Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin! For Your Pets and For You
Pumpkins have appeared! September and October are perfect months to shop for pumpkins and other winter squash. Get some fresh organic pumpkins now to process for your pets, snacks for yourself, and free bird seed for your feathered friends—and your own fresh home made pumpkin pies.
Don’t forget to download your guide sheet to keep for shopping and cooking at the bottom of this article!
If you haven’t noticed, pumpkins are coming into season. In part it’s because they are elemental in our Halloween tradition, color, shape, jack-o’-lanterns and all, but reverse that and you’ll see they are part of our traditions at this time of the year because this is their season of abundance, and they are a most versatile and nutritious fruit.
[Pumpkins] are grown all over the world, and in many cultures they are much more than a seasonal decoration but are a principle food source because of their ease of growth and high nutrition.
Pumpkins actually originated in Central America where related seeds at least 5,000 years old have been found. Native Americans planted them as one of the “three sisters” of corn, pole beans and squash interplanted to support each other. Apparently, a good thing can’t be kept hidden because European explorers learned of them from Native Americans in North, Central and South America and took them back to their respective countries. They are grown all over the world, and in many cultures they are much more than a seasonal decoration but are a principle food source because of their ease of growth and high nutrition.
My annual article on pumpkins has information on adding pumpkin to your pets’ diets as well as how to choose and prepare fresh pumpkins available in autumn’s harvest to add to your pets’ food and to make snacks for you, and free bird seed! The article includes a downloadable guidesheet to all the information in the article plus links to references where you can find even more information. Rather than republish the article each year I have included a link to a prior article.
Click here to read Living Green With Pets: Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin!
This article was originally published in September 2011 and won a Certificate of Excellence in the 2012 Cat Writers’ Association Communications Contest; read more. It was also published in the October 2012 issue of Pittsburgh Pet Connections Magazine before I became chief editor.
Read other articles about “Living Green With Pets” and in the category of “Health and Safety”
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Really, with a house full of black cats I have a lot of creative inspiration for this holiday. If you are interested in reselling my cards in your shop or you are an animal professional or other business and would like to make a bulk purchase for business correspondence please visit For Retailers and For Animal Professionals. to find out about signing up for an account and getting a 40% discount on nearly everything on my website. Read more, and purchase.
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All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
I am hoping for toasted pumpkin seeds soon, and The Hubby has become a butternut squash fanatic…and I love it too!
Great photo. Pumpkins and black cats go together so well.