mazes | small house/BIG GARDEN

If you leave smallhouse and travel a few miles north on 58th Ave, you’ll find yourself in the old, rural section of Vero Beach where citrus farming once flourished. Although many groves have recently sold to land developers, Countryside Citrus remains a family enterprise with an eye toward the future. Today they opened Indian River County‘s first (ever) maze in the 4 acre cornfield behind their store:

……and I was there! (i’m the one with the camera following my friend Ivana….whose granddaughter is barely visible over her left shoulder. 😉 )

What a perfect day to wander around outside…a bit windy but a very comfortable 82°F.

Mazes like this are designed by a company from Utah, with a simple yet clever name: “Maize Inc.” For the past 16 years, they’ve used a combo of CAD and geometry to turn more than 2000 cornfields into agritainment destinations. The idea is to take a few wrong turns, get lost, double back and maybe even start over, but never, ever feel panicky that an exit’s out of reach! Upon entering, maze-goers are handed a map and soon pass a “crop cop” watching the field from his perch on high!

FYI: we had no need of his services! Ivana’s granddaughter was an excellent navigator! 🙂

It took approximately 30 minutes to complete the maze and then it was off to explore the rest of the farm. A free ice cream is included with the 9.00 admission fee, so we sat by the pond for a little break while we ate!

The view from the opposite side was equally pretty:

Like most working farms, Countryside Citrus has everything you’d expect. We passed this tractor enroute to the store just beyond….

Inside we found a nice selection of fruit and other wares:

We really had a lot of fun at Countryside today! Before we left, I sampled a Southern snack I’d never, EVER heard of: boiled peanuts..and were they ever GOOD!

As one who comes from the land of baked beans, boiled peanuts required some research! I found an interesting FAQ and some great recipes in this article from Southern Living. Definitely something to make at home!