Pumpkin Express

Those of you who've visited us in October have probably been dragged to Schartner Farms' Pumpkin Express event, at the Schartner Farms stand/nursery, which has appealed to us primarily through the opportunity to eat saugies (RI hot dogs) and fresh red potato curly fries where it's a little too cold and windy.  We have never actually taken the Pumpkin Express itself, a hay ride out around the farm to a "pumpkin patch" with entertainment.  However, this year, we thought Soren might enjoy the express, so last Saturday we planned to try it out.

When we suggested to Soren that we would go someplace where we could ride in a trailer behind a tractor, he stopped short, his little toddler horizons infinitely expanded by the possibility.  He turned to us and uttered a breathy, dreamy "Yeah!" indicating he wanted to go.

Soren was thrilled when we got to the farm, and we stood in line, and then a real tractor pulled up, with two hay trailers.  He sat in the middle with Kirsten and I, and played with the hay, a baby truck he'd brought, and looked at the farm as we rode around.

When we got to the pumpkin patch, Soren tried out the toddler version of the corn maze, and had a great time.

Kirsten found a pumpkin and speculated about how much bigger she was going to get.

And Soren sold me some ice cream from a "booth".

Note who's holding Kirsten's pumpkin, and buying Soren's straw flavored ice cream. Sucker.

Oh, and we had lunch of saugies and fresh red potato curly fries.  Yum.  Might need to go back this weekend.

Oktoberfest

Amid the excitement and sloth of the last few weeks, we've delayed telling you about the fine time we had at the Acton, MA Oktoberfest celebration with Adam, Christi, Margot, Brian and Edith. Really, it has everything you want in an Oktoberfest, except beer, oompah bands, lederhosen, and the chicken dance.

Well, then, what did it have? Soren won a traditional Bavarian lollipop...



...and insisted on the highest form of Schwarzwald-region pastry, a frosted cookie shaped like a school bus (that cost $3 due to German wage rates, but was good for 90 minutes, so not a bad value)...


...and we saw the traditional Rhine jaws of life demonstration (which we have managed to miss by less than 10 minutes in each of our previous visits)...


...and Margot showed us some of the card tricks that are popular among babies on the streets of Berlin.

Also, we had some bratwurst, which were really pretty good, and actually something you'd expect at an Oktoberfest.

The day reminded us that we'd just missed Fall last year, since Fall in Alaska is about 20 minutes long; we just love these harvest festivals, so we'll probably go to more this month.

Brrrrrrrrr

Autumn is over, man. The leaves are pretty much off the trees, the snow line on the mountains moves farther down every day, and the temperature was in the TEENS this morning. It's crazy. On the other hand, it's fun to dress Mr. Baby up in his furry coat and mittens and enjoy the sunshine.





The middle picture shows how long the shadows are already at 2:30 PM. We lose about 5 minutes of light per day at this point.

I've learned that Anchorageites (or whatever they're called) have no idea how to properly celebrate autumn. We went looking for something festive and pumpkin-laden last weekend, got a recommendation from a local to go to a nearby nursery, and found a small pile of pumpkins in a glorified gift shop that smelled like potpourri. We were the only people there.

They've got it all wrong. I can understand being lame about fall in parts of the country where there isn't crisp air and golden foliage (read: L.A.), but they have those things here! And they must be celebrated with hay rides and pick-your-own pumpkin patches and pies and hot cider and corn mazes and hot dogs with curly fries that you eat outside even though it's windy and cold and your napkin keeps blowing away!

But they did none of those things, and now the Autumn Gods are displeased and have sent Winter down upon us. On the other hand, everyone here is pretty sure that's a good thing. The weatherperson on the news the other night said this: "Well, winter's here, and we've got cold temperatures, but we're still waiting for the snow!"

You would never hear that in a weather report in New England. Everyone there is still pretty sure that stuff falling from the sky is worth whining about. But at least they don't take it as a sign of the apocalypse, like the weather people in L.A.

I'll leave you with a shot that combines serene snow-capped mountain scenery with heart-pounding rock-throwing action: