Community Voices for Health

By: Abby Keane

Autumn is our Mother Nature’s way of fooling us into staying in New England when winter is coming…otherwise, we’d definitely all be heading south until temperatures started regularly reaching at least 60 degrees again.  Here are a few of my favorite activities to get you and your family outside before Snowmageddon returns.

1. Apple Picking – Our family’s chosen location is Honey Pot Hill Orchards, although Massachusetts certainly has an abundance of orchards to choose from.  My personal favorite part is the Cider Donuts.  And the apple pie that gets baked later.  And the family pictures on the ladder in the orchards.  Yeah, it’s pretty much all my favorite part.

2. Pumpkin Picking – Again, Massachusetts doesn’t lack for “Pick-Your-Own” locations.  Last year, Mike, Finn and I visited the pumpking patch at Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon.  Not only did we have a blast, but a field of pumpkins is a great location for some cute photos!

3. Edaville Railroad – Many South Shore families have made Edaville’s Christmas Festival of Lights part of their holiday traditions.  However, Edaville has a lot to offer during the Fall season too.  Quite a few weekends, the kids can take a ride on Thomas the Train and meet Sir Topham Hat.  Another weekend offers the opportunity to take a train ride through the fall foliage, watch cranberry bogs being harvested, and meet Curious George and the Cat in the Hat.  Finally, the end of October will see a new event at Edaville, a Ghost Train ride.  The train will travel on tracks that haven’t been used in years, and riders will heard the story of Edaville’s founder.  Due to the possible fear factor, children have to be at least eight years old to ride.  While we haven’t tried out any of the fall train rides yet, we went last year at the holidays, and are planning on trying out at least one of the fall events.
4. Harvest Festival at Sheep Pasture – Robin recently wrote a great entry about Sheep Pasture in Easton.  My family and I tried it out that weekend, and had a blast visiting the farm animals, running around the open spaces, and shopping at the Farmer’s Market.  The first weekend in October will see the Harvest and Craft Festival, which will include “music, local crafts, pony rides, delicious foods, and fun for the whole family”! A small admission fee will be charged, and proceeds will benefit Easton’s land preservation.  After the delicious breads and vegetables we got at our first visit to the Farmer’s Market, we are very much looking forward to this event!

These are just a few of the exciting events our family is looking forward to over the next few months…what are some of your favorite family traditions for this time of year?

And seriously, get outside and enjoy the Fall, this

is what awaits us in just a few months.