Picking pumpkins a pleasure

COEUR d'ALENE - Even when it rains, Linda Swenson wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

When the sun shines, ahhhh, that's just an idyllic autumn treat.

And through fog or wind or anything else, hundreds of school kids, vegetable eaters and animal lovers don't want to be elsewhere either, as Linda transforms her historic farm in the northwest corner of town into a fall festival at The Prairie Home Farm, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Wednesday and Saturday through October.

Nearly 600 kids are already signed up to swing by, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for anybody else to feed the horses, geese, pigs, cats and goats or pick up (if they can) a gigantic pumpkin from the pumpkin patch in time for Halloween.

"That's a lot of children," Linda said.

Yes it is, considering how the registered nurse started the operation in 2003.

"I was tinkering around in my garden," Linda said, "and I decided to open the gates."

When she first opened, it poured rain, but Linda wasn't bothered, even as she sat there mostly alone. Always a green thumb, she loves gardening, which is why she got back to her roots by planting eight years ago.

"I can't really tinker around anymore," she said.

Each year the farm gains a following. For $1, anyone can stop in. Squash, Indian corn, and other fall treats are for sale, as are the hefty pumpkins, up to 70 pounds a piece, growing in the sprawling patch. Those go for 30 cents a pound. But it's the animals that draw the most attention. For $3.50, feed bags packed full of eats sorted out by the animal give kids a hands-on approach to farm living.

Keep your hand nice and steady, and let the pets do the rest.

"The horses took the carrot right out of his hand," said mother Kim Kibby, whose 2-year-old boy Quinn fed them for the first time.

Kim, pre-school director at Noah's Ark Learning Center, stopped by Saturday to see the farm after a pre-school class had taken a field trip.

"They just loved it," she said. "They came back raving about it."

She does too now, she said, partly because it's family oriented, partly because it's so close to home.

The farm, decorated with a rustic 1948 Dodge truck, is a slice of farm life in the middle of town. When Linda and husband David bought their home on the east side of Atlas Road just south of Prairie Avenue, it actually was out in the country. A decade of development later, the peaceful rural feel hasn't been lost. Forget driving out to the country, just drive down the street.

David's soft heart is a big reason two of the farm's bigger stars are still a main attraction. A pair of mammoth pigs have been spared the butcher's block because their affectionate personalities made it impossible for David to even think about putting them there.

Prairie Home Farm features an antique barn that can host a number of gatherings, birthday parties included.

Olivia Kraack celebrated her 7th birthday there Saturday, with a flock of her own friends.

"I thought it would be a lot of fun," she said, feed bag in hand.

It was.

Ever see a kid feed a horse? They shriek, they laugh. And the horses? They just eat.

"The giggles are worth the price of admission," said Olivia's father, Gary.

Rain, sleet, fog or hail, no matter the weather, Linda wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Especially when she sees so many people tromping through her 8-year-old project, happy they're a part of what she's happy to provide.

It's best, of course, when the sun shines, but it's not a requirement.

"It's just a high, it really is," she said. "I have a blast. Even when it rains, I love it."

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