Happening today: Pick a pumpkin

Good morning, readers.

Did you know that the largest pumpkin ever grown in California weighed over 1500 pounds?

Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

Well, 'tis now the season for the beloved orange squash. And though you won't find such huge specimens growing at Moorpark's Underwood Farms -- where you and your family can pick your own jack'-o-lantern-to-be -- they have raised a wide selection of shapes and sizes running from Sugar Babies (tiny) to Big Macs (very big) to positively gigantic. As Sara Jane Underwood -- who owns the farm with her husband, Craig -- says, "We've had some Great Atlantic Giants that weighed about 400 pounds."

The Guide has all the details on this and other farms in the L.A. area opening their fields to enthusiastic pumpkin pickers. Enjoy.

--Bettie Rinehart

Photo: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times