Judy Colbert, ASJA, SPJ, AFTRA, SAG

Corn and formal garden mazes have been satisfying hunger and amusement needs for centuries, although the two didn't merge into twisty-turn enjoyment until a few decades ago. You might think they look like someone grew corn and said, much like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in their old movies, "Let's put on a show."

You can bet this fall festival fun is a lot of work, as many mazes, ancillary activities (hay rides, pumpkin tosses, etc.) and farm- or maze-related purchases (fruit, veggies, pumpkins, flashlights for night mazes, etc.) can often produce more income in two months than a year's worth of crops.

It's not quite a chicken-egg problem, but a general design that will fit within the maze's borders has to be floating around somewhere. Field or feed corn (livestock feed, not people corn) is planted, often at double or triple the seeding and in different directions (not just straight rows), and three or more weeks later than the regular crop so the stalks will still be strong and straight during maze season.

While the corn is attaining its first 6 to 12 inches of growth, the design is drawn on graph paper or with a computer program. A thriving industry specializes in commercial creation of corn or hay maze patterns.

Some mazes are planted in the design and some have the design cut out of the field. For the latter, the unwanted stalks are removed, turned under or sprayed with a growth deterrent. The farmers then have to worry about proper watering, disease prevention, fertilization rates, whether to seed a grass bed between the rows in case the maze season is rainy and the ground becomes very wet.

While the corn is growing as high as an elephant's eye (about 8 feet), the planters make plans about what to do with 600 to 1,000 daily visitors who will descend on the maze come the fall. This includes portable toilets, insurance, setting an admission price and hours of operation, publicizing the upcoming maze and other activities, checking for and obtaining any necessary county permits, and then securing employees or volunteers. Oh, a maze map to distribute to guests is helpful, so they won't become truly lost.

Farmers in Howard County and nearby Frederick County have been expanding the size and concept into other outdoor fun, so you can now enjoy a day or evening of exciting and possibly mind-bending maze meandering. Here's a sampling of what you'll find:

Martha Clark, at Clark's Elioak Farm, doesn't worry about changing designs each year. She's been growing a stand of pine trees for about four years where characters from the old Enchanted Forest Park are hiding. And they're there all year.

Within the 15-foot trees, you'll find Little Boy Blue and the tortoise and the hare. A little guidebook offers puzzles, follow-the-dot drawings and questions about the maze (how many cows are in the corn and sheep in the meadow?). The pine tree maze is included with the petting farm and the play area for $5 a person. Pony rides, hay rides and a cow train are additional.

Elioak is open daily in October (Tuesday through Sunday from April through September), from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission is 4 p.m.) through November 7.

Linda Brown at the TLV Tree Farm says that among their attractions is a children's maze, geared for the pre-school set. The hay maze comprises about 30 bales of dry hay. She has corn and hay mazes, hay rides, a scarecrow workshop and other activities.

The options and focus of the farm have changed over the 15 years they've been having fall fun, and they now have eight acres of pick-your-own pumpkins with a number of specialty breeds, including Cinderellas, cheese pumpkins, gooseneck gourds and other decorative items. Admission is $3, and that includes a hay ride through the pumpkin patch.

TLV is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and for school groups during the week by appointment.

The straw maze at Larriland Farm, says Gina Presley, "is short enough that you can look over the edge." The 60-by-77-foot creation is $2.50 a child (parents are free) for an entire day of going through the maze and other activities.

Larriland is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Question time

Education goes with the entertainment at Sharp's at Waterford Farm, where the corn maze takes up 20 acres. Set between ponds, there are three mazes cut to represent a great blue heron, a Canada goose and an osprey. As you go through each maze, you're asked a question about that particular bird, and if you answer correctly you continue on your way. Answer incorrectly and you're led to a dead-end.

Chuck Sharp says they laid out the design themselves, without the use of a GPS because the rows just aren't set up for that type of cutting. They plant regular feed corn that goes for livestock, but they don't harvest all of it, so it attracts the birds. The maze takes about an hour to go through and there are periodic exits in case you want to bail out sooner.

The (live) osprey start visiting and fishing the ponds about mid-September. A great blue is almost always in residence, and the Canada geese started migrating the last week of September or the first week in October. Chuck's son, Al, is a pilot, so he can take aerial photos of the maze. Chuck also offers hay rides and tries to time them so you can see one of the birds diving in a pond for lunch.

Sharp's is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, through the first weekend in November. Stop by for cider, apples, etc., in the barn store, or pumpkin picking and popcorn picking. Admission is $7.50 for adults, $5.50 for children 6-16, $3 for children 2-5 and free for younger ones.

Chris Mullinix says the corn maze at Mullinix Farm consumes about 10 acres, and it's an educational process, too. To navigate the maze, cut in the shape of the Howard County seal, you have to answer questions about the Mullinix farm (it's been around since 1885) or Howard County.

He says visitors are given a map of the entire maze with the questions on the back. There are 10 checkpoints, and the answers are at each checkpoint. It should take about 45 minutes to an hour to go through the maze, and there is a little maze made of straw for younger children. Mullinix says they hired a guy from Pennsylvania, who, using a GPS and a zero-turn lawn mower, took about a half day to cut the design.

At the Gaver Tree Farm and Pumpkin Patch, Laura Gaver says little ones can go through a Christmas tree maze (about five minutes) or bigger ones can go through a bigger, 5-acre, corn maze (about 45 minutes). You can barrel down giant slides, try the peddle cart track, jumping pillow, obstacle courses and about two dozen other activities, all for $5 during the week or $7 on weekends. You can enjoy a free hayride to the 12 acres of pumpkin patch, where you can pick your own.

Gaver Tree Farm is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., through November 2.

Hail victory

Taylor Lawyer says the Lawyer Moonlight Maze and activities are geared toward older teens and young and older adults. In what most likely is the largest corn maze in the state and possibly in the world, the 41 acres of the maze includes about 7 1/2 miles of trails. It takes about two hours and 15 minutes to go through all four mazes, or you can just go through one or two. In this year when regular corn barely made it to 3 feet because of the drought, Lawyer's late-planted corn topped 8 feet because of the late rain. MazePlay of Pennsylvania created the Iron Man 2 theme in the maze.

For $5 a person you can go through the maze, visit the large indoor pavilion with a 300-foot hay bale maze that's way over your head (no cheating), and an indoor playground. On Friday and Saturday night, you can watch the movie on a 30-foot screen. On Friday, the farm is open from 5 to 10 p.m. (last ticket sold; the farm is open later), on Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. In their 11th year, Taylor says they'll have 600 to 1,000 people come through on a good October night. Be sure to bring your flashlight for that evening venture through the maze.

Washington Redskins fan can be sure of a victory at the Summers Farm and Pumpkin Patch, where Teresa Greenwood says the team logo (with permission) was cut into the 14-acre maze, created by the MAiZE Co., thought to be the world's largest maze business. There are two sections, with the left side taking about 15 minutes, and the right side about an hour. Two bridges are available in case you want to look over the corn to see where you're going -- or where you should be going -- and people wander through the mazes periodically to see if anyone needs help. Bring your flashlight or buy one there for the nighttime escapade. They also have hayrides, scarecrow workshops, pick-your-own pumpkins, and other activities. Admission is $9.50 for adults, $5 for seniors and free for those who are 2 or younger. Check their website, join the club and look for advance notice of special events, coupons, and contests.

Summers is open Monday through Thursday from 1 to 7 p.m., Friday from 1 to 10:30 p.m., weekends from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 7 to 10:30 p.m. in October. It closes on Nov. 2.

Because of the weather, it's best to check the website or call to see what hours and what attractions are open when you're planning to visit. Also, the farms generally are open an hour or more past the last ticket sale time.

Get lost

Clark's Elioak Farm
10500 Clarksville Pike (Route 108)
Ellicott City, MD 21042
Phone: 410-730-4049
www.clarklandfarm.com

TLV Farm
15155 Triadelphia Mill Road
Glenelg, MD 21737
410-489-4460
www.Tlvtreefarm.com

Larriland Farm
2415 Woodbine Road (Rt. 94)
Woodbine, MD 21797
301-854-6110
www.pickyourown.com

Sharp's at Waterford Farm
4003 Jennings Chapel Road
Brookeville, MD 20833
410-489-2572
www.sharpfarm.com

Mullinix Corn Maze
Carrs Mill Road, 1/2 mile west of Route 97
Glenwood, MD 21738
410-245-6146
www.mullinixcornmaze.wordpress.com

Gaver Tree Farm & Pumpkin Patch
5501 Detrick Road
Mount Airy, MD 21771
301-865-3515
www.gavertreefarm.com

Lawyer's Moonlight Maze
13001 Creagerstown Road (Rt. 550)
Thurmont, MD 21788
240-315-8133
www.lawyersmoonlightmaze.com

Summers Farm
5614 Butterfly Lane
Frederick, MD 21703
301-620-9317
www.summersfarm.com