Yesterday I spent the morning calling around to my doctor and every Walgreens, Costco and Long's Drugs within easy access of my house. I was looking, of course, for the illusive seasonal flu shot, which due to all the strident warnings from every major media outlet to GET YOUR SHOT, is now nearly impossible to get in San Francisco. If someone decided to start a black market flu shot trade, he or she would have a tidy little business. Just saying. But today, between washing my hands every ten minutes and admonishing sick coworkers for coming to the office, I turned my attention to another shortage: The Great Pumpkin Shortage of Halloween 2009.

Saveur magazine described the situation yesterday. Due to a poor crop in the Northeast, Midwest and South, the nation is looking westward for its annual supply of pumpkin—from jack-o-lanterns for carving to the canned variety so instrumental to holiday feasts. And though for farmers this is no laughing matter, Steven Colbert managed to, well, make it funny—check out the video over at Eat Me Daily.

But before you go out there to hoard gourds, consider this: kabocha and delicata squash make fine pies, and we have it on good authority that Eatwell Farm will have pumpkins for carving at their stand at the Ferry Building tomorrow.  Rest easy.