2011 WEEK 42: Oh My Gourd!

On Sunday we were determined to get out and make the most of the gorgeous weather so we hopped in the car and headed South down Hwy 99 to Ladner. We made a quick stop for brunch where these guys watched over us...

...Before continuing on to Westham Island. This is the same place I went to way back in WEEK 10 when I blogged on the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. This time we had an entirely different agenda.

Pumpkins!

This is the Westham Island Herb Farm. It's much less commercial (not to mention less crowded) than the more well-known Richmond Country Farms pumpkin patch. It's also very photogenic with all kinds of old farm equipment lying around.

Braving the mud and numerous scarecrows, we marched off towards the pumpkin patch.

Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!

THE GEEKY STUFF: Given the muck and farm yard dirt everywhere I chose to forego changing lenses during our pumpkin patch foray. All of this week's photos were captured with the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, at ISO 160 with f-stop ranging from f/5.6 to f/9 and shutter speed between 160 and 350.

There's something sad about a pumpkin patch... Many don't make it. Many fall victim to the elements and to clumsy feet. Many will never have the opportunity to fulfill their destiny as Halloween sentinels.

But there were still plenty to choose from. Mel was delighted with her choice...

Soon enough I found what I was looking for. OMG! ("Oh My Gourd!") what an awesome specimen!

To find out what we did with our pumpkins, come back tomorrow. HINT: I took the geek approach.

Until next time folks, happy pumpkin picking!