Butler's Orchard
I love this time of year. The weather has been wonderful. We have had cool, clear days. The trees that line the sidewalks along with the forest that surrounds are slowly becoming a beautiful fall display. I love taking afternoon walks with the kids and noticing the changes and taking in the warmth of the sun drenched canopy of leaves. The beauty of home school is that the kids and I can take advantage of outdoor time during the week and avoid much the metropolitian crowds that saturate the seasonal hot spots during the weekend. One exception to this rule would be if it were Sunday(Daddy's day with us) or if family were in town. Which was each the case this Sunday.
So despite the day of the week, we ventured off to the local orchard for family pumpkin picking. I was surprised at the off the beaten path feel of this farm. As we neared of destination, the roads narrowed, the trees grew thick, and houses became sparse. I was transported to my home state and for a moment was fooled into thinking we weren't actually near a large city. The nostalgic feeling lasted but a few miles for as we entered the farm we were in line with dozens of vehicles all with the same intent, making a fall memory.
We didn't allow the crowds to discourage our fun. As soon as we were parked the kids squealed with delight at the sight of fields of pumpkins. The orchard provided wonderful wheel barrows with huge bicycle tires for easy steering. Being the experienced pumpkin pickers they are, Maddie and Michael went right to work. They would find one put it in the cart and proceed to find a better one and replace the first. This process went on for a while until we narrowed the finds to five. Lily all the while wanted to explore not only the pumpkins, but also the leaves on the ground, and ended up happily riding with the pumpkins in the wheel barrow. Mimi and Poppy joined right in with the hunt and helped keep everyone near.
After we weighed and paid, we drove down to the market area to look around. Again people everywhere but we were able to find some apples, mums, and a jar of peach preserves. Oh let us not forget Daddy's suggestion of purchasing caramel for making caramel apples. Which were fun to make and delicious to eat.
As Michael was bounding back to the van, I looked at my little boy and for one eternal "mom" moment I thought of how joyful he seemed. I projected to the future of when this experience would be grouped with others like it in his mind to be retold as memories. Delighting in the warmth of family life, I was struck with the realization that this phase would not last forever.
So despite the day of the week, we ventured off to the local orchard for family pumpkin picking. I was surprised at the off the beaten path feel of this farm. As we neared of destination, the roads narrowed, the trees grew thick, and houses became sparse. I was transported to my home state and for a moment was fooled into thinking we weren't actually near a large city. The nostalgic feeling lasted but a few miles for as we entered the farm we were in line with dozens of vehicles all with the same intent, making a fall memory.
We didn't allow the crowds to discourage our fun. As soon as we were parked the kids squealed with delight at the sight of fields of pumpkins. The orchard provided wonderful wheel barrows with huge bicycle tires for easy steering. Being the experienced pumpkin pickers they are, Maddie and Michael went right to work. They would find one put it in the cart and proceed to find a better one and replace the first. This process went on for a while until we narrowed the finds to five. Lily all the while wanted to explore not only the pumpkins, but also the leaves on the ground, and ended up happily riding with the pumpkins in the wheel barrow. Mimi and Poppy joined right in with the hunt and helped keep everyone near.
After we weighed and paid, we drove down to the market area to look around. Again people everywhere but we were able to find some apples, mums, and a jar of peach preserves. Oh let us not forget Daddy's suggestion of purchasing caramel for making caramel apples. Which were fun to make and delicious to eat.
As Michael was bounding back to the van, I looked at my little boy and for one eternal "mom" moment I thought of how joyful he seemed. I projected to the future of when this experience would be grouped with others like it in his mind to be retold as memories. Delighting in the warmth of family life, I was struck with the realization that this phase would not last forever.
posted by mattkimuber at 9:46 PM
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