My first ever carved pumpkin! I scooped, designed and carved this baby myself. It was a messy, fun and rewarding experience. Thanks to the Kays family who are gearing up for their annual pumpkin carving party tomorrow.

We were in Philadelphia before we came to Albany. Philly is cool and we had a great time in the museum and with friends there. The museum is one of the oldest in the country and the mammal collection is in the basement. There are great things in the collection and it is like working in a wine cellar - I loved it! Kris got a cap there with a dinosaur on and he looks very boyish in it :oP The traditional food (besides the cream cheese!) is a 'cheese steak' which is basically a steak sandwich. Unfortunately we did not try this delicacy but the american diet has no shortage of such cheese filled, artery hardening, heart attack inducing cuisine I didn't feel I was missing too much!
Tomorrow we are off to NYC to visit our good friends Conan and Ellie and spend a couple of days in the vast collections of the American museum... I love to visit NYC!

No, we are not standing in front of a picture we are in a cave under a waterfall with Albany and the autumnal woods in the backgr.ound 

These colourful warty specimens are amazing! 

A gourd totem at the Indian Ladder Farm (and apple orchard) 

Oh my gord!!

Ok, so I haven't looked at bebo for a while so I thought I'd give this a go. The northern autumn is really celebrated here and in a big was as with everything else in the US. There are giant orange pumpkins a plenty, banners on houses with autumn themes, decorative corns and gourds and squash of all shapes and sizes. Halloween is only a few days off and every kid is getting a costume and pumpkins are being carved. Here is a taste of the frenzy from Albany NY...