It was a unseasonable cold late-summer morning this week. The sort of morning you wished you brought that other layer to work or had your long-johns on but it was the perfect day to head out to Chase Farms and gather our own hand picked pumpkins, for fall is certainly in the air.
Mari and I drove over to the farm in the big Isuzu flat bed with warm coffees in our hand not knowing what the day would bring. I was thinking we would just pick up a few crates of gourds not that we would be hand selecting 3,000 gorgeous pounds of pumpkins grown by Rick Chase.
His farm has been running and still is in his family since 1774. They grow everything there from corn, tomatoes and beans to raising their own beef and pork. It is an extremely warm and well organized farm with no doubt long standing potential.
When we arrived around 10:00 a.m. we quickly hopped into the backseat of Rick's camouflage Polaris Ranger and headed down towards the fields. We were followed by a front end loader driven by McCormick and he would eventually bring back our bounty. It was simply a joy ride to be had!
It was amazing passing meadows, pastures and ponds with his beautiful draft horses and beef cattle taking a siesta, it just added to the scenery. Like Snug Harbor Farm, Chase Farm is a magical place in its self and has a unique and humble feel all of its own.
When we arrived into the pumpkin fields it was a feast for the eyes! Besides your standard golden orange carving and sugar pumpkins, Rick grows heirloom varieties that he and his family have been saving for decades. They include varieties in hues of white, pink, cream, and even blue-gray. We lead the front end loader down the field rows tossing to his farm hand any such gems we choose into a huge cardboard box later to be destined for our own farm to sell.
We then later took a cruise over to where Rick grows all his smaller mini boo pumpkins, squash, gourds etcetera. You can view our fly by pumpkin patch video on the ranger above, it was a blast! Mari and I were partial to the light pink pumpkins whom Rick didn't recall the exact variety but Mari and I choose two of our very own to bounce around with us in the back seat on our journey through his farm.
When we got back to Snug around noon we had hand picked over 3,000 pounds of pumpkins, three bushels of gourds and 10 cornstalks. It was all unloaded off the truck and displayed beautifully outside the shop and barn ready for our friends, family and fans to snatch up and make their own spaces festive for the autumn season!
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