The Pumpkin Patch

One of our favorite things about Wisconsin, is the pumpkin patch concept. Here it is warm enough, long enough, to be able to grow an amazing variety of pumpkins. No more Montana green pumpkins, that you are covering with blankets, the last month before Halloween. Here, we do it in style... with a family annual outing to Hermanson's Pumpkin Patch.

Here is a 402 pound pumpkin. We got smaller ones. :)


Inside one of their barns, they made a haybale maze and decorated it. It was perfect for somebody Sylvia's age. The boys weren't too scared.


We were all able to relax after fighting our way through giggling witches, black cats, and hay bales.



It was fun taking lots of silly pictures. Below you have Asher as a ghost, Myself as a witch, and Sylvia as a cat.

The farm has a nice little area for kids to wander about and pet their animals. Noel's favorite was the donkey.

Sylvia and the boys spent most of their time chasing after a little kitten that was wandering around. The farm owners said that kitten gets more attention than all the other animals combined.

Here is the kitten's mother, on the prowl for dangerous pumpkin snatchers.



There was a wagonload of gourds, so of course the boys would find two that looked like swords, and start hitting each other. I bought a cute little gourd that has dried seeds still in it, so when you shake it, it sounds like a maraca. It sounds great with our drums.



Sean did an outstanding job as pumpkin wagon puller. Sylvia was very attached to the pumpkin she picked out, and it a lot of convincing to get her to set it in the wagon.


Brad and Liz posed for a very cute pumpkin patch picture. It was perfect weather.

The rest of the pictures are of all the various kinds of pumpkins they grow. Pumpkins aren't just orange round things. Brad and Liz recognized some French pumpkins. I like the white ones, and warty ones best.








I took the shot below when Liz and I were trying to be cutting edge photographers. I learned a trick from a newspaper photographer this summer, that to make something look noble and glorious, put your camera on the ground and shoot upwards. This worked well during the Memorial Parade with the boy scouts carrying flags. I'm not so sure that pumpkins lend themselves to "nobleness".

And finally, Sylvia saying goodbye a beautiful wagonload of white pumpkins. Maybe we can sneak back before Halloween and say hello to the kitten. :) I'm sure I'll need to pick up a few pumpkins for pie before the month is out.