October 26, 2013: Well, we had Ripe Pumpkin Day earlier in the month, but this seems more like the appropriate day to buy your pumpkin for Halloween carving purposes. So happy National Pumpkin Day, and get carving! Of course, here in Florida, it’s still too early to carve a pumpkin if you want it to be intact for Halloween. It’s just too hot to sit the poor thing outside. (Although when we lived in Seattle, you could leave a carved pumpkin outside for a month and it’d still be crisp and firm.)

Mule Day commemorates the delivery of Spanish mules to the new world back in 1785. As for Howl at the Moon Night, apparently you’re supposed to gather with friends at 9:00 PM local time, look to the (hopefully uncloudy) skies, and let rip. Yes, this one is a pretty goofy holiday, but we’ve had weirder. At least the timing of this one makes sense, as do some of the others here in the lead-up to Halloween.