Where's the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown?

"The pumpkins are getting smaller and the trick or treaters are getting fatter," Jay Leno.

This summer I was on a mission to make Jim this Jell-O no bake peanut butter and chocolate dessert. I searched the store high and low, only to find the Publix by my house did not carry it.

Since I was already at the grocery, I decided I'd make Jim pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes, since they're his favorite. However, after looking in every fathomable aisle (we're talking even the frozen section) I couldn't find pumpkin.

Finally I found someone to help me. I asked him where the pumpkin was and he informed me that there was a pumpkin shortage. In Georgia? I asked. Not just GA, everywhere.

Since it was only July and I was skeptical of his credibility, I didn't worry.

That is, until Jay Leno announced there was a shortage tonight.

Apparently, a chilly, damp summer in the Midwest and New England has caused crops to struggle. Some farmers are reporting as little as one tenth the pumpkins as last year. Crops are down, prices are up, and pumpkin will be hard to find.

Personally, I almost don't see the point in beginning fall if I can't be guaranteed pumpkin lattes, ice cream, and muffins. Pumpkin makes fall perfect. So, until I can be certain there will be pumpkins to carve, I'm going to stick with summerfall.