The brief dip in temperatures last week subtly hinted that it’s almost fall: time to enjoy pumpkin spice lattes, cozy sweaters, the warm sun perfectly balancing the cool air and maybe even a bonfire. Am I sounding too much like Julie Andrews singing “My Favorite Things” in “The Sound of Music”? I swear, some part of my soul, unable to live in the suffocating heat, hibernates in the summer and is brought back to life when cooler weather arrives — maybe it’s because I was born in Scotland and spent a significant portion of my childhood there, maybe it’s because I was born in the fall-like month, or maybe I’m especially fond of fall now because the memory of holding my not-so-little daughter (8 pounds and 13 ounces) for the first time almost exactly two years ago is still fresh in my memory. Whatever the reason, I love fall.
Feeling energized by the very idea of fall, I decided to try something different this weekend. We took a short drive up State Road 121 to Rogers Farm to check out its Octoberfest event. The event has all of the rural charm that one might expect: the air gun of the corn cannon whooshes out corn every few seconds, children curiously gather around the petting zoo area and a tractor takes a hiatus from its farm duties to assume a temporary identity as the lead engine for the hayrides.
On Saturday’s 6 p.m. hayride, Cathy was our tour guide. “Those of you who have been with us before will remember that this field to my left used to be our pumpkin patch,” she tells us, “but since the weather decided to be so weird this year, we had to purchase our pumpkins and plant sorghum here instead.”
As we travel further down the dirt road, the sorghum fields end and rows upon rows of chest-high sunflowers mirror the deep yellow hues of the setting sun. “Look at how beautiful!” a woman says; a half-dozen other women and children agree with her, vocalizing similar sentiments.
“This has been one of the worst growing years we’ve ever had,” said Greg Rogers, one of the owners of Rogers Farm. He seems resilient, and maybe even optimistic in his own reserved way.
None of that seems to be putting a damper on this year’s festival, either. All of the workers exhibited the kind of southern hospitality and country charm that is often spoken and written about but rarely experienced in real life.
From 8 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, things go from charming to spooky. The corn maze goes from a fun, life-sized family puzzle to a haunted maze. Being nightmare prone and just overall easily startled, I did not experience the haunted maze. In fact, just the thought of a spider or snake in the maze that I wouldn’t be able to see in the dark is enough to raise my hackles. No thanks. Someone else can let me know how much “fun” it is, and I will take his or her word for it.
“After all the equipment and insurance, it’s not a real big money maker,” Mr. Rogers tells me. But last year the event attracted about 15,000 people.
A new fall tradition in the Hewitt household is visiting a local pumpkin patch to purchase our pumpkins. Sure, we could pick up a pumpkin at the grocery store, but how drab would that be? Last year was the first time we visited an actual pumpkin patch, and it was so thrilling to see my daughter, who was just learning to toddle about at the time, pick out the tiniest pumpkin and carry it around like a little orange trophy of her accomplishments. It was definitely a Kodak moment.
This year we went to Trinity United Methodist Church’s Pumpkin Patch on NW 53rd Ave. Because the church’s property is so vast the patch seems small, but it’s definitely the biggest pumpkin patch that I was able to find in Gainesville. As I purchased my pumpkin, I was told that they had about 2,000 pumpkins delivered by a semi truck, and it may have another delivery coming! Depending on inventory, it may have pumpkins right up to Halloween.
There are other pumpkin patches and fall attractions that we plan to check out in the area. The streets of downtown Alachua are decorated in various fall and Halloween themes. Next week the Alachua County Fair kicks off. And on Halloween day, Santa Fe’s Teaching Zoo will host Boo at the Zoo.
Come on, cool weather!
