Tag: Halloween

Halloween Eye Candy

Halloween has rolled around again. The weather for this Friday looks to be a bit damp and distinctly raw. Not sure if that will cut down on the trick-or-treaters but I have a bag of candy ready. As always I try to pick out candy I like so I won’t be stuck with a dish of candy that I can’t bring myself to eat.

Leaf raking has begun in earnest. I rake the old fashioned way, preferring to eschew the ungodly banshee howl of one of those leaf-blowers in favor of the much quieter lawn rake. The aerobic workout that goes along with hand raking is a big plus as well.

Of course, Halloween decorations have gone up around town. Many are tasteful and low-key such as the ones below.

Fall Halloween decorations
carved pumpkin face

Inflatable figures seem popular, ranging from enormous witches and ghosts to smaller ones such as the charming little cat-ghost below.

Inflatable cat-ghost


Spider webs seem to be making an appearance, complete with spiders.

Halloween web with one spider
Halloween web with two spiders


And where would we be without everybody’s favorite, the skeleton?

Halloween skeleton sitting on wall
Halloween skeleton chilling with pumpkins
Giant Halloween lawn skeleton

This last fellow seems to be losing his britches just a bit. I suspect a pair of suspenders is in order. Nice to see people expressing a bit of creativity with some cheerfully ghoulish lawn décor.

Peace and joy for the coming month.

The Remains of the Season

Fall foliage is past peak and either turned brown or fallen. The first few snow flakes of the coming winter got spat out of a dreary raw rainy sky yesterday along with a few pellets of sleet. Halloween and November are on the doorstep. Plenty of seasonal lawn ornaments, some cute, some ghoulish.

Halloween lawn decoration, giant skeleton

Outdoor Halloween decoration

Already plenty of leaves to be raked up with more to come.

Fallen leaves in driveway

While there’s been no frost or freeze yet, the weather has been raw enough so that growing season has pretty much ended, except for the occasional fungi bursting out of the ground.

Fall mushrooms

I find it hard to think of it as still fall, with the first day of winter still over a month away. Rather it seems more a curious pause between fall and winter. The brilliant colors of autumn have vanished but the snows of winter have yet to collect on the ground. This little segment of the year ought to have a name of its own. Possibly Ember Days, which in Christian calenders marked a period of time following the change of the seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) when fasting and prayer were done. There are a number of different types of celebrations done at this time of year, honoring the summer and the bountiful crops (if any) it produced, allowing food to be put up for the winter to come.

Given what a short period of time it is (roughly end of October to Thanksgiving, or whenever the snow begins falling in earnest) perhaps it might best be named the Quiet Time. A time for taking stock of the past year and begin preparing for the year yet to come. A time for peacefully appreciating what we have, rather than going berserk in the wild consumer bacchanalias that Thanksgiving and Christmas have been turned into.

medieval family

Whatever it may be called, enjoy and have a happy season.