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Fall is a great time of year filled with lovely warm colors, apples, pumpkins, and ghosts. October is ending and it is time to celebrate the harvest and say goodbye to fall. Winter is coming.

The end of the harvest traditionally was celebrated with bonfires and feasts but in our corner we celebrate it with trips to the pumpkin patch, costumes, and candy.

I am close to my sisters and we like to get our families together to celebrate holidays, birthdays, and whatever else pops up. Last week we celebrated my niece Lily’s birthday by going to the Burch Barn, which is a local pumpkin patch that has a long list of activities for the kids. We played in the giant shelled corn pit, flew down the huge slide on burlap bags, raced pedal tractors, and bounced in pumpkin and barn shaped bouncy houses.  I love taking the kids to the Burch Barn because at $5.00 a person it is the most affordable fall attraction for kids around. Each year they improve the attractions or add one. The only event that costs extra is to ride the “Grain Train” which are carts pulled by a tractor through the woods. The kids love this part because they get pulled by a tractor and there is a scavenger hunt to find items during the ride. They have to keep their eyes peeled for a buck, turkeys, a coyote, and a cheesehead among other items.

I also love the fact that there are tables and chairs in the barns which make for great eating areas out of the wind. There are hot dogs to purchase for lunches but we usually make our own sandwiches to bring. This is a big draw for us because it is more affordable to bring our own picnic lunch. I didn’t have any trouble laying kids down for naps afterwards even Lucian, who is 5, passed out for about an hour and a half.

This year for Halloween we are going to have our own little troop of loggers. Not only is my father a dairy farmer, he is also a woodsman and my son looks up to his Papa. This year he wanted to be a logger and whatever Lucian is doing Fiona wants to do as well. That makes two little loggers and if there are two we might as well dress Penelope in flannel and make it three.

We could go Trick-or-Treating in town but it is always very busy and our children are little. They only need a small amount of candy otherwise we eat Halloween candy all year. Fiona is also a bit of a runner and requires hand holding at all times so walking around town on a busy, busy night makes me nervous.

Our Trick-or-Treating rounds consist of auntie’s, grandma’s, and great grandma’s houses. This makes for long stretches in the car and short bouts of visiting but the family loves to see the costumes and to celebrate our traditions of the turning season.