Chris - if you will check out the other 'help me ID..." posts further down the page here and over on page 2 - been a real run of the question lately - you'll find that volunteers and those grown from saved seed can seldom by identified. And even then they are just guesses. Squash cross-pollinate far too readily (unless it is prevented) for them to breed true. So yours is a hodge-podge. :) Growing out volunteers can be interesting but seldom worth the work or space. Dave

If they stayed small, then I'm almost 100% that they are Jack Be Little. You can go ahead and harvest them as soon as they turn a dark orange color. A few tips that may help you, they will last a very long time after harvesting if kept in a cool dry place (such a mold free cellar or garage). Store them sitting on a newspaper on a shelf, but don't let them touch each other. I'm not exaggerating, I had some last for 6-7 months this way. I grow them every year because they are so tasty and they make perfect serving sizes! If you want a squash like side dish for dinner or your kids (grandkids?) want a snack, then all you have to do is cut them in half, scoop out the few seeds, lay them on a lined baking sheet, add some butter and cinnamon if you like, and bake until tender. The pumpkin taste is very intense on these tiny guys and I prefer them hands down to any other type of larger pumpkin or squash. The benefit is their small size as they are always sitting there, ready to be popped into the oven and feasted on! Good luck :)

Ankraras, Thanks...that's really close in appearance, but it's not low growing, and the stems are smooth, not hairy like that. It seems to be a bush and not a sprawling ground cover like the spurge, with leaves much bigger than the spotted spurge. Its stems seem to be a little woodier instead of succulent. Let's see what other options we can dig up. (no pun) Comparing my "Image 2" from my second post from the top to the image on the page below reveals that it's much different. I'm fairly convinced that this is NOT a weed. Here is a link that might be useful: Euphorbia Maculata (Spotted Spurge)

hmmm I think you are right with one of these, there was very little foliage, mostly stem with a couple of smooth narrow leaves toward the bottom. The camera would not focus enough to get a clearer shot, and the flower/weed fell victim to the neighbors weedeater. Thanks Hortster!