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On Bluebird Lane off of Bradshaw Road in Masons Cove, Sam and Casey Meyer's garden gifted them with four five-foot-long Sicilian squashes this summer.

"There is no secret. We just planted it and it came up - and it just grew and grew and grew, and we let it keep growing," Casey said. She and her husband don't use chemicals or pesticides and they mulch their garden a lot. Three grew straight and long, and one wrapped itself around their tomato plant's cage.

"They surprised us, because they [the vines] just took over everything," said Casey. Now she's just looking for some recipes that particularly use the Sicilian squash.

We know summer's over, but if you have photos of your garden's surprises, blunders, or triumphs, send them to us at news@sosalem.com so we can keep memories of sunshine and summer going even while the days get shorter and darker!

That said, if you happen to harvest warm-blooded creatures during hunting season and you want to show off your hard work after you've got the meat in the freezer, we'd love to have those photos, too! (Just not too bloody - Halloween's officially over now!)

Steve Pendleton brought back four 66-lb-bags of Alaskan salmon in early September after a five-day-fishing trip in Yacatat, Alaska."He's been eating it like crazy," said his wife, Charlotte. The Pendletons, who own Charlotte's Web on East Main, went to visit their daughter, Sara Pendleton Deaver, a Salem High 1999 grad, who lives in Seattle, Washington.

Sara's husband's family has a fishing tradition, and they brought Steve along for the ride. The fish in the photo was 20 lbs. and about as long as his arm. He estimated it at about a yard, and he said it was quite a fight to get those salmon out of the water. And by the way, Charlotte and Sara got to spend some quality time together in Seattle while the boys were gone.

These two photos are of good friends enjoying a beautiful fall day at Longwood Park. The first photo is of Tyler James Correll. He is 15 month old and is the son of Ryan and Sarah Correll both of Salem. The second photo is of Carson and Parker Jones, three year old twin sons of Lisa Henry Jones (a Salem High Graduate) and husband Marshall Jones.

Submitted by Sarah Correll

Here are a few Fall snapshots from around Salem - if you want to share yours, we'd love to have them! Have the trees peaked yet? What do you think?

Email your photos to news@sosalem.com and we'll post them here on the Notebook.

Virginia governor Tim Kaine announced plans for a conservation land easement on Mill Mountain in Roanoke on Thursday, October 24, and quite a few Glenvar science students were on hand to witness. Twenty-four high schoolers and 16 middle schoolers to be exact, along with two principals and three teachers.Why?

Kaine announced a conservation land easement on Mill Mountain in Roanoke that day, and the students were there to hear about the 680 acres to be set aside by the city of Roanoke. The teachers thought they might get a mention in the governor's speech, but they did get a class photo with him at the platform near the star.

Three science teachers: Charlie Filer and Jennifer Crozier at GHS, and Beth Sellers at GMS, were recognized for their work with "Trout in the Classroom" and earned their schools a Virginia Naturally award. They are the only two schools out of the 52 Virginia schools participating in the program that received awards.

To read more about the land easement, click here to read Neil Harvey's story from Friday, October 23, or click here to read Cody Lowe's story from Saturday, October 24.

From Parks and Recreation on the Salem city website:

Pumpkinfest:

Salem Farmers Market, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. October 31.

Presented by Salem Parks & Recreation and Q99-FM.

Admission: $1, kids wearing costumes get in free. Trick or treating on Main Street will be held from 10 - 11 a.m., Valleydale hotdogs and chips from Frito Lay will be served throughout the day.

Come take a walk through our Chefs vs. Surgeons Jack O' Lantern patch and vote for your favorite pumpkin.

There will also be carnival games, a pumpkin give-away, a costume contest, hay rides, and a pumpkin auction where all proceeds will benefit C.H.I.P. (Child Health Investment Partnership)

On Tuesday, Anne Johnston shared some photos of a skunk that she spied chowing down in the cat food dish on her back deck. (If you missed them, you can see those photos here.)

Anne Johnston vowed to get some better pictures of her visitor and, lo, here they are. She calls her visitor "a 'reverse' skunk...the white should be black and vice-versa."

Thanks, Anne!

On Zach and Mackenlee Simmons birthday they decide to help the Salem animal shelter. Insted of getting their own presents they asked that everyone invited to the party bring dog or cat food and toys for the animals.

Submitted by Mitzi Simmons

This is Spartan in his fall colors. He's named after the Salem Spartans. He is a 1 1/2 year old Siberian Husky. His favorite spot is the Salem Icecream Parlor.

Send your pet photos to news@sosalem.com.

Submitted by Rhonda Witt