Country drive for pumpkins!

This week has flown by.  We have been so busy. 
Here it is almost the weekend again which doesn't seem possible!

Last weekend we drove through the North Carolina countryside to get our pumpkins.

It was so hot, and still is, high of 90F today, with no color changes visible in the trees yet. 

Fields of corn, tobacco, sunflowers etc. had been plowed under and some 

winter crops were greening up. The clouds were beautiful, hanging in the

 stillness of the sunny sky. All seemed perfect for an early Autumn day, other
 than just being far too hot!
We stopped, as always, at Sunni Sky's for homemade ice cream - rum raisin for Bob, 
raspberry for me - yummy!

We still wear our summer clothes - whilst I crave sweater, coat, and scarf days!
Still just linen sheets at night, but longing to change to the cozy duvet, turn off
 the a/c and open the windows.

 Our lovely friends at the Johnson Pumpkin Farm welcomed us - and we 'sat a spell

on the porch swing' sharing stories of the past twelve months since we came down

last Fall for pumpkins and squash grown by Ms. Freda and Mr. Doug.
The bad summer weather here with too much heat and far too much rain, has
 impacted the pumpkin crop - fewer for sure than the other years when we've visited.

Sweet Lucky the farm cat has become more friendly than ever - he was up

 in my lap as soon as I grabbed a spot on the porch swing and purred non-stop. 

He is now about ten, and has become a bit of a worry for the Johnsons,

 insisting on crossing the very busy road to meet up with their

 cows in the pasture across from the farmhouse. Here's hoping Lucky

is not using up his nine lives!

More another day as to where I'm displaying my pumpkins.

Plus, I've already roasted one to use in this this pumpkin and wild mushroom tart

 for supper last night. It was really good with a small green salad tossed with chipotle

ranch dressing and toasted pistachios.

My garden green peppers - a rather small crop - tomatoes 

from my neighbor's patch.

We both got our 'flu shots yesterday - important as it may be a bad 'flu season ahead.

Here's to an enjoyable weekend everyone.

Pumpkin country . . . . .

This post will wow you with color! Autumn IS on its way, 

and here's proof from the fields of our beautiful 

North Carolina Piedmont area.

My partial stack of beauties - and Jasmin still had to add 

her picks . . .

I love taking country drives away from the hustle and bustle 

of the city.

On Friday we headed south to Harnett County. Partly sunny 

skies, very warm temperatures, and yet a feeling of Autumn 

was definitely apparent as we got farther away from town.

Tobacco fields were starting to be picked, hay was baled, 

corn was gone, fields already being ploughed under and new 

Winter crops were being planted.

When we arrived at our destination, Johnson's Pumpkins 

were waiting, plentiful and pretty, every color, every 

size and, as always, hard to pick favorites from such 

an array.

Perhaps even more enjoyable than choosing pumpkins, 

was spending time with not only farmer Doug - Bob loves 

'shooting the breeze' with him, and his welcoming wife 

Freda who always gives me great recipe tips for cooking 

the pumpkins - but a lot more of the Johnson farm 

family including their children and grandchildren.

Their grandson Easton above, permitted us to watch his 

efforts at hill rolling, posed for me with the horses in 

the nearby pasture, and talked us into playing ball with 

him in the farmhouse driveway. I assure you this was no 

quick stop to grab pumpkins and drive off, it was a truly 

wonderful afternoon visit with the nicest people imaginable.

 

This was granddaughter Jasmin's first visit with us 

to the farm - I think she'll enjoy going again. 

She took some awesome photos, nice to be young, 

able to crouch and get up again! 

Perhaps she'll share them with you later.

If you're close by I think you'd truly enjoy a visit to 

Johnson's Pumpkins as we do. It has become an annual 

happening we look forward to in September. In fact we 

even stopped by in July just to have a chat - Doug 

introduced us to his cows, and took us on a stroll 

around his pond, from there we could see the fields 

where Freda had planted her pumpkin seeds. We know

the hard work involved to grow from seed to harvest

on a family farm is huge, so much of a successful 

harvest depends on the weather. This was an usually 

wet Summer here in this area of North Carolina so

there were problems - quite honestly though I still 

think the Johnsons pumpkins are magnificent as always. 

I also purchased baking pumpkins and butternut 

squash, more on those in another post.