October Brings Pretty Leaves and Outdoor Fun

Aahh...October in Maryland.  Is there anything better?  Even as I sit here fighting through my seven-month-old’s first ear infection, I am excited about the month of October and getting my kids bundled up and outdoors for autumn activities.

One of the most beautiful views of turning leaves is the drive over the Liberty Reservoir on Liberty Road.  If you have not done this, it's really something breathtaking you have to see.  My son Jason, niece Kendall and I used to call out colors on our daily drive from school over the reservoir every afternoon.  "Magenta," "burgundy," "crimson" and "golden," we would yell. This is also a very fun way to encourage your kids to learn.  I would never let them yell out plain old "red" or "orange."  And every day the colors changed.

It is all the more amazing because although I was born in Baltimore, I spent a great deal of my childhood in Los Angeles, and I never really saw a Maryland autumn until I was older.  I love L.A. but everyone knows that there's no autumn there.  Sure the seasons change... there's a fall.  And it looks just like summer, and winter.  Maryland autumns are special.

I am so looking forward to visiting North Run Farm (www.northrunfarm.com) this year.  My son is an expert in navigating the corn maze, but this year I get to see it through his eyes as well as through the eyes of my little one.  North Run, located on Greenspring Valley Road in Owings Mills, has a huge corn maze, petting zoo, hayrides, a pumpkin patch, and a pretty decent menu to grab a bite while there. 

I am a huge fan of Spring Meadow Farms in Upperco, MD.  (www.springmeadowfarms.com)  Just 10 minutes from me, Spring Meadow Farms is right on Hanover Pike just a few miles past the end of 795.  If I could take my kids there every single weekend in October, I would.  Throughout the month, they have something fun going on each weekend, including a mummy wrapping contest, scarecrow making, pony rides, Fall Festival, a straw maze and a "not so scary" haunted house. 

My husband's idea of outdoor fun with our son involves simplicity and the word "free." An afternoon of throwing around the pigskin or making piles of leaves and jumping in them for hours on end are two of his favorites.   Last week, they went fishing at the recently re-opened Nicodemus Road bridge catwalk.  They caught five fish, which they were told was White Perch.  They cleaned them, fried them, and we ate them.  I have to admit, they were good.