A corn pit to play in

OTHELLO — South of Othello, where Hatton Road crosses Highway 17, there’s a corn maze.

There’s actually a couple of them.

There’s a pumpkin patch. And a giant pit of feed corn. For people to play in.

This isn’t a ordinary farm, this place at the crossroads with the mazes and the corn pit, though it is a farm. It’s also a store, Country Cousins, selling gifts and produce baskets — $15 will get you an interesting assortment of locally-grown tomatoes, potatoes, squash, corn, peppers, apples, even melons and peaches when in season.

“Most everything is grown locally,” said Amy Phillips, whose parents Dave and Kaye Freeman own this patch of land and have farmed it for more than 40 years. “Well, we don’t grow the limes in the salsa boxes locally, but everything else we do.”

Looking for something big enough for all their 47 grandchildren to work on, Phillips said her parents decided to open County Cousins a couple of years ago.

Open from April through the end of October, Phillips said County Cousins is frequently packed — especially on the weekends.

“There are two mazes. We’ve got a kiddie maze, and a bigger one for the older group, for those who want to get lost for an hour,” Phillips said.

Toward the end of the season, even with a well-worn trail through the bigger maze, Phillips said she still sees a fair number of people straggling out the entrance, unable to make it all the way through to the end.

The corn pit was an inspired idea, she said. It’s just like a giant sandbox, only filled with corn, someplace both kids and adults can play and relax.

“It’s a hit with all ages,” Phillips said. “It’s kind of therapeutic.”

Country Cousins is located at 1901 W. Hatton Rd., Othello. For more information, find Country Cousins on Facebook, visit their website, www.countrycousins.farm, or call 253-224-2431.