boost. Plant the bulbs, cover them with soil, and water them. Youâll be glad you planted them, when they bring a little color to a winter-weary landscape. October 15 Watch for Sluggish Houseflies With the onset of cool weather, you may suddenly find houseflies buzzing lazily inside your home. These insects respond to a drop in temperature and the decreasing daylight and start looking for protected places to spend the winter. They often make their way inside buildings. some lie dormant between storm and regular windows. They can squeeze their way through the smallest openings! Before you shoo them outdoors, take a good look at these insects. Some are so sluggish you can hold them in the palm of your hand. (Remember to wash your hands well after, because flies get into all sorts of dirty things). Do you see that flies have only one pair of wings? Thatâs true for all true flies, which include fruit flies, bottle flies, robber flies, cluster flies, and mosquitoes! These are only a few of the nearly 15,000 species of fly that live in North America. October 16 Watch for Queen Bees and Wasps In the autumn, you might come across some solitary bees and wasps flying around. Maybe a lone bald-faced hornet, or a yellowjacket. Or even a fuzzy bumblebee. These are the queen bees and wasps, the only members of their colonies to live through the winter. While you are watching, the queens are searching for a place to hibernate. Can you find where they finally settle? What has happened to all the other bees and wasps? The details vary somewhat from species to species, but generally the female workers and the male drones all die in the fall. (The drones first mate with the queens). The following spring, the queens will come out of hibernation and look for a place to lay the eggs that will become the next generation of workers and drones. Honeybees are the only bees that remain active year-round. Their winter habits are somewhat different. Bald-faced hornets and bumblebees hibernate underground. Polistes wasps frequently spend the winter within the walls of old houses. October 17 Listen for Migrating Geese Most waterfowl are strong fliers, and many migrate great distances every year. You are probably familiar with Canada geese, large handsome birds that fly both by day as well as by night. You can often hear them coming - - they are loud honkers! You know itâs them when you see their characteristic V-formation. The V-formation is a wondrous way of making the flight easier on the birds. The lead goose helps reduce air resistance for those birds flying behind. From time to time the geese switch places, relieving the lead bird. Other birds also fly in V-formation, including cormorants, ducks, swans, and gulls. If you live near a pond or wetland, you may even get to watch the birds when they alight for a well-deserved rest. October 18 Leave Out Some Honey for Honeybees This time of year you can often attract honeybees to a food source, such as some honey on a plate, placed in an area that still has flowers in bloom, or that once did. If you offering is discovered, you can be sure that the news will be spread, and many bees will gather up the honey to add to their winterâs supply. Honeybees keep warm by beating their wings, and the honey they make and store fuels this activity. (They also bunch together as a way to insulate one another). They spend much time when itâs very cold within their hives (usually a hollow in a tree), venturing out only to get rid of bodily wastes. They can store fecal matter for long periods of time. They usually wait for warm spells when they emerge on their so-called cleansing flights. If there is a prolonged cold snap, and the bees can wait no longer, many leave the hive and die. Have you ever seen bees on a winterâs day? October 19 Prepare Your Garden for Winter If you enjoyed gardening this year, and would like to do some more next year, there are a few things you can do now to make the spring chores a little lighter. This is a good time to clean up the garden. Pull up all the annual flowers, vegetables, and herbs that have died. Compost any healthy plants. Dig some manure or compost into the soil. It will weather over the winter and your soil will be both more fertile as well as easier to work in the spring. Take a look at your perennials. Some of them can be divided to make new plants. (Ask someone at your local nursery which plants can be divided in the fall). Dig up the whole plants, separate them into small pieces at the roots, and replant each new ãplant.ä Once the ground has frozen solid, you might want to cover some of the perennials. That way the ground around them wonât heave when thereâs a thaw mid-winter. Round up straw, seaweed, evergreen boughs, and even burlap bags to cover them with when the time comes. October 20 Make a Compost Heap Compost is the name given to decaying plant material that is added to soil to improve it. The more organic (living) matter, the better it is. In nature, compost happens naturally. When leaves fall from the trees and annual plants die in autumn, they decay and become part of the soil. In a garden, however, things are kept neat and tidy. Compost has to be added. If you just spread some grass clippings and old tomato vines on your garden, they would eventually rot. But it would take a long time. Compost heaps, or piles, speed things up. There are many ways of contained the compost. Using a layer of twigs for circulation, place a 6ä layer of plant material. Throw in fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, egg shells, grass clippings, dead plants and anything else you can think of. (Steer clear of meet or fat scraps). On top of this, put a layer of animal manure, or use blood meal or a compost activator. Continue making these layers, then wet the pile with water and cover it with an old tarp or rug. A compost pile that is decaying properly actually heats up. It may be as hot as 150 degrees F in the middle of the pile! The simplest compost heap is a freestanding pile that gets narrower as it goes up. The trouble is, this kind of pile tends to dry out. You have to stir it and turn it inside out, as it were. The whole thing usually just falls apart. Put your compost into an enclosure made from chicken wire wrapped around four story stakes sunk into the ground. Or use a 50-gallon drum that has lots of holes punched in the bottom and sides. Fancy compost bins are made of bricks or wood, divided into sections for compost in various stages of decomposition. Put your bin where it wonât be an eyesore, or in the way, but make sure itâs close enough to the house or garden so that you use it! October 21 Make a Maple Leaf Crown And regal you shall feel, sporting a crown made from the richly colored leaves of the maple tree! You donât have to use maple leaves, of course. Any pretty, flat leaves will do. What kinds can you find? Make a long chain of leaves by piercing the stem of one leaf into another. Pull the stem through as far as it will go. (The knobby ends of the stems will help keep them from pulling out of the slits in the leaves). The next you add to the chain will hide the stem. Continue in this way until you have enough to go around your head. Make a circle by poking the last stem into the very first leaf you used. How is that, your Majesty? October 22 Pick Dried Grasses and Seed Heads Many plants look very different once the growing season is over. Have you ever seen blacked-eyed Susans without their petals? Before the seeds disperse, the seed heads look like fuzzy brown gumdrops stuck on the ends of sticks! You can gather these and a number of other plants in the fall to be used in dried arrangements and other craft projects. Poppies and teasels both have interesting seed heads. Milkweed pods are very distinctive, too. Tall grasses are especially beautiful. Many have interesting flower heads. Youâll find plume-like flower heads on reedgrasses growing in marshes and along streams. Youâll find arching spikelets (the proper term for the flowerheads of grasses) on some of the grama grasses found in dry regions. What do you think the grass growing on your lawn would look like if you didnât mow it? Let a patch go and find out. Gather up an armload of grasses and wildflowers and put them in a vase. (Donât put any water in it). As the plants dry, theyâll arch gracefully, turning soft shades of yellow and brown. Other than a light dusting now and then, your dried arrangements need no care, and will last all winter long. October 23 Mix Up Some Potpourri Did you that potpourri is French for ãrotten pot?ä What a funny name for such sweet-smelling stuff! Originally, potpourris were made with fresh petals and leaves, and allowed to ferment. Dry potpourris are more popular nowadays. You can make potpourri with just about anything that grows! Fragrant herbs, spices, and flowers are used to perfume the mixture. Colorful blooms add just that - - some color. Use dried herbs and flowers youâve grown yourself, or gathered. Donât forget the spice cupboard in your kitchen, too. To help the fragrance last longer, a fixative is usually added. Ground orris root is the most common (look for it wherever potpourri ingredients are sold). Some recipes call for essential oils (concentrated oils distilled from plants). You can buy small bottles of these. Follow one of the recipes below, or make up your own! Mix the ingredients well, and store the potpourri in a covered container (not made of metal) in a cool, dark place. Let is age for about six week, stirring it now and again. Package it creatively to give to family and friends. Sweet Scentsations! There are literally hundreds of potpourri recipes. Here are two simple blends that smell wonderful. Rambling Rose 3 cups dried rose petals 2 cups dried lavender 1 cup dried lemon verbena 1 tablespoon dried lemon peel 1 tablespoon ground allspice 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon ground cloves 1 1/2 tablespoons ground orris root Mix together the last five ingredients before adding the herbs and flowers. Stir well. Let cure in a covered jar fir 6 weeks. Spice Delight 6 whole nutmegs 5 cinnamon sticks 3 vanilla beans 1/2 cup whole cloves 1 tablespoon anise seed, crushed 1 tablespoon ground allspice 1/2 cup ground orris root Break the whole nutmegs and cinnamon sticks by placing them in a paper bag and hitting them with a hammer. Cut the vanilla beans with scissors. Mix all the ingredients together, and let cure in a covered jar for 6 weeks. This is a spice mix that men and boys like a lot! October 24 Make a Vine Wreath You can make wreaths from the vines you have on your property, or from those you find growing wild. Grape vines are perfect for wreath-making, and the spiraling tendrils add a nice touch. Honeysuckle and bittersweet also work well. (If you want the bittersweet berries on your wreath, cut the vines in early autumn when there are still leaves on the vines). To make the vines more pliable, soak them in water for a short time. Bend the vines into a circle (or make an oval or a heart shape!), weaving the ends in and out. Wrap smaller vines around the basic shape for a sturdier wreath. Vine wreaths look nice just as they are, but you can adorn them with cones, dried flowers, and sprigs of herbs. Add something different for each season! October 25 Collect Cones Pines arenât the only trees that bear cones even though a lot of people call all cones pinecones! Spruces, hemlocks, firs, and cedars all are coniferous trees. Cones range in size from the tiny cones of the hemlocks (about 1/4ä long) to the enormous cones of the longleaf pine (these can be as big as 18ä). The woody cones you find on these trees are the female cones. Most conifers have both female and male cones on the same tree. The male cones are smaller, softer clusters found most often in the spring. (They are generally short-lived). The female cones can take up to two years to mature and open. Collect some cones for making cone wreaths and other decorations. Many of the cones you find will have already released their seeds; others may not have. When you bring the cones indoors, youâll be able to see how they detect when the conditions are right for letting go of the seeds. Do you notice how the cones open in the warmth of your house? Put them back outside and theyâll close up again. Why do they do this? The cones are responding to the moisture in the air. They wonât release their seeds if itâs too wet - -the seeds might rot. They wait until itâs a little drier and warmer. Most cones hang down from the branches of coniferous trees. All the first bear cones that are upright. October 26 Make a Corn Necklace Did you grow any Indian corn in your garden this year? (If you didnât, grow some next year!) You can find Indian corn at garden centers and florist shops - -even at some supermarkets. The kernels come in a rainbow of colors. Most Indian corn is hung as a harvest decoration, but you can use the kernels in a number of ways. They are especially nice strung up as a necklace. Choose some colorful ears of Indian corn and break the kernels off of the cobs. Soak the kernels in water for a day or so until they are soft enough to draw a needle through. (Ask your mother for a blunt tapestry needle). Remove the kernels from the water and string them one by one on strong thread. (Use buttonhole thread of several strands of embroidery floss together.) When the strand is as long as you want it - -about 24ä to 30ä so that it will slip over your head easily - - tie the two ends of the thread into a knot. October 27 Make some Walnut Shell Boats Want to command your own fleet of ships? Make some boats from walnut shells! You can make simple boats from walnut shell halves, modeling clay, toothpicks and small square of paper. Press a little clay into each shell half, stick in the toothpick masts, and add the paper sails. Make different designs (or numbers) on each sail, and youâll be able to race the boats and know whoâs won. Launch the boats on a moving stream, and watch them go! With your parentsâ permission and help, outfit your little boats with birthday candles instead of masts. This might be something nice to do on your birthday! Light them, and set them out on a body of still water, such as a swimming pool, or small pond. (Make sure you collect the shells when youâre all done). Lit at twilight, these make an enchanting sight. October 28 Carve Some apples into Faces Have you ever noticed how a very old personâs face is sometimes wrinkled like a wizened-up apple? You can carve an apple and make it look just like an old person! Peel and core a good-sized apple. With a knife, carve some of the apple away, to suggest two eyes, a nose and a mouth. Place the apple in a bowl filled with salted water or lemon juice for about half an hour. Dry the apple gently, and spear it from below with a pencil. Place the pencil in a long-necked bottle. Let the apple dry there for three or four weeks. As it dries, it will shrink and take on the look of a weathered face! Paint some simple clothes on the bottle, or glue some scraps of cloth onto the bottle to look like garments. Do you think thatâs what you will look like when you are very old? October 29 Stick a Face on a Pumpkin Most people carve pumpkins. Thatâs what you have to do if you want to put a light inside them. But have you ever made a three-dimensional face using a pumpkin? Try it this year! You can create a whole cast of spooky characters with different -sized pumpkins. Gather up an assortment of goodies that youâve found on your walks through fields and woods. Use pinecones for crazy curls. Make protruding noses from corn cobs. Stick individual stalks of grass in holes made with a skewer or ice pick for a head of hair that sticks straight out! Donât forget those vegetables that would make interesting features, either. Experiment with carrots, cucumbers and squash. Pumpkins have pretty tough skin, but you can attach the features to your pumpkin with toothpicks. Itâs usually easiest to stick the toothpicks into the firmer surfaces first. That means poking a toothpick into the pumpkin first, then sticking on, say, a cucumber. Sometimes (such as with pinecones) youâll need to glue in the pumpkin with a slender skewer where you want the cones to go. Want to choose your own pumpkins, right on the vines? Look for a pick-you-own farm that grows pumpkins. October 30 Roast some Pumpkin Seeds Is there anything you can do with the seeds that come out of the pumpkins you care? There sure is! Roast them for a delicious snack. Scooping the seeds out of the pumpkins is messy business at best. Place the seeds in a colander and wash them under running water, untangling them from as much of the string fiber as possible. Any fiber remaining will bake hard in the oven, and can be rubbed off the cooled seeds if you donât like the way it looks. Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet and sprinkle them with salt. Put them in a preheated oven set at 350 degrees F. Bake the seeds for about 30 minutes, shaking the pan every now and again, or until they are dry and crackly. Donât let them brown, or they will taste burned. Let them cool before you eat them. Yum! October 31 Happy Halloween! You may not want to part with any of the pumpkin seeds youâve roasted (theyâre good, arenât they?), but there are all sorts of other natural goodies you can offer your friends who come trick-or-treating. Pop some popcorn, or crack open some nuts. Or make a batch of pumpkin cookies. Hereâs a simple recipe that makes light pumpkin morsels Pumpkin Pecan Bites 1 stick butter or margarine 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg 1/2 cup cooked pumpkin 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground clves 1/2 cup chopped pecans Preheat the over to 375 degrees F. Cream the butter and sugar together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the egg, pumpkin, and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients together (except for the nuts) and add to the bowl. Stir in the nuts. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Makes about 30 cookies.