Pumpkin Patch

Today, my mom and I took the kids to the pumpkin patch. Way out in Texas Hill Country, we found a sweet little pumpkin patch that was complete with hayrides and a tractor train, a cowboy band, petting zoo, face painting, pumpkins (of course!) and fresh apple cider (and other apple wares) straight from an apple orchard.

It was a lovely day.

Here's what I did not anticipate:
1. Finding  a pumpkin patch. Apparently, in this part of the country, pumpkin patches are school fundraisers (who knew!) and that translates to heaps of pumpkins being... well, heaped into a local church or grocery store parking lot, setting up hay bales, and opening the gates (with admission!) to the "pumpkin patch." Today's pumpkin patch was an hour and twenty minute drive to get out of "parking lot pumpkin patches" and to some actual dirt. On a farm.

Truly, I tell you (and you can read about our escapades from last year's pumpkin hunting mission!) we are spoiled in the northwest, where when we go to the pumpkin patch, our shoes get muddy and we actually cut the pumpkin from the vine it grows on. It's crazy, I know - but true. The pumpkin patches in the PNW at actually at the farm where the pumpkins grow.

2. Sweat. On October 6, one does not consider the possibility of being overly dressed for the weather when one is wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and flip flops. Seriously, though, I totally under-estimated just how warm today was planning on being. Yeesh. (On a whim, I threw a sweatshirt in the back of the car just in case. Half thinking I might need it, but more just needing to have a sweatshirt in the car to go pumpkin hunting out of the ritual of it.)

All in all, a great adventure - and, even fruitful (ha ha) in getting great pumpkins!