pumpkin patch, cali style

Ah, the pumpkin patch. On a crisp, blustery fall day.

So what if it was pushing 90 on the day we set off for the pumpkin patch? It's not about the weather, it's about the pumpkins!

This particular patch is located at a dairy farm, and it's really cool. It's a great place that has been around forever, and never fails to impress me with its low-tech thrills. On the drive out there each October, we pass the same house with its sign advertising "free manure!", and I always promise the kids that if they are really good, we'll pick some up on the way home.

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At the farm, you get to take a tractor ride around to see all the cows and goats, and every year we see several newly born calves wobbling around by their bovine mamas. Then we get to check out the methane tank and marvel at the miracle of electricity fueled by poo.

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The pumpkin patch part of the farm has traditional patch-ish stuff like a small petting zoo, the requisite haybale maze, and real tractors to clambor and explore. There are also some innovative activities that I adore, like the dirt hill with hundreds of tonka trucks to push around, and the alcoves carved out of towering bales for tossing footballs into targets, kicking a soccer ball around, and bowling for milk cans. There's even a place where you can practice your lassoo skills and try your hand at milking udders, if you are so inclined.

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But the crowning glory of Oma's Pumpkin Patch is the sledding hill

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Yes, you heard me right. The sledding hill!

Who says that California kids never get to go sledding?

This snow never melts. And it provides a nice, soft surface for your aerial maneuvers. If you're so inclined

What is this magical substance that can withhold the beating from all these hot, dirty, barefoot children?




Cotton seed!

I love California.