care free and pumpkin folly

                 Well, by golly, it's time for a little lighthearted pumpkin enjoyment, don't you think?
I know the 31st has come and gone, but these pumpkins were too cute to not share. I want to get some of our 'fallscapades' on the blog before Thanksgiving and Christmas come and go. And, I just think getting lost in my pictures is a good thing to do right now.

I mentioned in my last post, that Ray Villafane, the master sand sculpture that did the incredible elephant in the plaza this summer, did this clever pumpkin display. He, by fame, won the pumpkin carving challenge on the Food Network some years ago. He lives in the area and we are lucky enough to get some of his talent right in our neighborhood.

So...pumpkins.

This photo was taken while it was still a bit light out. These saguaros are fake with a real pumpkin submerged in a vinegar solution to preserve it. 

Here is that pumpkin, taken later when it was dark. The facial expressions and details are really amazing.

                               Another one. The colored lights change as the night goes on.

Besides the sugauro pumpkins, there were vignette displays all throughout the plaza. This is the mad scientist in his laboratory classroom. They had really great old pieces incorporated within the displays.

                                   A hammock with a little guy just chillin' in the night air.

 A few more photos of the real carved pumpkins in the solution. I thought this one was funny. "Do you like pumpkins with prominent upper teeth?"

They put what looked like glass eyes in some of them, which added to the coolness.

  A side view of the one above. A bit of an interesting angle with the curve on the glass front!

Another vignette.

Close-up of the guy on the porch. Oh hey there!

  This one had a hay hook that "caught" some of the little guys, taking them up to the hay loft.

Any ideas?...

Yep, the out house.

The saloon. It's a bit hard to see all the details in the photo, but the guy running out the front door was the card shark making a fast escape. The other guy was heading up the stairs, where the lady-of the-night was looking out the top window. 

And this guy, face down on the porch...most likely having indulged a little to much in the drink.
                  Consequences. Always consequences.

  This one was funny...look closely and see that the guy below narrowly escaped his fate when his                  stem broke off in the noose.

  The fight.

This one caught...presumably the next subject for the science lab around the corner.

Poor guy being roasted on the spit.

A closer look.

  Showing off some 'almost' pearly-whites.

                                          Here is the whole science lab.
Zombie's, torture table and mad scientist, all conjuring up their next victims fate.

The pearly white teeth guy after the lights changed color.

As the bad guy passed-out from too much moon-shine...the pumpkin's tried to rescue their friends.

The distillery.

The whole event was clever and a nice way to spend a little time one evening. They were doing a workshop that night, teaching a large group of kids and adults how to carve the pumpkins... Ray's way. Creepy, funny, interesting and most of all...full of detail.

It was a gourd time!