This past Saturday, our family did the October outing -- a day at the farm. 3 farms to be exact, traipsing through 2 pumpkin patches, picking our own corn and spending some time at the baby animal petting zoo.
The last time we went, the aromas from the concession stands were almost overwhelming. This time, after a hearty oatmeal breakfast for all, we brought gingerbread cake squares, apples from our trees and hot spiced apple cider, to enjoy throughout the day. I still would've really enjoyed a bowl of chili at one of the farms, but for $6.75 a bowl, no thanks!
So, packed into the car, we drove north to a farming community. We only visited 3 of the farms. There are many, many more. But after looking at pumpkins for a couple of hours, we really had no inclination to press on in the pumpkin patches.
We found the u-pick corn farm that we had visited two years ago. Corn prices are higher this year. Back then we paid 20c per ear. This year the price was up to 25c. But considering what happened in the mid-west with their corn crop, I can hardly complain. We enjoyed our own version of the free corn maze -- getting lost in the u-pick field. We went deep into the field to find the largest ears (the big ears near the entrance had already been picked off). And followed up by Marco Polo-ing our way back out. We bought 16 ears of corn. I've been wanting to make some corn salsa. I've never made any before, but will give it a try this week. Our local Mucho Burrito has corn salsa as one of their options, and I love the stuff!
I also bought a small squash for 75c. I should have bought more, given that it was such a bargain, but I had to carry it around for a while, and that's all I wanted in my arms.
Pumpkin prices are almost always higher at the pumpkin patches, than the grocery stores. So we go and enjoy oohing and aahing over the pumpkins in the fresh air, then, back in our own community we buy our pumpkins for about 1/3 less.
Planning our snacks was a big help. We neither had to go hungry, nor did we succumb to the overpriced treats there. A small 8 oz. bag of candy corn was selling for $3.99! I saw many families with bags of caramel corn. In hindsight, I wish I'd brought something more substantial to snack on, in addition to the treats we did bring. That chili really got to me, I guess.
One of the farms had a money-sucking gift shop. Interesting to look through, and surprising to see all the folks shelling out big bucks for things like a 2-cup bag of acorns for $10. Anyone with oak trees nearby will be laughing themselves silly over that one.
These pumpkin patches offer corn mazes (about $8 per person), hay rides (sometimes free, but the ones we saw were $3.50 per person), pumpkin launching (a couple of dollars per pumpkin), and food concessions galore. I get it -- they are money-making enterprises.
But in hindsight, I'd have thought all this through before going. Maybe (but just maybe, I'm not sure we'd have all that much more fun, by doing the "extras") I'd have set aside $15-20 cash to spend -- when the money's gone, so are we, sort of thing. And I'd have brought more to eat with us. Even if we'd stopped in at the grocery store deli and bought some fried chicken to take with us, that would have cost a fraction of what they were charging (and I wouldn't have longed for that chili).
But in the end, I queried my husband and kids about the day, and even without spending on the "extras", we all had a great time. Picking corn was a highlight for several of us. One of my daughters said she liked the gift shop (okay, she's a teenager, she likes to shop, even in a store filled with overpriced acorns!). And being outside on a lovely fall day was a treat for all of us.
Will you be visiting any pumpkin patches this month?
