A Day at the Farm

This week marks UNM's fall break, an event that ordinarily would mean nothing, except for the fact that I am teaching there on Tuesdays and Thursdays, meaning that I had today off. As fate would have it, today was also Isaac's field trip to the Wagner farm in nearby Corrales, so I went along.

Corrales is a village north of Albuquerque on the west bank of the Rio Grande, nestled in between the bustling Westside and the rapidly-growing suburb of Rio Rancho. This old farming town holds vestiges of its agricultural roots, with horses and orchards, while at the same time being home to a plethora of B&Bs, small mansions, and art galleries. It's the nicest town in the area to have dirt roads just off the main route and a noticeable lack of sidewalks.

The farm we visted has been in operation for nearly a century, growing corn, pumpkins, and apples. A few years ago they, like many farms, diversified their business to include a corn maze, pumpkin gathering, and other touristy stuff. It's both a sad commentary on the state of family farming in America and a great opportunity for city folk like us to get a taste of the rural life.

Here's another fun tidbit from the outing: there were 17 kids from Isaac's class, accompanied by 15 adult chaperones. When you're dealing with 5-year-olds, that's the kind of ratio you want.

My group consisted of me, Isaac, and Josiah. When we arrived, we had to wait for a few minutes before getting to the corn maze, so the kids entertained themselves in the corn pit, a sandbox-sized pool of dried corn kernels.

The first stop was the corn maze, which is always a good time, but, since it doesn't lend itself to many good pictures, we'll skip ahead to the pumpkin patch, where everyone got to pick a gourd.

We then went on a hayride around the corn field. One of my favorite things about this area--including both Corrales and the North Valley of Albuquerque--is the view of the Sandias you get from the agrarian space in the valley.After lunch and an hour of playing, we made our way back to the school. We climbed on a hay stack, visited the orchard, and learned a bit about the various household products made from corn. All told, it was a pleasant day (temperatures in the upper 70s) in mid-October. Better than working for a living, I suppose...