farm fun before hurricane Sandy came a'blowin'

[caption id="attachment_359" align="aligncenter" width="538"] "Hay, bear!" <;-- har har, I'm dork![/caption]

Brrrr, it's freezing in DC! Last night I forced myself out in the pelting rain and 50mph gusting wind that was Hurricane Sandy to walk the hound, Theo. I looked real special in oversized men's pajama pants, a Nebraska sweatshirt, snow boots and my snow jacket zipped and snapped and velcroed up to my nose. I thought it might be overkill until we actually stepped outside - I could have used gloves, and another layer of clothes. Theo shivered and bolted ahead, dragging me along through puddles and mud. Fallen branches snapped as we hustled through our walk, and leaves blew every which way in my face.

On the bright side, we never lost power here, our roof stayed in tact (no leak... that we know of!), and to be honest, having yesterday and today to work from home has been nice. Today I'm shivering in my giant papasan, a space heater on next to me, as I write this. I'm reminiscing about my wonderful pre-Sandy weekend. I feared Sandy would bring rain and clouds and a chill into the city before the actual storm hit, but Saturday the sun shone all day. It was a perfect fall day, and I spent it at Temple Hall Farms in Virginia with Zan and two of my closest friends (since we were all 17!), Whitney and Matt.

I overindulged in pictures, y'all. I couldn't help it. Temple Hall has a "maize maze" (I love corn mazes!), a pumpkin patch, hay rides, a giant bouncy.... THING, camels and so much more. On top of all that fall goodness, it's just crazy beautiful out there. The entire setting burst with fall colors and smells, and I soaked up every bit of it.

It looks like winter is sneaking its way into the city, crawling in one falling degree at a time. Join me in remembering what could have possibly been our last great weekend of fall?

Temple Hall Farms is located in Loudon County and is open through November 6 (you still have time!). Admission is $12, or $11 if you print this $1 coupon from their site!

[caption id="attachment_360" align="aligncenter" width="538"] It's natural for them to be different sizes![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_361" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Climbing haystacks with the best of the 6 year olds! From me (left) - my hotstuff boyfriend, Matt & Whitney[/caption]

We really got in touch with our inner kids!

Children of the corn... right or left?!

The Diva Camel - she posed, y'all!

Let's bounce, scare the children and pretend we're the Fierce 5 gymnasts!

Scenes from the pumpkin patch kids

[caption id="attachment_372" align="aligncenter" width="538"] Obsessed with perfectly imperfect gourds[/caption]



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