Category: Celebrate Michigan
Posted by Susan R. Pollack (The Detroit News) on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 5:12 PMPick a pile of pumpkins at Dexter farm pumpkin patch
What a find! My husband and I were out in Dexter recently for one of our daughter's cross country meets and decided to take a ride afterward along Washtenaw County's scenic country roads ablaze with fall color.
Coincidentally, we happened upon Jenny's Farm Market and decided we had to stop --- because our daughter's name is Jenny.
Frankly, our first impression of the place wasn't great because where we parked, in the lot out back, took us right past the pony ride area, where the sweet scent of fall leaves and apples was eclipsed by the heavy smell of pony pasture, if you get my drift.
The cider and apples we bought inside were fine, but we didn't hang around the busy market for long. Happily, the front view of the place, which we saw as we left, was much more appealing than the back forty.
Our second stop was a whole 'nother story. It was late on a Saturday afternoon when we found Berry Hill Farm, 12835 N. Territorial Road, and we had it almost to ourselves -- except for the baby pictured here and a few other families.
We spent nearly an hour walking through the sprawling pumpkin fields, past the raspberry bushes, trying to pick the perfect pumpkin. It was almost like buying a new car as we "kicked the tires," tested their heft and examined the amusing array of shapes and colors. Eventually, we ended up with three that we lifted into our iron wagon and carted back to the farmer's weigh station. At a reasonable 25 cents per ounce, we bought a trio of great pumpkins for under $8. We also got some exercise -- and rare bonding time -- in Michigan's lovely outdoors.
Call (734) 475-1516 for directions or other information about Berry Hill Farm.
