This weather and its split personality has me so confused. Should I be in shorts and tees or should I be in jeans and sneakers? Either way, I will be heading out to fall farms with my tot. I embrace fall and all the things that come with it, even though I should be wearing flannel shirts when I go. The biggest thing to look forward to are pumpkin patches and farms, which this area has in droves.
What have I learned from my time with a toddler on farms? Not too much, apparently. But I can share with you the mistakes I constantly make.
First, make sure the weather truly is nice. Meaning NOT WET. At all. My mommy’s group and I decided to forego our yearly trip to Ganyard Farm in Durham this week. The sun was peeking out but we realized that the ground would still be wet. Considering that there is hay to climb in and slides to go down, we decided to reschedule. Wet hay? Ew. No thanks.
Second, take the amount of time you are planning to be there and double it. We learned from our recent trip to Vollmer Farms that you always want more time there than you think. And that’s for two reasons: 1) these places have more than just pumpkins these days and 2) something inevitably goes wrong and requires a tantrum. After 2 hours at Vollmer my son decided he could not possibly leave the premises without a trip around the little lake in the cow train (this is a John Deere tractor pulling a bunch of cow cars around). I get it, it was pretty neat. Yet right as I said “last thing we do, then we go home, now get in” the tractor driver used his Southern drawl to explain that the tractor was broken and he would be back in “say, 15-20 minutes” after it was fixed for the next ride. Fast forward to 40 minutes later and a toddler who really, REALLY did not want to leave without a cow train ride…Needless to say we returned home far later than anticipated. But given we spent money to get in, we weren’t leaving without a cow train ride.
Third, you don’t REALLY get to pick your pumpkins. At Ganyard especially we noticed that in order to keep the vines and patches stocked with enough good-looking pumpkins for all kiddos and families, they take pumpkins from other patches and conveniently place them near the existing vines. I am okay with that, though, since it is certainly efficient.
Fourth, if your child still wears diapers you will find a plethora of interesting things in the diaper after the visit. So yes, there is a corn crib at Ganyard and Vollmer to play in. Immediately change your child’s diaper after that. Immediately. But even at Green Level Gourd Farm I managed to find all kinds of mulch in the post-play diaper.
Fifth, corn mazes are just scary. We managed fine at Green Level Gourd, and Sarah C. didn’t seem to have a problem at Phillips, but when we went to McKee’s we were BURIED in the middle of a field of corn. But that’s not the scary part. The scary part is “Oh my God, I have a screaming toddler who won’t stop and we’re BURIED in the middle of a field of corn! PLEASE someone get us out! NOW.”
I do hope you are getting out and enjoying these fall festivities, though, despite having to wear jeans and tshirts versus your Halloween pumpkin sweater your grandma knit for you. It is a blast and we have formed so many great memories on these trips. Don’t forget that if you want tips for various places before going, come on over to Notes from a Mom in Chapel Hill to get reviews and advice!
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