Sunday, October 14, 2007

The pleasure of pumpkins


October is my favorite month. The temperature cooling down, the wind blowing and the color orange endear this month to me. The orange object which pleases me most is a plump and perky pumpkin.




Last night A and I went to a real live pumpkin farm! I had looked some up online and was surprised to find so many in the area. We chose Hall's Pumpkin Farm in Grapevine. It was a wonderful experience and a quintessential capping off of an autumn Saturday.



As we drove into the dirt parking area we laughed together about A's old Ford truck, affectionately known as "Old Betsy", looking like the only vehicle that actually belonged on a farm. We shared the lot with shiny new automobiles of every description.

Our eyes were greeted with bales of hay and delightful displays of the produce available. White, fairytale, Cinderella, pie and classic orange pumpkin varieties were available for purchase at very reasonable prices. Hayrides were offered, face painting, a corn maze, popcorn and you could take as many pictures as you pleased.



There were plenty of adorable kids to watch as we gazed around and the atmosphere was one of good, clean, family fun. The people who own the farm were so nice. Wagons were provided to haul your selections around.

Being the wonderful man that he is, A realizes the importance to me of a good stem when selecting a pumpkin and the added bonus of curly little tendrils hanging on. He spotted some really good ones to add to my stash. We meandered through the pumpkins and enjoyed the piped in bluegrass music in the covered area.

I ended up with a grand total of ten pumpkins to adorn my abode this season - a Cinderella pumpkin which I have long admired but never been able to justify the price of at the Dallas Farmers Market or a grocery store, 5 pie pumpkins which will be used for decoration, not actual pie filling :) and four of the little gourd variety. All of this for only $19! Amazing!



As we were leaving, the clear glass bulbs strung as a canopy illuminated imprinting a magical image on our minds as a grace note to the day.

3 comments:

Jenni said...

welcome officially to blogland!!! your first post is nothing short of inspirational!! such fun photos and narrative make me crave the next installment.....

Karen said...

What a fun first blog...and I love the name sundrenched moments, but of course you know that I love "sundrenched moments". It was great fun hearing of the great pumpkin adventure. Write on.
MOM

BR said...

K&A!!
Looks like a TON of fun you two are having! As a rural chic myself, I can share your joy in putting away the crops to get you through the winter. I have never tasted a hatch pepper though so that is a new one to me! So neat to learn about new things! We are chipping away at the salmon we smoked and canned last summer. I will send you my salsa recipe that uses green chilies and you can try your hand at canning! Canning is nice because you won't have to use electricity to preserve the food. Also, salsa makes a great gift so keep your eye out for 30 pounds of tomatoes and give me a call!! Glad to see you two havin' fun ~ keep it up!
Love you,
Betty