It was one of those stunning fall days. Crisp, cool air, blue sky and stunning colour on the trees.
But again, it was just another busy Friday. Head down, I shuttled kids to school, ran an errand, back to the home office, shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.
No time to appreciate nature’s beauty. No time to notice the crisp leaves underfoot. Not time to breathe the fall air.
Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.
Then after school, I ran (another!) errand with my eldest for her upcoming craft playdate for some new school friends . We decided to paint and decorate pumpkins which means we needed pumpkins. The small ones at the grocery store were $4.99 which if we were buying one, we’d check it off our list and pay. But we needed 10.
On a whim, we decided to visit a local farm. It’s 8 km away on country roads, and totally within my scope of an easy visit. But for whatever reason, we rarely drive this road, and hadn’t been to this family farm in a few years. And never in the fall. I had fingers crossed that 10 small pumpkins would be less that $50….
Turned out, I got my money’s worth and MORE.
First of all, we got our pumpkins a steal since they were right from the field. Pumpkins decorated the farm in beautiful rows everywhere. I could have selected hundreds more, there were so so many. With the pumpkins in our wagon, I started to breathe in again, soak up the fall air and slow my pace.
Lauren loved the farm dog. I drooled at the stunning heirloom tomatoes, purple peppers and stained eggplant. I stocked our wagon with more than I planned and was thrilled to do so. What a find! WHY haven’t I been here before?
As we wandered around the simple farm, I noticed an awesome chalk sign directing us to visit the “Pumpkin Gallery”. Surprised by that description, I had to peek inside the make shift greenhouse.
The sign invited customers to view their 38 Types of Pumpkins. Really? There’s more than orange??
OMG. Epic beauty lay right in front of me.
Stunning. All the pumpkins stacked, lined and loaded on tables, benches and walls. Stunning gourds in an array of colours, shapes, textures and sizes. Without a lie, I was speechless.
What a surprising fall pleasure. I was running an errand to source cheap pumpkins to paint (to paint! Feels like blastomy now!) and yet, I found a pot of gold tucked away in my own neighbourhood.
It’s a reminder to stop walking the usual path. Stop rushing-rushing-rushing to my normal haunts, my normal routine and drive a different route once in awhile.
You never know when you might just learn something from a Pumpkin.
