With Halloween just around the corner, I happened to remember a funny thing that happened on our search for the perfect pumpkins for carving our Jack-o-Lanterns last Halloween.
My little grandson refuses to go through a Halloween without a real-live Jack-o-Lantern. So, every year we go out to my friend's farm to browse the rows and rows of pumpkins before making our purchase. My friend grows some of the most beautiful pumpkins in Arkansas and does quite a thriving business this time of year; what with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas coming up. Some people (I'm not one of them) actually make their pumpkin pies from scratch--my mother was such a person, but cooking was the one thing that I didn't inherit from her; reading and writing, but not cooking.
Another thing that Arkansas has an abundance of and which does a booming business, are their chicken farms. Certain areas of the State have chicken farms every few miles and you can always tell when you're close to one---especially, in the summer months. The smell reaches you long before the view of the long low buildings, which house the thousands of chickens. The close proximity of chicken farms had a heavy impact on our decision of where
not to buy our first land investment.
Last year as we drove out to the Pumpkin Farm, it was a warmer than normal October day; so we had the car windows down and my grandson was enjoying the view of the countryside and the warm breeze blowing through his hair from his booster-seat in the back. After many, many "are we there yets?", he said, "ughhhhhhhh, Grannie, what's that horrible smell?"
I said, "Oh, baby, I'll roll up your window, that's just a chicken farm."
"Is that the same as a pumpkin farm, Grannie?" he asked.
"Yes, dear, sort of." I answered without much thought---more concerned with getting all the windows up as quickly as possible. After several quiet moments, during which I am sure he was contemplating his next question, he spoke again.
"Grannie," he asked with just the slightest frown on his face, "when they plant the chickens, do they grow as fast as the pumpkins?"
Well, so much for keeping things uncomplicated. I tried very hard not to laugh so that I could calmly explain that chickens weren't planted in just the same manner as his Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins. But it is just a little more complicated when you have to explain the
difference between a Pumpkin Patch and a Chicken Farm to a four-year-old
.
Happy Halloween Everyone.
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