IN PRAISE OF PUMPKIN PATCHES

I’ll admit it — I’m a sucker for farms and pumpkin patches.

The sight of pumpkin and squash offerings piled high always make me happy.

The more, the better– and I could spend countless hours examining each one for the perfect markings, shape and stem handle.

I also love the treats typically offered at these places.

Cider donuts.

And caramel apples.

And don’t even get me started on this snack — I’m powerless to resist.

So this past weekend when a dear friend and neighbor asked me to head out to a new pumpkin patch, I was all in.

My hubby and son were tied up with things, but Charlotte and I were free so we all headed out to her friend’s farm and pumpkin patch in Dayton, about an hour from Portland.

The place is called Heiser’s Farm, and we had the perfect day to explore it.

We were one of the first to arrive early that morning

— far ahead of the many hundreds that were there by noon.

There was a wonderful little store that sold coffee, seasonal signs and decorations

and some of the best kettle corn I’ve ever had.

None of us could refrain from over-indulging — it was that tasty.

We visited their petting zoo.

And then we took a covered wagon out to a nearby field

and we hit the corn maze and then eventually wandered about to hand-pick a couple pumpkins.

Afterward, we picnicked at one of the big tables in the field and listened to a surprisingly pleasing band.

I’d made tomato-avocado salads and brought homemade cookies

that I packed up in my one of my favorite vintage tins.

Perhaps the best part about the day was watching the pumpkin cannons shooting at the abandoned cars in a giant pasture.

Pumpkins were loaded into the barrel of these cannons and they were lobbed anywhere from thirty feet to hundreds of feet away– often hitting these junk car doors or barrels placed strategically just beyond.

Every once in a while something even more dramatic would happen, like a pumpkin would be shot high and long and you’d see this amazing trajectory end with a smattering pumpkin explosion or better yet, you’d see a junk car window be blown out.

Best of all was the time one of the cars (placed atop another one) got rocked from a fusillade of aerial pumpkin bombs and it then flew off its perch, smashing to the ground in complete annihilation.

Give me kettle corn and ringside seats to that kind of fun and I’m one happy gal.

And so a big thanks to Heiser’s Pumpkin Patch for such a memorable day

and our dear friends who introduced us to it.

And here’s to the sweetest of all possible welcome home hugs upon our return.

And now I’m off to collect some items for our trip to the coast this weekend.

We’re taking Porter/Pork Chop away for his (as far as we know) first-ever beach vacation.

(We’re all beyond excited).

Cheerio!

(And P.S. Thanks to those who’ve written me privately about some wonky format issues when reading this blog on a computer. While the problem doesn’t appear on a tablet or smartphone, I agree it’s annoying as all hell and I’m working on it. If you’re local and know of an available WordPress expert, please let me know– you’ll never want for cookies again.)