Illinois' fall is nothing short of mesmerizing: the cozy weather, the beautiful shades of orange in the trees, Halloween... And pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere! Our state is the biggest national producer of this fall staple. From delicious pies to spooky decorations, pumpkins are more than a versatile vegetable at the center of a 270 million dollar industry; they are also a cultural phenomenon (think Jack-o'-lantern). However, our beloved pumpkins are vulnerable to disease, like the cucurbit yellow vine decline (CYVD), which threatens harvesting. But how can we understand and combat what we cannot see? With that in mind, I engineered a fluorescent strain of Serratia ureilytica, the pathogen behind CYVD, allowing us to track the spread of the infection within the plant. The image depicts a microscopic, cross-sectional view of a midvein of an infected leaf. Due to the fluorescence I incorporated in the bacteria, we can visualize the pathogen in the glowing specks at the center (not to be confused with the glow emanating from the tiny spikes around the vein, which naturally reflect light). After staring into the microscope long enough, I had a humorous realization: the cross-section looks a bit like a carved pumpkin, no?