While for many Halloween is now a recent memory, for this hearty group it’s still a going concern.
You see, the menagerie of animals living at Serenity Rising Farm absolutely love one important delicious symbol of the fall season.
Whether it's pie pumpkins or the traditional carving variety, these guys and girls can’t get enough of the versatile, orange-coloured fruit*.
“They love any type of veggies and fruits,” says Dawn Chapman, who operates the farm located just outside of Midland.
Chapman has run the hobby farm for close to seven years and now opens it up for special events.
“We now have over 60 animals,” says Chapman before rhyming off an assortment of critters that share the land, including goats, sheep, horses, cows and pigs.
“We have it just to be self-sufficient and have some fun,” says owner Dawn Chapman, adding she also raises llamas and alpacas for their wool.
“I have my own vegetables, it’s kind of a little bit of everything.”
Chapman says this marks the second year people have dropped off members of the pumpkin/squash family for her animals.
“Last year, we did a Halloween drive-thru thing and somebody asked if I wanted pumpkins and I said ‘yes.’ Then she shared it with her friends.
“So I just made a little post and said we accept pumpkins and it just blew up. And this year, it's been huge. People are actually taking their vehicles and driving around neighborhoods filling them up.”
In fact, one woman arrived at the farm four times and each time dropped off a large SUV load of pumpkins.
“We have a massive pile and use the bucket of the tractor to load them up,” she says, noting they’ll also accept carved pumpkins, but asks that people first ensure any batteries, toothpicks and candles are removed and that they’re not painted since certain paints are toxic.
Chapman says she’s always wanted to have her own hobby farm.
“My whole life my plan was to be in the country and have all my own animals,” she says, noting she started relatively small with horses, a cow and a couple of goats.
“It just kept growing and we kind of opened it up to the public.”
As for the aforementioned alpacas and llamas, Chapman says her original plan was to learn to spin the wool.
“I still have bags of it,” she says. “I just don't have the time for it.”
But getting back to pumpkins, Chapman points out that besides the great taste, they offer natural health advantages to the animals as well.
“The best thing with pumpkins is they’re actually a natural dewormer, so it’s great for me this time of year. The cows, goats, pigs and sheep love them.”
But not everybody on the farm is a fan.
“The horses won't eat them,” she says. “They'll sniff at them and roll them around and that's about it. They’re mostly just into hay and grass. That's kind of their diet.
“They’re not huge into the vegetation, maybe the odd apple or carrot, but that’s it.”
*(Editor’s note: Botanists please don’t read any further. Anything you often eat with ice cream or whipped cream is a fruit in the author’s opinion...therefore, tomatoes are a vegetable).
