Vala’s Pumpkin Patch is known to be busy when it opens each year. What visiting guests do not see is how busy the farm is as the crew readies the grounds to welcome them before the season begins. The large, skilled crew and all manner of contractors work tirelessly to plant tens of thousands of flowers, shrubs, and trees. Buildings are upgraded, others are built from scratch, walking paths are paved, rides are installed, crops are planted, and a thousand other tasks are taken care of. Our work is also added to the abundant collection of signs we’ve created for Vala’s over the past years. As fast as the signs, photo ops and features are plopped into place, the workers replace the fencing we’ve moved, replant the planters the machines had to traverse. The new signs are quickly surrounded by rock planters, filled with soil and then, as if by magic, full-grown flowers appear. New gravel is carefully placed and tamped into place. With this being my seventh visit to the farm, I get friendly waves as I zoom around in the golf cart they provide for me to traverse the large grounds. This year’s crop of signs and features is now in place and we are busy planning next year’s exciting adventures. Stay tuned…