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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Celebrating the season at the Pumpkin Patch!

Like most gardeners, my favorite season is summer but there is something special about autumn.  We've had a particularly gorgeous beginning of the season.  It's been quite dry and warm although the nights are starting to get a little cooler.

The secure feeling of a bountiful harvest safely gathered in for winter, summer's labors drawing to an end, with winter's harshness and chores somewhere in the future.  It's a period of grace and rest; (unless you've not brought your tender plants in yet.) of introspection and the return of sweaters, soup, hot cocoa, spiced cider.

There's also the dying and death all around but with the promise of life returning again in the spring.  What beautiful death it is, the leaves, the bright fruits, even the light itself changing to a beautiful golden color as it leaves. 
No wonder that in the western world, all hallows eve, all saints day, all souls day, Día de los Muertos and others are celebrated during this time of the year.  Remembering the dead, a "mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won." 
Squash anyone?
 
Cinderella pumpkins.  Love the reddish orange color and magic coach shape.

A savvy shopper dressed for the occasion in her pink cowboy boots.

I've taken my classes on field trips to this pumpkin patch (Scholz's in Orting) for years and love it because of it's many fun photo ops like this tractor, the animals, non scary corn maze, huge mountain of wood chips to play on and great selection of produce.
There are many pumpkin patches in this area and they  all look wonderful but I keep going back to Scholz because the people are so friendly and admission is free!  Check out this  website to learn more.


 What to do on a wonderfully warm autumn day?  Why take a nap of course!
I asked this ewe and her lamb what they thought of all of these people hanging around their home.  They said, "Oh, it's not so baaaaaaaaaad."

Everyone was getting into the idea of napping.  Below is Daisy the cow.  Isn't she sweet?
Then there was this ferocious farm animal ... In case you don't know, we have and love Pomeranians so seeing this little girl guarding her pumpkins was delightful.

For those of you whose eyes need a rest from all of those bright colors, here's a brief respite.
 Some families have annual pictures of the children standing by this sign.
Another great backdrop for a family or class photo.
 There were MANY of these cute plywood cut out thingies.  Some are even Christmas - themed so you can get your holiday card picture during your visit.  Did I mention that this is all free?  Who is that scarecrow with the strange face?
Time to head inside.




 No time to do any canning this year?  No Problem,  the nice people at Scholz's farm have done it for you.
What a sweet day it was.  If you have the chance, find a local pumpkin patch or farm and enjoy autumn while you can.  Soon it'll be eggnog latte time!
 
Time to pay for my corn, squash and apples.  Strangely enough, they don't use this cash register anymore.

 I hope you are enjoying the season!

19 comments:

  1. Thanks for highlighting such a great farm, and so close by for me! Ooooh, I would love some of that honey. Aren't Pomeranians adorable? We saw a little black one last weekend, and it just wiggled all over, it was so pleased to see us. It didn't have a clue who we were, it just knew we had stopped to say hi!

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    1. How cute. I love all dogs (and cats and rabbits and...) but Poms are kind of special to me because we've had so many over the years. Maybe you need a puppy as well as some of that honey.

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  2. What a perfect place for a fall outing, and what a ham! Kudos to Tom for playing along. I don't know which is cuter the little girl in her boots or the sleeping pigs. Heck the pony and Pomeranian are pretty adorable too!

    Last Sunday, after the garden bloggers get together at Ricki's out off Highway 30, team plant lust stopped in at Cistus (after all we were driving right by)...you should have seen the cars at the pumpkin patches!Of course the traffic getting off the island was pretty amazing too. I think everyone wanted to get out and enjoy it before the rains returned this weekend.

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    1. It was so wonderful to visit when the ground wasn't saturated with water like it often is in October. Tom is a pretty good sport. So much cute stuff at this particular farm as it's geared for little kids.

      Did you find anything interesting at Cistus? After all, the tough love sale is still going on, right? It has started lightly raining here and I'm thinking that Arizona or California sound pretty nice.

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  3. Thanks for taking us with you to that awesome place. So many pumpkins! Those animals are so cute, especially those pigs! Are you also a teacher? I'm Swedish teacher for teens. I teach pupils from 13 to 16 years. Now I'm having a year off.

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    1. It's always a pleasure to have you join us on our field trips! I was a music teacher (K - 12) for years but for the last 20 years, I've taught elementary special education. I've a Friend from Finland whose first language was Swedish (Her mother was Swedish; her father a Finn. I know that you live in Helsinki but what is the name of the other town in which you live?

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    2. It's Lappeenranta. In southeastern Finland.

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  4. Cute little pomeraniun, so many pumpkins, I love the photo of the Cinderella Pumpkins, great shot. Yes, thanks for sharing these things with us, have a nice day.

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  5. Beautiful colors and textures in your photos, the farm is a nice change from the scary maze stuff. So many activities that look like family fun.

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    1. Thank you. I love that it's only a 20 minute drive from the city!

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  6. I enjoyed the tour. Reminds me of when we took our kids to pick blueberries, cherries, and apples. They loved the fruit and climbing on the old tractors that were usually around.

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    1. Sounds like fun. It's great to get out into the country sometimes.

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  7. Love, love, love this post! There is just something about a farm stand in the fall with the superabundance of color and all the fabulous fall squash/pumpkins/fruit that makes me smile.

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    1. It's a special time of the year & your own post about the farm stand was stunning. I always think of the northeast when I'm at places like this because there are so many great farm stands back there. Some of my favorites are the ones at farms that also make maple syrup/sugar products. For a few hundred years, my mother's family farmed and sugared in VT on the family farm. There is something special about walking on that land which sustained generations of my family and visiting farm stands in the area.

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  8. No wonder I love your blog so much! I didn't realize you were a teacher, too! I taught elementary for 5 years but have been in middle school for 10 years. I also taught 8th self-contained SPED for a year. This looks like a great place. There is a very similar place here, too. I love those Cinderella pumpkins. :o)

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    1. Many naughty children become criminals or teachers. You and I chose the latter. I love self-contained SPED because there is so much curricular freedom and the little kiddos are very sweet.

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  9. amazing!!! I love the pumpkin patch soo much!!!! It makes me think about my dreams of a hobby farm! I would have the most spoiled chickens ever!!!!

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    1. Oh Louis, you should have a hobby farm! Who cares about grad school? Someone needs to spoil some chickens and grow cool crops! It would be a lot of hard work though.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.