The Ricks Family: Pumpkins! And other fall things.

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Pumpkins! And other fall things.

One very exciting thing to happen in 2020 has been we actually had a successful pumpkin crop this year! It has been several frustrating years in a row where we haven't had much success due to squash bugs, plants not really taking off, etc. This year, we moved all of our raspberries along our fence to create a space for pumpkins and we tried again! I took the advice of a friend and planted them from seed and waited until the beginning of June to plant them. I was really excited when I saw the starts poking out of the mounds and the plants continued to grow. We came home from our trip to Coeur d'Alene and the first thing I did when we got home was go out back to check on the plants- haha! I was worried when I found a few squash bugs, but I quickly got rid of them and we never saw another one the rest of the summer. It was a miracle! We grew a few varieties and they were awesome!

We have had really beautiful weather this fall and we have tried to take advantage. We've driven the Alpine Loop and gone hiking in the canyon. Sean took us to a trail where he likes to ride his dirt bike and the leaves were gorgeous.

A few weekends ago, Sean, Jackson, and Bode went on a backpacking trip with Dave, Adam, and Max. Davis, Molly, and I decided to we'd go check out Rowley's Red Barn in Santaquin for something to do and we had such a fun night! We went through a corn maze, shot apples out of cannons, rode zip lines and slides, went through the little petting zoo, etc. We finished the night with yummy treats-- apple cider slushes and apple cider donuts!

A few weeks ago we had a date night up the canyon with our friends, the Knights. We took their Razor and drove up a very rough road to Forest Lake and it was so fun! I am amazed any motorized vehicle can make it, but it was an adventure and fun to see a part of the canyon I have never been before. The colors were beautiful and we loved spending time with our friends.