Playing Hooky

A day at the pumpkin farm

I played hooky this morning. But so did my family. So I don't feel too badly about it.  October is quickly coming to an end. This would be our last week to go out to the pumpkin and corn fields.

This farm sits on 70 acres of land. I think the pumpkin fields use up about 4 of those acres. We made our way through the pumpkins for about an hour and put 1 mile on the step-counter app on my phone. When I would stop and stand still, it was so quiet. This is what I want in retirement, a place where it's quiet, like this.

There must be several acres in corn here, the corn rows that bound a couple of sides of the pumpkin fields, the corn maze patch, and a very large field of corn across the road from the public part of the farm.

The trees were gorgeous, the sky was pale blue with a few clouds floating by, and the sun shone on us this morning. We were very fortunate with the weather. It has been so rainy and cold lately. We all brought our boots to wear in the fields, as we knew it would be. very muddy.

When I say fields of pumpkins, there was literally one field after the next still filled with pumpkins, some fully ripe, others still green, and more in the early stages of development with blossoms still opening waiting for a pollinator.

This farm divides its fields up by size of pumpkin. There was the little kids' pumpkin patch, with pumpkins sized to appeal to the littles. Many preschool age kids were there this morning, and they mostly stayed in the little kids' patch. The patch we tromped through was filled with the large pumpkins, some as large as beachballs. 

The corn was in differing stages of growth. Some were being harvested to sell at the farm stand at the front of the farm. I inquired about the price per ear. They were $1.25 each. Ouch! I decided not to buy any at that price. I realize they make their money selling pumpkins, corn, and products at inflated prices. No worry, I would spend a some money in their little store in just a short while. I want to support their family-owned business so they continue to be a part of our family's adventures.

The sell snacks and coffee, also at inflated prices. However, I decided to bring something from home for us to enjoy at their picnic tables. I brought thick slices of freshly-baked pumpkin bread and a thermos of hot chai herb tea. We sat and talked in the sunshine while enjoying our little snack at the farm until a group of preschoolers and their teachers swarmed the area. I adore little kids. But what I really wanted in this moment was quiet.

We wandered over to the retail area of the farm. In the little store they sold, you guessed it, pumpkin butter, for $8.95 per jar.

Fortunately for us, we can make our own pumpkin butter for a fraction of that price.

They had a few interesting canned goods, such as this cinnamon apple syrup. One of the things I do when finding something interesting like this is turn the jar or bottle over and take a photo of the ingredients label. 

I can often reverse engineer a recipe for a homemade version of a product if the ingredients are simple enough. The syrup was even more expensive than the pumpkin butter. So again, I passed on this product. 

Here is an idea for a DIY gift-able that I wanted to share with you. The sign calls them "Simmer Pots."

Much of what you're paying for is attractive packaging. These would be super simple to assemble and give as gifts. They include dried fruit, like orange slices, dried herbs, pods, and spices, packaged in a canning jar, tied with baker's twine, and given a label with instructions.

They came in different fragrances. I focused on this one, as it looked appealing in the jar. It contained cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, dried orange slices, star anise, nutmeg, and rosemary. The directions say to put the entire contents of the jar in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, then simmer on the stove to fragrance your home. 

I told you that I did spend some money at the farm. I bought two gifts for my son and daughter-in-law for their upcoming birthdays, one, a jar of unusual jam (fig, raspberry, orange zest, and ginger), and two, a candle in a fragrance that both my daughter-in-law and I love, Fraser Fir. Yes, these gifts were expensive, but with the jam, it supports the farm, and the candle is from a local cottage industry business. Supporting small businesses that are local is a priority in my spending when possible.

After changing back into shoes when we left the farm, we made a lunch stop at a family-owned burger place. We went to this restaurant after visiting the pumpkin farm several years ago and wanted to go again. The burgers are really tasty and the onion rings are crispy. This burger place has been in operation and family-owned since 1959. It's cute. It's funky. And the food is perfect. What more could we ask for?

A day of hooky every now and then is rejuvenating. I'll get back to regular work tomorrow.