It almost the end of summer....orange is a big clue, then stem should be hard.....leave a long stem, this helps it not rot...............wipe it down with 10 % bleach in water to prevent it from going bad....one cut.......take it out of the sun to keep it from going bad. Some people cook them or save them for holiday activities. If you cook them you can take the seeds out and wash & roast them with just a touch of salt. Some people store them in the root cellar for later to make pies. Some people can them for future use.