I went to the pumpkin farm, a scant 10 minutes from my school, before the election, bringing home my bounty to decorate our home. Because they have such a variety of pumpkins and squashes, I always spend time shooting photographs.

I arrived in the late afternoon, when the sun was low in the sky, working on leaving the day to its dusk.

It had been a long day of grading and talking and teaching and it was so nice to wander around, watching the families and their children, the tram pulling the blue-shirted cub scouts; the soft afternoon light was easy on the eyes.

I always fascinated by these random and wild stems--so different than the neatly cropped knobs in the grocery stores.