VEN (New York) — This was the week for pumpkins!

First, Claire Bresdon — a veterinarian from Clearwater, Florida — made a boat out of a giant hollowed-out pumpkin, which she paddled 105 miles from Key West to Havana, Wednesday, only to be immediately arrested by Cuban authorities when she made landfall and detained as a spy.

Ms Bresdon — a gay animal rights activist — was trying to raise money to cover the cost of gender reassignment surgery for her two male Pomeranians and a female pit bull named Butch.

Then there was John Allen of Scranton, Pennsylvania who found what he believed to be a 300 year-old perfectly preserved pumpkin in his root cellar,  but  before Guinness could authenticate it, his now estranged wife peeled and pureed it, and turned it into a pie!

Finally, Jose Trajeo — a migrant worker from Juarez, Mexico — tried to save money on his Greyhound bus ticket from Austin to El Paso Monday, by concealing his baby daughter Abóbora inside a — you guessed it — pumpkin!

The jig was up and Senor Trajeo on his way to jail when little Abóbora suddenly awoke and popped the top off of her pumpkin bassinet!

The hapless Mr Traejo claimed he had no idea that there was a baby inside his pumpkin or — after she was taken to Social Servcies — that her diaper was stuffed with a kilo of black tar heroin!

“All I know is that when I bought the pumpkin there was nothing inside!  It was 100% pumpkin.  What kind of pendejo buys a hollowed out pumpkin?  I am very confused. I thought my little girl was with her abuela!”