One of my fall favorites is PUMPKINS. Not only are they adorable (I really, really think they're the cutest thing in the garden), but they're also tasty and nutritious.

And right now, a week after Halloween, you can get them for a song in a lot of different places.

See what's going on at your local pumpkin patch. Look for them at the grocery store when you do your shopping. Make a stop at the "fancy" grocery store in your area to find heirloom pumpkins at deep discounts. After Thanksgiving, you may be able to get even more pumpkins, but around here, I haven't had much luck with that.

Here's some pumpkin trivia.

Pumpkin is part of the Cucurbita family, which also includes cucumbers and squash.

They are botanically classified as fruits, not vegetables.

Early American settlers made a version of pumpkin pie by hollowing out a pumpkin and filling it with milk, honey, and spices, then baking it in the ashes of their cooking fire.

Although the classic pumpkin is orange, there are heirloom varieties that are green, yellow, red, white, blue, and tan.

Don't waste pumpkins just for decor.

Pumpkins are commonly used for decor in the autumn, from Halloween right on through Thanksgiving.

Take Halloween, for example. When my kids were younger, we were far too broke to go out and buy pumpkins to carve and then just allow them to rot on the front porch.

Instead, we chose our pumpkins and painted designs on them with craft paint. (The thick rind protected the edible stuff inside.) Then, if we did end up carving, we did so the night of Halloween right before we went out trick-or-treating. When we got home, I brought the pumpkins inside, washed them, and processed them immediately.

Later, when we had livestock (and a bit more money), we could feed the carved pumpkins to our animals. Chickens just love going at a pumpkin or squash that already has a hole in it. They went absolutely wild for jack'o'lanterns.

Lots of folks also use pumpkin as decor on their tables and by the front door for the entire autumn season. If you plan to do that, watch to make sure your pumpkin isn't rotting so you can use it up.

It just seems incredibly wasteful to me to buy something that provides that much food and then throw it away. If you're wondering what to do with all that tasty orange goodness, then read on!