You know what we haven’t done in years? Visited a farm.
Other than our own, of course.
But used to be, once upon a time, the highlight of our October traditions was a trip to a local farm—the same one, every year— to select pumpkins, wander corn mazes, dive into bins of feed corn, and gawk at the animals.
I looked forward to the visit every year, trying, if at all possible, to schedule it on my birthday, which falls pretty much smack dab in the middle of the month. In our first years in Washington, our bounty of pumpkins headed straight for the carving table, where they promptly joined the ranks of front porch jack o’ lanterns everywhere. Eventually, we fell away from celebrating Halloween altogether. But the farm trip endured, and somehow became even sweeter. Instead of being something of a gateway to the “bigger show” of dressing up and hitting the streets in search of candy, the day set aside to drive out to the farm became a true highlight of its own, and pointed us towards the rhythm of the seasons and the natural transition of time. We still collected pumpkins, too. Now, however, instead of looking for the right face, we were mindful of potential flavor. Any gourds we brought home became pies, breads, cakes, doughnuts, and other treats that made the fruits rotting by front doors feel like a pale comparison.
When we returned from Nepal, we somehow never made it back to a agri-business farm, or corn maze, or even a pumpkin patch that had sprung up in a vacant lot. And when we moved to Floating Axe, well… we planted our own pumpkins.
Last year we sold in the neighborhood of 200, I believe. Most were pie varieties but we planted jack o’lanterns as well. I’ve just now, this month, exhausted the supply of roasted, pureed pumpkin in my freezer that we put up last year. It’s bittersweet, because this year, we hauled in a grand total of less than 15 pumpkins… every one of them a volunteer! It makes me smile every time I see them tucked into my fall decor, because somehow, they feel like an extension of the amazing bounty that was last year’s garden.
I love this time of year, and even without wandering fields of ripe, orange pumpkins, I get a full dose of the beauty that is autumn. We’ve got chickens galore (and a new batch of chicks, to boot) and a few rabbits left. There’s no corn maze, but I could probably inspire Jack to mow one of the back fields into a circuitous walking path if I felt the need. And feed corn fun? Well, we’ve got animal feed galore. I guess if I wanted to relive the fun I could take a handful and sprinkle it in my kids’ pockets before I threw them in the wash.
October is a beautiful month, with or without pumpkin farms and petting zoos and illuminated jack o’ lanterns and fun-sized Snickers. I’m just grateful that I get to live out my favorite parts every day now… with no admission fee.
