Pumpkins and More: Hickey Farms Fall Extravaganza

Bill just finished a homemade cinnamon roll for breakfast and said it was really good. The cinnamon roll came originally from the kitchen of Tracie Albertson Roos.  She sold it and another to me yesterday from her booth at Hickey Farms.

Each weekend in October at the annual Hickey Farms Harvest festival, Tracie also sells beautifully decorated cupcakes of different flavors.  

After seeing a Facebook picture of some family members at Green Bluff yesterday, I remembered that it is, indeed, October and that the folks at Hickey Farms on Hickey Road in Oden has begun their annual extravaganza with homegrown pumpkins aplenty and a host of wonderful family activities.  

This year seems to top it all as folks climb aboard a wagon pulled by Jim Holt and his UTV and head for the fields where cows graze and Selkirk mountains provide a backdrop. 

A healthy stand of field corn, stretching to 15 feet, lures visitors to the corn maze where I'm told that Bigfoot is hiding within while an assortment of stuffed humanoid characters line the perimeter.

Kids have a hard time figuring out where to go first:  the straw pile, the blow-up play station, the maze or the pumpkin patch. There's a relaxed atmosphere at Hickey Farms, though, and definitely a sense that parents are not in any big hurry to leave this nostalgic rural utopia.  So, the kids can enjoy all the features without any hurry-up offense.

There's also food available for lunches and plenty of seating to soak up the sun or to listen to live or recorded music wafting through the air, where yesterday a steady wind kept those tall corn stalks waving in its breeze. 

The face painter had a steady line of young people waiting for her artistic touch, and, speaking of faces, I saw many I knew and enjoyed some brief visits, including with Sara and Jeremiah who were happy to tell me about Jeremiah's 3-year-old beard and how Sara keeps it groomed.  I was impressed with both the beard and the couple. 

Jim Hickey, who grew up at Hickey Farms, happily showed me just how long those ears of corn grow on those tall stalks but emphasized they weren't designated for human consumption as the kernels inside were far from mature.  I have a feeling some cows might get a taste of those ears. 

I also have to make note of Aunt Gladys for my friend Becky.  Becky, our friend Bonnie and I took Aunt Gladys to her new home at Hickey Farms last year, and it's looking like a really good fit for the ol' gal, as she sits outside the vendors' barn welcoming visitors. 

Hickey Farms will be open for business on weekend through October, and I can say there's a lot more than just business happening there. 

This lovely farm not only offers its pumpkins, but it also provides young and old a leisurely escape from the woes of the world and a hands-on connection to some wonderful aspects of this world. 

Thanks, Hickey and Holt families for providing this annual experience!  Now, I think I'm gonna go sample some of that second cinnamon roll purchased from Tracie yesterday. 

Happy Sunday.