Pumpkin Picking
Did a little pumpkin picking on Long Island’s north fork this past weekend. We fought traffic, crowds, and heat, but had a wonderful time. (It’s all part of the experience.)
I associate pumpkins with flannel shirts and hot soup, not short sleeves and sweat.
The brutally hot weather we had is not all that unusual for this time of year, but this is October and I was hoping for a brisk autumn day.
Left: Every year the pumpkins get uglier and uglier. (Can’t say much about the picker either.) This alien green one came home with us.
Mother Nature gave us blue skies and a lot of sunshine instead, so who am I to argue?
Our first stop was Harbes Family Farm where we picked our pumpkins, walked the corn maze, and had a lunch of roasted corn and fresh pressed apple cider.
Next, we stopped at a few of Long Island’s outstanding wineries. If money were not an issue I’d have a wine cellar stocked with all of my favs…
We also made a stop at Sang Lee Farms for some fresh Long Island Apples, and the Little Cigar Factory for some hand made cigars. I’m not a cigar smoker, but once in a while I’ll have one just to remind myself how much I hate those darn things. (Don’t ask, I don’t understand it either.)
Then we ended the day with a nice dinner at the Modern Snack Bar — not fine dining, but I’ve never felt more at home.
We filled two of these carts for a total of 150lbs of pumpkins.
If you haven’t picked your pumpkins yet, finding a place couldn’t be easier. There are signs everywhere for U-Pick style pumpkin farms, and if you want to combine pumpkin picking with wine tasting then just head out to the north fork. Drive east on 25 or 48, and you can’t miss.