Sunday, October 13, 2013
A chill creeps into the air as Halloween draws ever closer. Decorations start going up around neighborhoods and orange globes start dotting lawns as pumpkins, that will soon be carved into candle lit jack-o-lanterns, make an appearance. As a small child, knee-high to a grasshopper as my grandparents used to say, my parents would load my two sisters and I into the car and make the trip to Dawsonville to visit Burt’s Pumpkin Farm. Three decades ago Burt’s was just a road side farm stand, but today the 272 acre farm grows over 70,000 pumpkins for close to a quarter of a million people to peruse. Families, much like mine used to and still do, make the trip from all over the state to pick out their perfect pumpkin. Rows upon rows of all different shapes and sizes of the orange, green and white gourds are laid out for visitors to choose from. Children and pumpkins ride in wheelbarrows as the smell of fresh popcorn, pumpkin pie, bread and other snacks waft through the air. The sounds of tractors rumble across the farm as families load into hay covered wagons for a ride around the property. Sounds of laughter and squealing come from the small creek that runs adjacent to the parking lot as children play in the water and skip stones in front of the covered bridge that acts as a walkway to the pumpkin mayhem. Every time I visit Burt’s I get a little nostalgic for a family trek up to the mountains near Amicalola Falls on a crisp, sunny, fall day to pick out my perfect pumpkin and the excitment that follows with Halloween right around the corner.
Jim Aronowitz (right) pushes his daughter Riley and their pumpkins in a wheelbarrow at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Tye Thackston picks out the perfect pumpkin at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Emilie Freeman (center) plays in the creek at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Lyle Sheppard (left) his daughter Mara and wife Leslie try to take a self portrait amongst the pumpkins at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Aiden Iezzi plays on a tractor at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Hampton Trost rolls a pumpkin on its side as he decides which one he wants at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Pumpkins sit in a wheelbarrow at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Madison Spier plays in the creek at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Brendan Spillane (left), Beth Spillane and Skeet Pillane lift their pumpkin into a wheelbarrow at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Madison Wilson leans up against one of the thousands of pumpkins at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Jerry Broome (center) pushes his granddaughter Callie Embrick in a wheelbarrow as they search for the perfect pumpkin at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Parker Skelton (right) and his brother Ansley skip rocks in the creek at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Dacota Woodruff (right), his father Robert and sister Madisson take a hayride around Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Landon Souther rides a tractor pulled hayride as he makes his way around Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
One of 10 tractor pulled hayrides makes its way around Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Dale Sparks (left) and his son James ride a tractor pulled hayride as they make their way around Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
One of 10 tractor pulled hayrides makes its way around Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Rodney McClure (right), his children Tyler and Miley, Danielle Smith and her daughter Lindsay take a hayride around Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Scotland Chalmers (left) and her family take a hayride around Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Zachary Diaz holds on to his pumpkins as his parents pay for them at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Rachelle Thurmond (left) rings up Dana Davis and her son Erik at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.
Scott Varn (left) and his wife Veronica lift their pumpkin into the back of their SUV at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dawsonville on Sunday, October 13, 2013.