Joed Viera/Staff Photographer-Marshall Nichols sorts pumpkins outside his home at 7752 Ridge Road. Nichols is selling the gourds between $2 and $8. Steve Reiners, a Cornell University horticulture professor reportedly said that this years pumpkins benefited from September's warm and dry weather. His advice for pumkin purchasers is to look for a sturdy stem and avoid pumpkins with soft spots.