Schaefers Corn Maze, at 836 Lollie Road in Mayflower, offers a different kind of “field of dreams.” The Schaefers family has been farming Lollie Bottoms since the 1970s, and 2012 is the thirteenth year they’ve set up the popular corn labyrinth.

Visitors will also find a concession stand, picnic area, corn pit, tricycle corral, straw tunnels, horse shoes, hay bales to climb on and sack races. The two mazes (one large, and one small version for intrepid kiddos) are open noon-10:30 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Saturdays and 1-8 p.m. Sundays.

Attraction prices vary from $3-$10, and can include a 30-60 minute hayride in the package price. Visit SchaefersCornMaze.com for more information.

The family also offers a classic pumpkin patch, right next door to the corn maze. The operation hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat. and 1-6 p.m. Sun. Visit SchaefersPumpkinPatch.com for a schedule of special weekend activities, including a haunted house, pony rides, live concerts, horseshoe tournaments and more.

Pumpkins are a versatile, nutritious and popular fall food, and October is the perfect time to harvest locally-grown gourds. Sample several fall-flavored items, available at Conway.LocallyGrown.net/Market. One we can’t wait to try is Maria’s Homemade Country Fare Sugar-Free Spiced Pumpkin Butter. Per Maria’s website: “Our pumpkins are grown organically and taste just like your great grandmother made it. Our sugar free Spiced Pumpkin Butter is lightly spiced and can be used with many breads, biscuits, toast or as a pie filler.” Everything at Conway Locally Grown’s website is, as one would suspect, grown locally, and most items are also organic, healthier and less expensive than similar store-bought items.

Woodland Heights Baptist Church’s free Fall Festival celebrates the season on Sat., Oct. 27. Dozens of classic harvest-time activities will be offered, including bobbing for apples, hay rides, cake walks, “fishing” for prizes, a petting zoo, and lots of opportunities to bring home bundles full of candy. Appropriate costumes are encouraged, but not required. Woodland Heights Baptist Church is located at 4215 Prince St.

Homespun Halloween

Halloween falls on a Wednesday night this year. So, like many parents, my family is opting out of traditional trick-or-treating, and instead choosing to spend a quiet night hanging out together. And the Butler brood has big indoor pumpkin party plans. We’ll be carving pumpkins and roasting the seeds. We are going to try out a recipe for pumpkin popcorn—one bag of microwave popcorn (or one big bowl of air- or stove-popped kernels), topped with two tablespoons sugar and one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.

With snacks in hand, we plan to settle in and watch the classic Halloween movie, “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” and read some favorite autumn-themed books. Here are a few recommendations from the experts—my three kids.

Bryton, 8, is a big fan of the “Magic Tree House” (Mary Pope Osborne) series. “I like ‘Haunted Castle on Hallow’s Eve,’ because even though it says ‘haunted,’ it’s not really a scary book,” he says.

Blakeleigh, 6, is a new reader. She loves “Humbug Witch” by Lorna Balian, “because you think she is one thing, but she’s really something different.”

Bellah, who is three-and-a-half years old, likes to make up stories about the picture books she reads. She says, “I like ‘The Hallo-wiener’ (Dav Pilkey) because it is about a brave dog you can’t put mustard on.”

We can’t think of a better way to spend an autumn evening.