Fall is for Picking Pumpkins

As much as I love summer, there’s nothing like having the fall arrive and making time to get out of the city to find a farm where apples and good food and pumpkins abound. 

The last time Jordan and I made one of these trips, we headed to Warwick, NY, which has a lot of great options for apple picking, hayrides, pumpkin patches, and the like. (We went to Pennings Orchard, which I highly recommend. I’ve also heard great things about Masker’s.) That was two years ago, as I’d just found out I was pregnant. So fast forward to a few days ago, and we decide to head to Demarest Farms in Hillsdale, NJ — excited to now have Jameson in tow.

We knew apple picking at Demarest Farms was closed for the season, but it’s only a 35 minute drive from where we live in Harlem, and we figured the shorter drive (Warwick is 70 minutes away) would make for a much more pleasant day for Jameson.

We arrived and headed straight into the country store to pick up fresh apple cider, apple butter, and apple cider donuts. Mmmmm.We also picked up some food to give to the farm animals. Jameson is really into animals and their sounds, so this was a huge hit.

“Hey chickens, what’s up?”I love this photo of these two, looking at this goat with the same expression of doubt. But surprisingly, Jameson was super calm and interested in feeding the goat himself. He spent more time checking out the ducks, chickens and cutest black piglet. And he was clearly amused.Having a rock in each hand is kind of his thing. The rocks might have actually been the most exciting part of this whole outing. Seriously.

“Whatchu say?!”Now, just when you might be thinking this is all so picturesque, let me submit exhibit A — Jameson having a meltdown, likely because of some scuffle over rocks. Be thankful that when you look at this photo, you can’t hear the high-pitched screams that go along with that protesting face. :-)But we pulled it together. We took the rocks — again, one in each hand — over to the pumpkins and picked out one to take home. Check out that remnant tear.I realize this is a lot of photos of Jameson, but I mean, I can’t get enough of this kid. And I love having photos of an outing I hope we can turn into a long-time tradition for our family. Explaining how awesome his rocks are…and talking to the rocks…He’s absolutely contemplating how fun it would be to throw this pumpkin on the ground. Also staring into space so that Mom won’t… suspect… a… thing…Thankfully, our little pumpkin made it home in one piece. It’s adorning our dining table and serving as a great reminder of all the things I love about fall and the joy of enjoying it with the people I love. Now to figure out how to make an apple cider donut at home. Trust, I’m working on it.