Good morning, It’s Monday.
I’ve been doing these morning missives for a long time – about seven years, give or take. So it’s pretty much inevitable that there would be repeat content now and again, because there are only so many holidays, historical commemorations, and made-up national days to go around.
There are some things that lend themselves to annual acknowledgement. Major holidays, for example. Obviously, I’m not going to skip Thanksgiving or New Year’s or Hanukah. Ditto Veterans Day, July 4th, and National Dog Day, because, well, dogs.
Then there are a whole slew of topics that I repeat just because I like them. This is my site, after all, and though I do write for the benefit of others, I also have to keep myself interested and entertained.
And that, my friends, is how we come to the topic of today’s seasonally appropriate post: Pumpkins.
Pumpkins are starting to pop up everywhere, and I am here for it.
I am not a PSL girl, but I do love pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin muffins – pretty much everything BUT PSL, really. And I am very much a fan of pumpkins as decoration, and am planning to purchase a few of the mini versions to round out the Thanksgiving table decor this year.
Pumpkins, contrary to popular belief, are NOT, in fact, gourds. They are related to gourds, as they’re both members of the same family – Cucurbitaceae – but the name “pumpkin” doesn’t actually have a botanical definition, those round orange things we traditionally carve on Halloween are actually just winter squash.
“Pumpkin” comes from the Greek word “pepon”, which translates into “large melon”. The French called this large, orange vegetable a “pompon”, which the English then altered to “pumpion” and American colonists altered still further to “pumpkin”.
If you really want to get technical about it: Squash (including pumpkins) belong to the genus Cucurbita. But TRUE gourds belong to different genera and are generally inedible, though some of what people THINK are gourds are actually squash, and you can indeed eat them.
Yes, this is confusing. If you want to go deep on this, click here.
The field pumpkins that we typically purchase for carving – a tradition that dates back hundreds of years – are actually not the ones you find in canned pumpkin puree used for baking.
If you have ever tried cooking a pumpkin, you know that the result is rather disappointing (and kind of a lot of work). Canned pumpkin, on the other hand, is delicious. Why? because it’s actually usually some OTHER sort of squash – like butternut, Hubbard, Boston Marrow, and/or Golden Delicious – which brings us back to the whole “what is a pumpkin” question at the top of this post.
Happy National Pumpkin Day!
Speaking of all things fall, we had a spectacular weekend, during which we spent hiking many arduous and perfect miles in the Adirondacks – one of my favorite places on earth.
The foliage was past peak, but the weather was simply phenomenal – a little chilly in the morning, but warm and clear and sunny as the day progressed. The views were amazing. Getting turned away from the trailhead of the peak was wanted to bag was not. But this is a topic for another day.
Today will bring more of the same, weather wise, with mostly sunny skies and highs flirting with 70 degrees.
In the headlines…
Early voting is surging in several key battleground states, giving Democrats hope that their strength in midterm polling could translate into a turnout advantage in November.
A lawsuit by the Justice Department challenging a potential narrow loss by the GOP Senate incumbent in Alaska reflects a new tactic by the president to try to shape the election results.
A federal appeals court appeared unlikely to immediately agree to the Trump administration’s bid to segregate 20,000 California ballots it says are likely noncitizen voters, expressing skepticism at a rare Sunday hearing that a trial judge needs to move quicker.
Former President Barack Obama on Saturday attacked Trump’s administration in searing and mocking terms, saying it was defined by “incompetence the likes of which we have not seen in modern times.”
Trump escalated his attacks against Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed on Sunday with rhetoric that questioned the Muslim candidate’s loyalties to the U.S. and repeatedly tried to tie him to extremism, claims he has repeatedly denied and denounced.
“If Abdul and the Democrats win, they will open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadis to our shores, creating a nightmare of violence and terror until you cannot even have a Christmas,” Trump told more than 4,000 supporters gathered in Port Huron, MI.
Brazil’s fiercely contested presidential race came to a chaotic conclusion on Sunday as transportation delays and inclement weather forced polls to stay open an additional two hours and raised the prospect of a contested result.
Brazilian voters handed the leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a fourth term in office and a surprise victory over Flávio Bolsonaro, his right-wing challenger, in a striking rebuke to a conservative surge sweeping Latin America.
Nearly twice as many New Yorkers cast their ballots on the first day of early voting as compared with four years ago. Early voting runs until Nov. 1.
Gov. Kathy Hochul campaigned Friday and Sunday with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the 35-year-old democratic socialist whose appearances with the moderate governor are meant to jolt interest in the race, especially among his fervent supporters.
In the coming days, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, an establishment Democrat who has clashed with New York’s leftist insurgency, is expected to campaign with Hochul.
Meanwhile, in Yorktown Heights, Hochul’s GOP opponent, Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, appeared with Republican leaders and argued New Yorkers are struggling under the state’s high cost of living.
Blakeman is courting disaffected Democrats as he seeks to unseat Hochul, betting that frustration over affordability, crime and the party’s leftward shift could help him make inroads with traditionally Democratic voters.
Hochul brushed off a federal investigation into a Long Island Democratic Party boss, Rich Schaffer, who is accused of trying to buy votes as a “political hit job.”
The Times Union endorsed Hochul’s re-election bid, saying that “despite challenges and occasional missteps, the incumbent’s steady hand makes her the easy choice over her opponent.”
Hochul’s hometown paper, The Buffalo News, also endorsed her, calling her “focused and effective” and saying she “deserves” re-election.
In the shadow of Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, Hochul was looking to hit a political home run with voters Sunday, rallying union members while drawing sharp contrasts with her Republican opponent.
During a stop in Syracuse on Saturday Hochul said New York has not received any letters from the federal government mandating counties assist with finding non-citizen registrants, unlike in California.
The Transport Workers Union of America has launched an ad blitz ripping Hochul as so “radioactive” and “toxic” that midterm candidates from her own party want nothing to do with her.
New York’s smaller and rural hospitals are facing steep cuts as consolidations sweep through the healthcare industry — and the leading candidates for governor are trading blame for the trend.
Millions of dollars are headed to the victims of a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme that targeted Haitian and other immigrant communities. The settlement stems from a 2024 lawsuit filed by the state attorney general’s office.
The state Department of Labor, which has amassed a massive backlog of cases filed by employers challenging unemployment benefit claims by former workers, recently dropped more than 20,000 of those cases without reviewing them.
Attorney General Letitia James is planning to hire outside counsel to investigate the seven Cornell University frat brothers accused of raping a female classmate, after coming under fire to recuse herself for making prejudicial comments about the incident.
Republican Saritha Komatireddy, who criticized James’s comments on the Cornell case, has seen her long-shot candidacy gain momentum and support from GOP donors.
New York state officials are raising awareness of the ecological importance of the spooky season icons and the need for bat conservation, calling on people to stay away from caves and mines during the colder months to avoid disturbing hibernating bats.
The brother of a State Police lieutenant colonel under investigation after one of his old social media accounts was used to post content linked to sexually explicit images of children provided evidence indicating his brother’s X account had been hacked.
New York’s environmental conservation agency has launched a decadelong plan targeting 570 at-risk wildlife species. Officials warn that without interventions, these species could see critical population declines.
Mamdani’s administration is extending a decades-old moratorium on new street fairs through 2027, citing a likely increase in NYPD overtime.
Mamdani says the city government’s top lawyer is personally looking into allegations revealed by The City Reporter that top officials at the agency overseeing city purchasing and properties regularly used personal emails and texting to discuss official business.
After his barrier-breaking victory late last year, Mamdani has emerged as the face of the no-holds-barred progressive movement and has spent the season leveraging his rising capital to shape races with a string of endorsements.
Community leaders say New York City mayor’s early efforts have failed to address the problem of homeless encampments and in some cases made it worse.
The retired NYPD detective accused of shooting and killing another driver on the New York side of the George Washington Bridge last week is now out on bail.
New York officials and the Central Park Conservancy broke ground on a $35.7 million project designed to reduce flooding in Harlem and East Harlem while conserving millions of gallons of drinking water each year.
Saturday’s knifepoint rape in Central Park was the fifth sex attack in the iconic green space so far this year, leaving locals terrified.
Newly released data on suicides in New York City shows an overall decline in deaths, according to the city health department, but also inequities persist across gender, age, race and ethnicity.
A new study of patient costs in New York reveals that hospital mergers and consolidations have led to higher prices and charges, including in the Capital Region, where Ellis Medicine and the Albany Med Health System are contemplating a merger.
Bard College has picked Pace University President Marvin Krislov as its next president, choosing a new leader for a college rattled by disclosures about former President Leon Botstein’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Someone scrawled comments about the KKK, using the N-word, in Albany High School bathrooms, school officials said. Now the superintendent wants to add creative punishments to the typical suspension for such behavior.
City of Albany police announced Friday evening that an autopsy confirmed that detectives found the remains of Ashley Carroll, a Troy woman missing since 2010, in a shed behind a home on Marlborough Court.
The Working Families Party is urging people not to vote for Thomas Kenny, the candidate on its ballot line in the hard-fought race for the 113th state Assembly district seat that is currently held by Democrat Carrie Woerner.
Councilwoman Agatha Reid, a Clifton Park Republican, has accused town attorney Kevin Dailey of treating her “without respect” in a complaint she filed against him more than two months ago.
The East Greenbush Police Department has refiled paperwork with the state regarding the resignation of former officer Peter E. Lavin, a new designation that is expected to invalidate his police certification.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
