Is this where the Great Pumpkin lives?

D: age 3, R: age...2 months?

When the boys were preschoolers, Fall trips to a pumpkin patch were as much a part of the season for us as changing the clocks back to Eastern Standard Time. Each excursion involved what I came to think of as our own little Harvest Rituals. First we would bundle up in layers to ward off the chilly October air. (Ah, the good old days, back when my sons would agreeably consent to wear exactly what I told them was sensible attire for the windy, 50-degree weather...you know: jackets...and long pants! Imagine!) Then we would don appropriate footwear for tromping over bumpy, viney, potentially-muddy ground. Once we arrived at the actual farm, there would be livestock to examine (and sometimes pet--I know--ewww--but the kids love it...and hand sanitizer is a wonderful thing), and bales of straw to leap over and fresh apple cider to taste. Finally we would take a tractor-pulled hayride to the gourd-covered fields, where we would invest a great deal of time and energy inspecting the specimens, comparing the relative merits of each one, and selecting the perfect pumpkins to become our Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns. Good times.

With an 11 and 8-year old, I feared our era of farm-visiting had passed forever. And this year, since it rained...pretty much through the month of September...we made a Group Decision to "cheat" and choose our porch decorations from the already-gathered supply at a nursery in town called (naturally) The Good Earth, where we wouldn't be forced to splash through boggy fields and lug slippery, ooze-covered pumpkins back to our car. Everyone was completely okay with the plan, and that seemed to be that. Except: Riley suddenly got a hankering to try out a Corn Maze. (Precisely where he picked up this notion, I have no idea, but once that boy gets hold of an idea, he does not let it go easily...) So when my friend called to ask if we wanted to accompany her family to--you guessed it--pick pumpkins on the kids' day off from school, I told her we would indeed love to tag along.

I have to say, this time our preparation required far less work on my part, as Derek and Riley obviously dress themselves these days. (Although Derek complained about being cold quite a bit...to which I responded without even the tiniest atom of sympathy, "Here's a thought: WEAR JEANS!") We opted for Sharp's Farm, an active agricultural setting complete with animals, orchards, crops, and at this time of year, all kinds of Fall activities as well. Funny enough, the boys still enjoyed getting up-close-and-personal with the goats, cows, and chickens. (Never too old to bond with cute fuzzy farm creatures, I guess.) There was the requisite hayride and the mucking about among the brightly-colored array of pumpkins in the fields. (Although since we weren't actually toting any ourselves, we took a short nature stroll back to the barn rather than wait for the wagon.) At the store, we browsed the apples (several varieties) and vegetables (extremely colorful) and honey (produced in hives on the property!) and fresh herbs. (Incidentally, I taught Derek’s nose to identify “dill” and “cilantro” by giving them the sniff test…’cuz I’m sure all 6^th grade boys need that knowledge…to impress the chicks? Or some such nonsense...)

But the highlight of the day was (dah dah dah DAH) the “Friends and Foes of the Farmer” Corn Maze! You couldn’t tell from the ground, of course, but the Tour Guide assured us that the 10+ acre field was carved in the shapes of a bat…and a stinkbug (I’ll let you guess which is helpful and which is the enemy.) Rather than trying to scare you, this particular labyrinth was set up as an educational-and-fun puzzle. You encountered questions hanging on cornstalks, every few yards along the path. Continuing to follow the correct direction would depend on determining the right answer. No great surprise, the posse of 5 boys (ages 8-14) sprinted willy-nilly off into the corn, utterly ignoring the informational signs and racing to the finish. We girls (3 moms, 1 daughter) took our time, stopping dutifully at each card, reading carefully and absorbing the interesting facts. (Apparently, bats can live 30-40 years, and tend to have only one offspring at a time. See, great stuff! And did you know stinkbugs have bright red eyes? Me neither! And I never would have accosted one to find out!) When the boys taunted us that they had “won”, we very maturely responded something along the lines of “nyah nyah, we got MUCH smarter than you, so there!”


At the end of the day, a successful pumpkin-patch time was had by all. I think Derek summed it up best when he announced, in his pre-teen, low-key sort of way, “Well, that was fun!” By next year, they may be clamoring for Haunted Trails and Ghost vs. Zombie Tours, so for now, I’m happy we had one more wholesome farm experience to remember!