Feeding Pumpkins to the Animals

Wisconsin, along with much of the country, has had unseasonable weather.  The temperatures have been below freezing for the past ten days.  Usually we wait until Thanksgiving is over to deal with the decoration pumpkins.  Then, before the Christmas decorations go up, we break up the pumpkins.  The deer and the squirrels love to eat them.  This year was different.  The pumpkins froze solid.  My friend suggested that I throw them on the sidewalk to break them up.  Most years we hit them with an ax or sledge hammer, and they crack into pieces.  It was a funny sight to see me on the top step throwing pumpkins as hard as I could.  They just rolled down the sidewalk like a bowling balls.  I didn't even put a dent in the pumpkins.

The pumpkins were frozen so solid they just rolled down the sidewalk.  I see two bite marks from squirrels before the frost.

Tomorrow the temperatures are supposed to rise into the 40's.  I know as soon as the pumpkins start to thaw, they will turn into a mushy mess.  We had to deal with them today.  We loaded the smaller pumpkins into our wheelbarrow, and wheeled them out to the edge of the woods.

We did a little brainstorming because hitting these pumpkins with an ax or hammer was not working.  I thought of a Sawzall type reciprocating saw.  Those saws can saw through anything including nails.  I asked my husband to help me.

 

We gave it a try.

 

It went through the frozen pumpkin like a hot knife through butter.

Within a short period of time, we (meaning my husband) were able to cut the pumpkins in half.  They made cute little bowls perfect for the animals to eat out of.

Next we loaded up the big ones.  We knew the smaller pumpkins could easily be cut in half, but we weren't sure about the big ones.  We were able to cut them just as easily.

These were covered with ice and snow.

Yum, I hope the animals enjoy these.