Monday, September 17, 2012

Corn Maze!

Owen and I had the opportunity to try out a corn maze recently.
I had never been to a corn maze...but I'd always wanted to.
Corn mazes are a wonderful way to spend an afternoon outside, enjoying nature, supporting local business, supporting your local food producers and after the maze season is over...the farmers harvest the corn!

We were in Brighton visiting my Mom at her cottage in Presqu'ile Park.

She introduced us to Cricklewood Farm...
It was a lot more than just a corn maze!


We showed up on a fairly hot day and we were sure to bring lots of cold drinks.

We went into the farm store to see what we needed to know before starting out on the corn maze trek.


Above, Owen is pictured with the info board inside the farm store.

We were greeted by some very friendly ladies who explained everything we needed to know.
There were a few rules to follow while in the maze:

-no smoking
-no running, no bare feet
-do not pick corn
-no short cuts (it damages the maze)
-an adult must accompany anyone 15 yrs or younger
-dogs must be leashed and scooped
-no drugs or alcohol (its trippy enough in that maze without extras!)

They gave us some take away pamphlets with more information.


Not just about the corn, Cricklewood farm features lots of produce including many, many kinds of apples.


I had no idea there were this many kinds of apples!?!?!



Owen was really getting into the whole experience!
(Pictured here with apple picking carts)


Cricklewood farms has dwarf trees for easy pick your own apples.
They are also introducing some experimental types...ready in the next few years.


There's no stopping Owen...on with the corn maze already!


The corn maze itself was amazing!  (sorry about the pun)
There were 2 mazes to try:  one was a small toddler maze, which took about 15mins max.
The other was the giant 6 acre maze that took an hour and a bit.

The toddler maze featured little sign posts that detailed the life of "Kernie the Kernel"
We read all about how Kernie starts as a seed, gets planted, then grows up to be a big strong corn plant with lots of healthy ears.

The giant maze offered something similar, but way more involved.
We were given a sheet all about this year's corn maze theme.  There were word searches, definitions, wildlife in trouble and a cross word.  All activities were centered around wildlife.


Above is a selection of the mazes of the past. 
Each year they design a new one and an aerial picture is added to the large collection. 
This year, Cricklewood Farms partnered with the CWF (Canadian Wildlife Federation) to produce this year's theme "The American Badger".


Once finished the maze, we were happy to find the rest area for visitors to the farm.
A picnic area...


An apple maze you trace with your finger to help the worm get to the center of the apple and back out again...


A hay mountain (which the brochure states is for kids and adults)...


And those boards your put your head through and take pictures...my pumpkin!

All in all it was a great afternoon!

I urge you to check out some wonderous fall activities, which can include, but are not limited to:

-pumpkin patches
-apple picking
-corn mazes

These activities can be found at your local pick your own farm...
or click on the link below:


Don't forget the apple cider!!! 



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