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Patch Orange Mail Tribune / Jim Craven From left, John Almaguer, 2, his mother, Alma Alvarez, and their friend Ana Macias, 2, wander through a pumpkin patch in Ashland Saturday after choosing just the right shape for a jack-o-lantern. It's that time of year again, and finding the right pumpkin can knock you out of your gourd By JILL BRISKEY With so many choices, picking out a perfect pumpkin can present a perplexing problem. Surrounded by hundreds of choices, 6-year-old Sandra Hollis of Eagle Point pondered her options Saturday afternoon at Central Point's Seven Oaks Farm. "Um, I just don't know yet," Hollis said, bending down to examine a Cinderella pumpkin, a French specimen with a rounded shape and vibrant color. As her search continued, Hollis' arms sagged under the weight of an elongated, rather rectangular pumpkin she had already claimed as her own. "It's really hard, 'specially when you can only choose three," Hollis admitted. Across the Rogue Valley, families are flocking to roadside farms and stands featuring pumpkins and late fall produce. Forsaking grocery stores, many residents are being drawn off the beaten path by the allure of freshly made hot cider and family-oriented activities such as pony rides and corn mazes. "We get a lot of different type of people," said Leanne Bradshaw-Baker, whose father, Don Bradshaw, owns Seven Oaks Farm. "We seem to get a lot of families." In addition to produce, 4-H groups have set up pony rides, a petting zoo, crafts and face painting for children at Seven Oaks Farm. The Bradshaw family also created a corn maze tailored to smaller customers. "October is one our favorite months," admitted Don Bradshaw. The farm has been catering to family-oriented Halloween activities for more than seven years, and each year their plans get bigger, he added. "We sell tons and tons of pumpkins, I have no idea how many," Don Bradshaw said. "Probably a couple thousand." In Ashland, Matt Moore has been running Pierson Pumpkin Patch off of East Main Street for nine years, and each year the operation gets bigger and bigger. "It's just fun to do something like this," Moore said. "You don't get rich selling pumpkins." Ashland resident Claudia Montoya and her 2-year-old daughter, Ana Macias, visited Moore's pumpkin patch for the first time Saturday. "It's our first time coming, but we'll be back next year," Montoya said. "It's great." Visiting Pierson's is already a tradition for Max and Jennifer Lawson of Ashland. This year, they brought along their 2-year-old son, Elias. "The kids can run around and play and have a good time," Max Lawson said. "We have a good time, too." Other local farms featuring pumpkins or family activities include Beebe Farms in Central Point, Bigham Farms in Sams Valley off of Table Rock Road, and White Produce on Jacksonville Highway. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.