Fall in Southern California. Yes, about 75 degrees and sunny. But every now and then we get a few clouds and the temperatures dip into the 60's, so a nice "Fall" day. Today was one of those days and so for lunch, we headed out to the "pumpkin patch" with Siena.
Now in Orange County, a pumpkin patch is usually about 30 yards of straw and hay spread out in a shopping center parking lot. Pile up some bales of hay, possibly some under-sized ponies tied to a pole, pour in the pumpkins and your local shopping center has one more lure for getting the shoppers to come spend money in the stores. Yes indeed nothing screams "pumpkin patch" like striped off asphalt in the glow of the Petco and Barnes and Noble lights.
So when we pulled up at Tanaka Farms in Irvine we were surprised to find an unpaved parking lot which led to an actual working farm, 30 acres to be exact. Oddly within a few hundred yards of the 405 freeway there is a farm nestled up next to a golf course. And much to our surprise a real pumpkin patch! There is also a Corn Stalk Maze (no Toto we're not in Kansas), real vegetables to pick, a petting zoo and tractor-wagon rides.
So on a fine Fall afternoon, off into the Pumpkin patch we went with our little pumpkin. Suz and Tom Valker joined us as we explored the fields of pumpkins and picked out one to bring home. A few photo opps within the pumpkins and a fun time in the patch.
Of course this is California so our oversized pumpkin from a real pumpkin patch went for $17. I guess you pay a little more for the experience. Since we will need more than one pumpkin to decorate our home for the holidays we will have to do a little more shopping. So we will go back beneath the glow of the lights in the aforementioned shopping center where there is also a Ralph's grocery store and there we will buy 4 more pumpkins for the same $17. I see pumpkin pie in my future. Happy Fall to all.
