My younger daughter, her husband and my granddaughter (they’re in the hayride picture below) are visiting from Geneva. Searching around for things for them to do my wife came across Barton Orchards. Only 20 minutes away from us in Poughquag, Dutchess County, NY this is a great place for both kids and adults. You can pick vegetables (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers etc.) as well as apples. You can also pick pumpkins – particularly relevant at this time of year. We came back with two of them – and very heavy they are too (luckily I didn’t have to carry them). The place is not just about picking fresh fruits and vegetables. They have lots of things for the kids to do. A petting zoo with goats, ponies etc.; a corn maze; a haunted house; a bouncy castle and other rides; hayrides etc. We came fairly late in the day, but I imagine that if we’d come earlier we could easily have spent most of the day there. They have food for sale so no problem there. And they also have a farm market with lots of good looking jams, jellys, butters, preserves, pickles etc. A great time was had by all!

Pumpkin patch

Goats. You can feed them as I did, but watch out. Most of them are pretty docile but one tried to bite me.

Guitarist in one of the two bands providing entertainment

Woodcarver at work. The only tool he seems to use is a chainsaw.

Another one of his creations

Hayride. On the far left my daughter and granddaughter. To their right, looking suspicious, my son-in-law and on the far right, waving my wife.

Drummer in the second band

Evil pumpkin man

Fields of vegetables

Apple tree.

And since it’s almost Hallowe’en another view of the pumpkin patch.