It's official: Fall has come early at Michael's!!

I went into Michael's today, still expecting to find nothing but the usual (boring) things you always find during the summer: flowers, colorful banners, summer-style arts and crafts, party supplies, and of course, 4th of July decorations. As I walked in, however, a wonderful sight caught my eye: flowers and plants in beautiful Fall colors-red, orange, and gold! As I walked over to that part of the store, I also found pumpkins (pumpkins!), bows and other fall-themed decorations, and even black crows. I couldn't believe it! One of my fellow Halloween Haunters on this site had told me she had already seen the first few signs of fall at a Micheal's near her, but I didn't expect to find several aisles completely filled up before the end of June! I certainly didn't expect to find pumpkins (not the tall ones for carving that you find for Halloween), but pumpkins, nonetheless. Nor was I expecting to find those black, plastic crows that are commonly used in Halloween decorations. It seems incredibly odd that we have not even celebrated 4th of July, and yet Autumn is already arriving. Needless to say, I, for one, am excited. For an autumn/Halloween lover like myself, this helps break up the seemingly neverending, dull, hot days of summer that I grow so tired of once the temperature gets much over 85 degrees. It's always a relief to me to see Fall finally showing up, as it means that not only are the cooler, colorful days on their way, but so is Halloween.

I suppose in a way I almost love the days shortly before Halloween arrives even more than Halloween night itself. The reason is that I love that feeling of complete excitement as preparation begins. I love it when it's finally time to look for new fall and Halloween items to use for decorations, going on that search for the perfect, carvable pumpkin, and making plans for the big night. I love seeing homes decorated with skeletons and witches, tombstones, and ghouls popping up out of the ground, orange and purple lights, and porches glowing with jack-o-lanterns. It is such an exciting thing. Seeing the first fall decorations in the store today gave me the first tiny sense of anticipation. It is already within me. Fall is on its way. The proof is there. The best part is that if they are already putting Fall out on the shelf, then Halloween can't be far behind. How I love this time of year!

Fall has returned (if only temporarily)

It may be only June 9th, but here in northern California, it seems as if Autumn has decided to pay us a little visit. It has gone from the high-80s back to the low-to-mid-70s in just two days. The sky is clouded, and the sun's rays are shining through only a few small openings. I am loving the cool, gentle breeze coming through the window behind me. I'm enjoying it while it lasts because I know that in just a matter of days, those 100-degree days, so typical of this time of year, will be here.

I purchased a packet of pumpkin seeds yesterday. The store had some for 'Competition Size'-100-pounders! I couldn't resist trying them. I've always wanted to have my own little pumpkin patch. Maybe this year I will get my wish.

Halloween art

I was looking through one of my October '09 magazines ('Country Living': 101 Halloween Ideas) when I came across something that I thought was very cool. A picture of an art print titled 'Girls Night Out' had bright orange pumpkins in the foreground, a full moon hovering over a presumably haunted house, and several witches gathered around a fire, immediately caught my eye. It was an ad for the artist Will Moses, whom I had never heard of before. I rarely see art prints that are Halloween in nature, so I got on my laptop and quickly checked out the artist's website. The above print, I was happy to find, is available in poster size, and there are several other Halloween prints available as card collections. I love the thought of poster-size images of Halloween decorating my walls all year-round, and 'Girls Night Out' is a must-have. It makes me long to live in a big old house with a pumpkin patch and gnarled, old Oak trees surrounding the backyard. Every Halloween night, I would dress in my favorite costume and invite family and friends over and light a big bonfire in the middle of the pumpkin field, and party and celebrate all night long! Halloween scenes like these are exactly the kind of Halloweens I envision mine to be.

Will Moses' Halloween

http://www.willmoses.com/itemlist.aspx?cats=12,-2

Haunted shows on The Travel Channel

It's as if October suddenly passed by the summer months and decided it wasn't going to wait any longer! This evening, I discovered one spooky show after another on The Travel Channel. I remember watching most of them the weeks before Halloween, and now they are showing them again. 'The World's Creepiest Destinations' and 'The Most Terrifying Places in America' are among the shows being broadcast tonight. I am surprised, considering it is only mid-May, but I also love it. I have been curled up in bed watching just like I did shortly before Halloween's arrival last year. The shows, along with the unusual fall-like weather we've been having lately, really make it seem as though October were here. I am loving it.

http://www.travelchannel.com/Schedule

The Halloween Bonfire

Bonfire on Samhain

(Courtesy of www.hauntedbay.com)

As I was driving home from work one night last week, I was surprised to see a rather large bonfire high up on a hill overlooking the dark, windy road I was driving along. It was just after 9 p.m. and I could see and smell the smoke as I approached the lower hillside. I could see the tips of the flames almost licking the spindly branches of the oak trees overhead, and I suddenly felt a surge of excitement rush through me as I immediately thought of Halloween. It was the last thing I expected to find on my way home at such a late hour of the night. I slowed down slightly as I approached the side of the hill to get a better look. I wanted to stop my car and walk up the hill and really take it all in. I wanted to feel the warmth of the fire surround me. My imagination went wild with images of costumed partygoers dancing and laughing around the fire. I imagined music playing, and the scent of burning oak, along with brightly burning pumpkins. I wished I had a camera with me to capture the scene. Even though it is far from October, the sight of a roaring fire in the pitch blackness, and the smoke that permeated the chilly night air made it feel as though Halloween were near. It was wonderful.

This sight reminded me of an article I had seen some time ago on the Haunted Bay website about the ancient tradition of Halloween bonfires. It had a picture of an awesome bonfire lighting up the night, with a full moon glowing in the background (see picture above). I wanted to jump into that picture and join the small crowd of onlookers. I love the idea of gathering around a huge bonfire on a cool Halloween night. I didn't realize this was actually a tradition on Samhain going back years. It was believed that the fire would ward off any evil spirits.

I decided that one of these years, I am going to have myself a bonfire on Halloween. I have never been able to do this before, but somehow it seems as though it would be the perfect way to top off a Halloween celebration. Maybe I'll even dance around the fire in my costume, singing praises to the Harvest moon, as they did in ancient times. That sounds like my idea of a perfect Halloween night!

To read the full article, go here: http://www.hauntedbay.com/history/bonfire.shtml

Halloween twice a year!

Last week on the Disney Channel was 'Halloween in April'. I discovered this about halfway through the week, unfortunately. Nonetheless, it was exciting to see that Halloween has become popular enough that even a major company like Disney would devote an entire week to Halloween shows! It occurred to me that we are now about halfway until Halloween's arrival. It almost seems like October around here lately. The weather has been more like Fall than Spring, raining a lot, and so chilly that we've been wearing sweaters and jackets again. I love it when I get a taste of October and it's still a few months away. If only the stores were filled with Halloween goodies, and porches cluttered with grinning pumpkins!

http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/schedule/halloweeninapril/index.html

A few of my favorite things (from past Halloweens)

Halloween village

"Left Behind" ('09)

Another of my carvings, The Headless Horseman.

One of my carvings from '08. The blurriness is from the flash being turned off.

Grinning Jack

Halloween plug-in

Spider lamp

Haunted lamp