Writer's Workshop: Fall Memories

Growing up in Florida, I can't recall too many Fall memories from when I was a kid, other than a random Halloween here and there, mostly thanks to memorable costumes.  (One year, I had the coolest Wonder Woman outfit. We had a freak cold snap come Halloween, so Wonder Woman wore a turtle neck that year.)  We barely have a Fall in these parts, you see.  We certainly don't get the extended periods of colorful leaves and crisp, cool air.  Basically, the temperature hovers around 90 until Thanksgiving.  Then it dips to a brisk 75 degrees.  Okay, that might be a slight exageration, but only a slight one.

At the risk of sounding like a mom, I have to say my favorite Fall memories are pumpkin-patching with Caleb.  I love the pumpkin patch.  Yes, I realize I could get perfectly good pumpkins at a grocery store for half the price, but the pumpkin patches are an event.  There are hundreds of pumpkins, not all of which are perfect like you tend to get at the grocery store.  Those imperfect pumpkins usually make the best Jack-O-Lanterns.

So, Caleb and I make an annual journey to at least one of the local patches, usually found at area churches.

Two years old

Look at that awesome bumpy guy back there!  You won't find him at the supermarket!

Caleb loves all of the different colors and sizes of the pumpkins.  So we usually walk away with some little guys, too.

Three years old

This year, we may actually take one of the cool greenish-white ones like we found last year.

Four years old

Last year, we went to an Agri-tainement Park and Corn Field Maze.  The pumpkins there were awesome, and they had a hay ride and animals, as well as the corn field maze.  Very cool.  And Caleb's favorite part was the kids' cattle drive.

Those are plastic barrels being pulled around in a circle by a tractor.  Very cool!

My favorite part, personally, is carving the pumpkins.

Pirate Ship

Jack Skellington

Oh, the pirate ship is actually a faux pumpkin.  It is very detailed and tedious, so I cheated last year.  But I won't have to do it all over again this year.  I still love carving real pumpkins, so I don't see the fake kind taking over.  There will be pumpkin patch trips for years to come still.