"I like being out here on the ranch," says Phillip Futch. "It's a lot quieter."

That's about to change, though. The quiet season for the 'Single R Ranch' is over.

The sound of tractors, children squealing and duck racing is back.

The Futch family is ready to welcome guests again this fall to the Fox Squirrel Corn Maze.

"There are so many people who live in these urban areas that don't have a chance to really enjoy the outdoors and understand where our farming comes from," farmer Wayne Futch says.

Wayne, with help from his sister Janet and brother Carson, created autumn attractions on their family's ranch, which is normally closed to the public. Here, pumpkins are ready to go home, a butterfly garden inside a tent is set and the hay ride awaits. Tractors pull hay wagons through native Florida ranch lands that complement the corn maze.

"It's still growing," Wayne says. "It's at eight weeks now."

The 5-acre maze Wayne says will eventually feature corn stalks stretching 10 feet tall. Leave it to Wayne's son, Phillip, to explain why the corn is taking a little longer to mature this season

"It kinda didn't grow as much as we wanted it to because we got too much rain," Phil says.

Yet, the corn is still tall enough for Phillip to get lost.

"On the first day I went out there, I definitely got trapped in there," Phillip says.

"It's kinda hard at first," says local maze expert Katelynn Lobuono. "But, once you get used to memorizing it, it gets kinda easier."

Lined with 650 linear feet of zinnias, this maze of maize gets its name from an elusive creature, according to Katelynn.

"They don't like to be bothered with. It's very rare to see one,” the 9-year-old believes of the famed Fox Squirrel in this part of Hillsborough County.

Look fast. The fox squirrel likes to hide.

"They are hard to find," Katelynn says with a serious look.

Not hard to find: the duck race.

"You put the ducks on the pipe and they roll down the pipe and they do down into those big, huge buckets," Katelynn says. Visitors use the handles on old-fashioned well pumps to get the water moving. That then spills water into troughs that push the ducks forward.

Inside the farm boutique, the corn box allows kids to play in an adaption of a sandbox.

"Everyone has a good time," says Phillip, who is known to be the perfect ambassador to the Single R Ranch.

"Our son Phillip, there's no telling. I'm expecting him to be governor," Wayne says with a laugh.

Tankful on Television
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Scott Fais joins Travel Monthly
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