Pumpkin Hunting

Every fall we all load up into the car and make the trip to Shamrock Farm so that the children can run through clusters of pumpkins still out in the field until they find the perfect one. Usually it's bigger than I would like but I can never say no *grin*.

This year the little guy wanted to be fully in charge of the wagon so he huffed and puffed but kept tugging on that wagon full of pumpkins as it weaved and bobbed behind him over the uneven hills of dirt in the pumpkin patch. He was beaming from ear to ear as he made each stop to load in another orange treasure :)

By the time he made the last stop he was more than ready to squeeze in anywhere he could fit and let big brother take a turn pulling the wagon and him back to the barn.

Not only do they have the best pumpkin patch but inside their barn it is always decorated for the kids to. There are pumpkins from floor to ceiling, some real, some decorative, flying witches, hairy spiders and the above nook with creepy creaking noises, chairs that rock on their own, cauldrons that smoke and more *grin*. Talk about fun!

Before we left the children took turns running through a little hay maze they had outside with tunnels and little nooks to crawl through...

and of course we had to check out the chickens to :)

We always have a family party on Halloween since it is Hubby's birthday also so I've been busy planning a ghoulish feast *grin*. This year's menu will include brains and intestines and possibly some pumpkin vomit! Want to come? I promise it will all taste good LOL.

Hugs,
Rosina

Green Pastures and Rainy Days

I can't believe how green everything is getting around here. It just seems like the fields grew knee high overnight! We've moved our personal lawn mower up closer to the house to *grin*. Before we take Bee down to the bottom field he's making the rounds around my house. I love waking up to him mooing in the morning and having him close so we can scratch his ears and of course try and avoid those licks he loves to slather us with :)

Our baby chicks are growing at lightening speed to. Believe it or not I haven't taken any photos of them lately. I must be slipping! They've pretty much got all of their feathers now and are quite the lively bunch :) I'm still getting the kids to pick them up and hold them as much as possible to keep them from becoming to skittish around us. My plan is that as they grow bigger we'll be able to take a few of them each day out to the garden with us this summer to let them scratch around and eat bugs :)

While the chicks are thriving, my garden could use some work. I feel like I'm terribly behind all of a sudden. I know that planting time for us has just begun but for some reason I just can't get it together *grin*. The soil is tilled and ready to go but we spent our week of sunny weather camping and now it's raining again :( I can just see my dad shaking his head and saying you never waste a sunny day! Travel and visiting is best saved for those rainy days *grin*. Wise words but I guess I could use hearing them again since I just did the complete opposite LOL.

I guess I'm just going to have to put on my boots and get ready to be soaked!

Hugs,
Rosina

The Pumpkin Patch

I can't believe we're nearing the end of October and that it was already time for our annual trip to Shamrock Farms for our pumpkin hunt!!

As we turned off the road and onto their dirt driveway our truck was flanked by fences topped with miniature pumpkins and gourds :)

Big brother decided that he would be in charge of our wagon and off we went with it full of children *grin*. It was the strangest weather to. The fog had been sitting in the valley all day and it actually seemed quite fitting for a Halloween pumpkin hunt :)

As soon as we got to the pumpkins the kids were off and running in all directions.

I think that the enormous choice of pumpkins was nearly to much for them as they scattered in search of the perfect one.

As we looked for ones that would be good for carving, not to green and without any rotten spots...

Hubby searched for the tiniest one that he could find. Why you might ask... because it would be the CHEAPEST!!! Haha, what a funny guy. Not!

Finally we were loaded with 3 beauties and off we went to have them weighed.

The great thing about Shamrock farm is that it's not just a u-pick pumpkin patch, but there is a bit of a haunted house inside the barn with oodles of scary pumpkins, skeletons, bats and a warty witches room full of creepy things :) The kids always love checking it all out. If you hop over to my flickr page later you can see more of the farm to.

The fun didn't stop inside the barn either! Outside are chickens to feed and turkeys, geese and goats to watch. It's such a fun place to spend a bit of your afternoon and part of our Halloween tradition. We don't actually go out trick or treating but it is my husband's birthday on Halloween so we always have a great party with carved pumpkins and creepy foods. It's so much fun :)

I think I'm going to hunt down some fireworks for this year to. When my youngest two were smaller they always cried when they went off but I think they're old enough to actually enjoy it this year *grin*. How about you. What do you do for Halloween?

Hugs,
Rosina

Beautiful Beasts

The local herd of Roosevelt Elk have returned to run amuck around our fields leaving destruction in their wake.

You would never think that this stunning bull and cow would do anything but graze peacefully along with the rest of their herd as they pass through but so far they have ripped limbs from the apple trees, eaten the tops off of the young trees and now that the rainy season is upon us they will tear up the fields with their massive hooves.

But despite all of their faults I am continually in awe of them. The fall brings the cows along with this years young ones and they are never far from their overprotective leader. The moms are extremely skittish and it is quite rare that they allow me to get close enough for decent photos. Today must have been my lucky day *grin*.

We were making breakfast in the kitchen and would have never known that they were silently grazing behind the hedge if we had not seen the massive antlers of the bull rise above the shrubbery!

My oldest son and I crept out the back door as stealthily as we could, across the back lawn, through the hedge to find ourselves crouching behind the tractor while being watched intensely by the bull. I thought it was best to put the tractor between us and the herd because if you have ever seen them go into survival mode you know that you don't want to be out in the open *grin*.

We only had about ten minutes to watch them before something spooked them and they bolted for the corner of the fence that they repeatedly break through and were gone. If you're interested in seeing more photos of them I've got more in my flickr account :)

Hugs,
Rosina