Johnson: Turn your used pumpkin into wildlife treat

Have you have noticed that pumpkins mean different things to different people?

For a child, pumpkins represent jack-o'-lanterns and Halloween. Homeowners, on the other hand, consider bright orange pumpkins to be ideal fall yard decorations. To those among us who enjoy fine food, pumpkins conjure up thoughts of pumpkin pie, stew, soup and roast pumpkin, and other delicacies.

Unfortunately, few think of pumpkins as a source of food for wildlife.

Although the name pumpkin is derived from the Greek word for large melon (pepon), early American colonists are credited with giving this large, colorful fruit the name pumpkin.

By the time these settlers arrived in the New World, Native Americans had been using pumpkins for generations. They made use of this native plant in a number of ways. The seeds and flesh were consumed. Pumpkins were cut in strips, pounded and woven into mats. Pumpkin seeds were even used as medicine.

Each year, far more pumpkins are raised than are ever eaten. This is because most pumpkins are used exclusively as decorations.

Instead of simply tossing your used pumpkins into the trash after Halloween or Thanksgiving, why not offer them up as a post- Halloween wildlife food? It is a snap to do and a great way for you to involve your children or grandchildren in a wildlife project.

Small pumpkins can be placed around the yard for raccoons and other animals that eat fruits and vegetables.

If you want to be creative, fashion a face on an old pumpkin with an assortment of fruits and vegetables such as carrots and apples. Then sit back and see which parts of your creation prove to be favorites with your wildlife neighbors.

Larger pieces can be cut up in chunks and placed in secluded parts of the yard. These pieces provide food for late butterflies and other insects that dine on plant juices. Pieces of pumpkins can be mixed with slices of apples, pears and other fruits and presented in shallow pans.

Better yet, a pumpkin shell can be cut to fashion a shallow bowl in which the food offerings can be placed. At this time of the year your fruit salad might attract American robins, northern mockingbirds, rose-breasted grosbeaks, northern cardinals, hermit thrushes, brown thrashers or perhaps a gray catbird that has lingered long after its cohorts have departed for their wintering grounds in Mexico, the Carib

Related News: