Casey and I took the fam to a local “farm” on Friday. I put “farm” in quotes so that you will not be disappointed at the barren land that is the background of many of our pictures. (I am also choosing pics that will not reveal just how barren the land is, because it really is depressing.)
This is how it is when you live in the desert! The “farm” consisted of about 100 acres of corn and another 150 perhaps of pumpkins and gourds. That was pretty much it. Not much to sneeze at, but I am very thankful for one thing: all the acres had been bare ground (read, “dust”) whose topsoil had been blowing every spring and fall for years, straight across the interstate and right into our neighborhood. Sometimes the blowing dust was so thick, it was hard to see even 10 feet in front of us when we were driving. That’s pretty scary on an interstate! Several accidents had been caused by the crazy amount of dust, and the prior solution was to put signs at the areas’ entrance: “Caution: zero visibility likely.” If you are like me, you probably think that the planting of crops is a much better solution.
By far, the best part about this farm was that it was so close to our home, and that for most of our time there, we were the only customers.
We attempted the corn maze, but didn’t get far, and ended up coming out the way we came in. I didn’t mind not finishing it (making it to every point/station), but it was a little de-motivating to not at least come out a different way!
(Haley’s face cracks me up—doesn’t she look like a jack-o-lantern herself?)
Casey and the girls searched out a perfect carving pumpkin, as well as a little one. The crops had been planted quite late, so there weren’t any really big pumpkins, but that made the job of choosing easier.
Yesterday, the girls chose a template and Casey carved their pumpkin with his Dremmel (?) tool. A good deal better than a knife—it only took about 1/2 hour this time, as opposed to several hours. R & C chose “Tigger the Pooh,” as they call him. I am once again lazy, and am not downloading pictures just for a post (lame, I know), so I’ll post these pics of last year’s owl-carved pumpkin. Maybe next year, I’ll post this year’s pumpkin! 
I’m glad Casey gets into this and is willing to indulge the girls. The girls love setting the pumpkin out on the porch and seeing how it looks from the street. I love that simple things like this can make their day.
Okay Kar, since you asked:
Unfortunately, I only did video of the “glowing” pumpkin, so that requires yet one more download (that I haven’t done). Ah, the complexity that technology gives!
