On the Eve of All Hallow’s Eve

 At  Christmas, stockings are hung. For Halloween, pumpkins are carved. The Better Half, better particularly when it comes to artsy type stuff, has done a crafty-artsy rendition of faces for this year’s jack-o’-lanterns. See for yourself. She carved each one free hand.

this year’s Jack-O’-Lanterns

Photo by J. Harrington

The weather forecast assures us there’s no blizzard in store for Halloween / Samhain this year, at least around here. There are tricks galore in the attack ads on tv. In fact, if I paid attention, I’ve no doubt I’d also see ghouls, goblins, trolls and witches therein. I won’t accept that “we’re better than this” when we keep letting the pols and trolls pile the same crap on US every election cycle. I’ve gotten fed up enough with the socio-politico-economic nonsense that I’m looking for solutions in the following places, among others:

• Sacred Nature ~ Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World
  (currently reading)


• Ecocide: Kill the Corporation Before It Kills Us


• Cannibal Capitalism: How our System is Devouring Democracy, Care, and the Planet – and What We Can Do About It


• Doughnut Economics


• Chokepoint Capitalism

I’ll not say whether any or all of these are treats or tricks. You should check out each one, and similar works, and then decide for yourself. As a Tweet, by @carbon_truth, I recently read notes “ Paraphrasing a well-known Montana author, on November 8 Americans will choose whether they want cheap gas or whether they want democracy.” On November 8, and thereafter, lets choose the treat of democracy and not get tricked into autocracy and fascism. ‘Kay?

 

All Hallows’ Eve

By Dorothea Tanning

Be perfect, make it otherwise.

Yesterday is torn in shreds.

Lightning’s thousand sulfur eyes

Rip apart the breathing beds.

Hear bones crack and pulverize.

Doom creeps in on rubber treads.

Countless overwrought housewives,

Minds unraveling like threads,

Try lipstick shades to tranquilize

Fears of age and general dreads.

Sit tight, be perfect, swat the spies,

Don’t take faucets for fountainheads.

Drink tasty antidotes. Otherwise

You and the werewolf: newlyweds.

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Will Mother Nature trick us after treating us?

Today is a classic autumn day in the North Country, although perhaps a little warmer than normal. The Better Half is displaying another of her creative facets by carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns. I was assigned responsibility for securing the candles required and have precipitously completed said assignment. Tea candles galore are now available, hauled from the stash in the storage closet.

our house, come Halloween

Photo by J. Harrington

We ended up in Minneapolis earlier today and dropped by Birchbark Books. It appeared that about half the city was out and about the lakes, enjoying a glorious ending to October. I’m continuing to honor my myth that I can’t die as long as my tsundoku stacks are large enough. I bought three books as Halloween treats for myself. The Better Half wanted to pick up a copy of the latest volume of a mystery trilogy and succeeded. On the drive home I was struck by the realization that a store we used to visit several times a year pre-COVID, we had visited for the second time in the past two years. We’ve essentially foregone eating out or grabbing coffee at the local coffee shop. Our quality of life has indeed been diminished by the pandemic, but at least so far we’ve survived it. That’s a combination Trick and Treat, sort of, right?

I’ve neglected mentioning another recent treat for a couple of days now. Late this past week I noticed a freshly bloomed dandelion growing in the roadside ditch. Is that a message of hope? Of persistence? Of foolish foolhardiness? Of evolutionary experiment? All of them? How can we tell some treats and tricks apart? Does today’s poem help?

A January Dandelion

By George Marion McClellan

All Nashville is a chill. And everywhere

Like desert sand, when the winds blow,

There is each moment sifted through the air,

A powdered blast of January snow.

O! thoughtless Dandelion, to be misled

By a few warm days to leave thy natural bed,

Was folly growth and blooming over soon.

And yet, thou blasted yellow-coated gem,

Full many a heart has but a common boon

With thee, now freezing on thy slender stem.

When the heart has bloomed by the touch of love’s warm breath

Then left and chilling snow is sifted in,

It still may beat but there is blast and death

To all that blooming life that might have been.

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One Treat; Two Tricks, so far

Here’s a report on the Treat:    I went off to get some errands done today. As I drove past the Sunrise River pools in Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area I saw several flocks of American Coots floating on the water. It’s the most waterfowl I’ve seen in one place at one time since the spring migration.

Although we haven’t been specifically watching for the fall migration, we live close enough to the  resting pools that we usually see birds if they’re around. Even though I’ve not hunted waterfowl for several years now, I still get a thrill from watching them come, raise a family, and go.

bigger swallows smaller: it’s monstrous!

Photo by J. Harrington

Now for the Two Tricks:

1. We recently learned that our local trash and recycling provider has been bought by one of the big, national corporations. We’ve already been informed that several items, such as used oil, will no longer be collected as part of the recycling service. We’re waiting to see what other changes may be in store, and our expectations are not very positive.


2. The local auto dealerships where the Better Half and I each bought our Jeeps have been bought by one of the two huge Twin Cities auto conglomerates: Luther Automotive, Morrie’s Auto Group. I stopped by today to schedule an oil change and buy four new tires. The service advisor informed me, as I was standing in the service bay, that I would have to call or schedule the service on line. This is a new and unwelcome change, since the tires I want, which were original equipment brand, are specifically excluded from a MOPAR coupon. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to sort that out on line or over the phone without having to dig out the specifics on the tires make, model and size. If I have to go to that much trouble, I might as well see where else I want to do business.

It’s probably no more than a sign of just how old I’ve become, but I remember waaay back to when “the customer is always right” days and businesses would do their best to make it convenient to do business with them. Apparently, with  alll the “progress” we’ve made using information technology, we’re close to returning to the days when you could buy a Ford in any color you wanted, as long as it was black.

I'll try to not let the corporatization of local economies and businesses get to me too much unless we also experience belated tricks and the Democrats lose control of Congress and/or the statewide offices in Minnesota.

First, my Motorola

Alexandra Nemerov

Nemerov constructed this poem by simply listing every brand she touched sequentially during a day, from the moment she woke up, until the moment she went to sleep: it's hard to imagine a more accurate contemporary self-portrait. And it doesn't get "sexier", "cooler", or "more accessible" than this.

First, my Motorola
Then my Frette
Then my Sonia Rykiel
Then my Bvulgari
Then my Asprey
Then my Cartier
Then my Kohler
Then my Brightsmile
Then my Cetaphil
Then my Braun
Then my Brightsmile
Then my Kohler
Then my Cetaphil
Then my Bliss
Then my Apple
Then my Kashi
Then my Maytag
Then my Silk
Then my Pom
Then my Maytag
Then my Kohler
Then my Pur
Then my Fiji
Then my Kohler
Then my Maytag
Then my Herman Miller
Then my Crate and Barrel
Then my Apple
Then my On Gossamer
Then my La Perla
Then my Vince
Then my D&G
Then my Ralph Lauren
Then my Moschino
Then my Ralph Lauren
Then my Lucchese
Then my Apple

Then my Trish McEvoy
Then my Dior
Then my Lancome
Then my Kevin Aucoin
Then my Trish McEvoy
Then my Tarte
Then my Apple
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Jansport
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Adidas
Then my Adidas
Then my Nike
Then my Masterlock
Then my Fiji
Then my Apple
Then my Bang and Olufson
Then my Ito En
Then my Trident
Then my Chiquita
Then my Dole
Then my Motorola
Then my Chanel
Then my Schlage
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Jansport
Then my Motorola
Then my Apple
Then my Trident
Then my Fiji
Then my Apple
Then my Motorola
Then my Jansport
Then my Cosi
Then my Sweetheart
Then my Minute Maid
Then my Jansport
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Mastercard
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Jansport
Then my Motorola
Then my Trident
Then my Apple
Then my Chanel
Then my Jansport
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my W
Then my Adidas
Then my Adidas
Then my Nike
Then my Ralph Lauren
Then my D&G
Then my Moschino
Then my Vince
Then my Lucchese
Then my La Perla
Then my Nike
Then my Jansport
Then my Fiji
Then my Masterlock
Then my Fiji
Then my Apple
Then my Bang and Olufson
Then my W
Then my Motorola
Then my Masterlock
Then my Lifefitness
Then my Fiji
Then my Masterlock
Then my Jansport
Then my Fiji
Then my Nike
Then my Adidas
Then my Adidas
Then my Nike
Then my Vince
Then my La Perla
Then my D&G
Then my Ralph Lauren
Then my Chanel
Then my Chiquita
Then my Trident
Then my Apple
Then my Bang and Olufson
Then my Jansport
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Schlage
Then my Maytag
Then my Zimmer
Then my Gil Ferrer
Then my Cetaphil
Then my Remede
Then my Brightsmile
Then my Braun
Then my Brightsmile
Then my Gil Ferrer
Then my Skintimate
Then my Schick
Then my Bliss
Then my Bliss
Then my Zimmer
Then my Ralph Lauren
Then my Fresh
Then my Cetaphil
Then my Bliss
Then my Gil Ferrer
Then my Gil Ferrer
Then my Frederic Fekkai
Then my Herman Miller
Then my Pottery Barn
Then my Apple
Then my Hewlett Packard
Then my Apple
Then my La Perla
Then my Petit Bateau
Then my Jill Stuart
Then my Dolce and Gabbana
Then my Wolford
Then my Ralph Lauren
Then my H&M
Then my Motorola
Then my Fendi
Then my Kevin Aucoin
Then my Trish McEvoy
Then my Dior
Then my Trish McEvoy
Then my Lancome
Then my Motorola
Then my Estee Lauder
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Motorola
Then my Trident
Then my Schlage
Then my Fendi
Then my Motorola
Then my Dibruno Bros.
Then my Fendi
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Tanqueray
Then my Fendi
Then my Motorola
Then my Fendi
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Fendi
Then my Louis Vuitton
Then my Schlage
Then my Fiji
Then my Hermann Miller
Then my Pottery Barn
Then my Apple
Then my Kohler
Then my Cetaphil
Then my Brightsmile
Then my Braun
Then my Brightsmile
Then my Kohler
Then my Ralph Lauren
Then my Bliss
Then my Cetaphil
Then my Wolford
Then my Dolce and Gabbana
Then my Petit Bateau
Then my Motorola
Then my Ralph Lauren
Then my La Perla
Then my H&M
Then my Anthropology
Then my Motorola
Then my Bvulgari
Then my Asprey
Then my Cartier
Then my Frette
Then my Sonia Rykiel
And finally, my Motorola

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'Tis better to light a candle than curse the darkness!

We're back to 100% cloud covered skies. Sigh! Rain is forecast to start within the next hour. Deep Sigh! At least we now have some jack-o'-lantern pictures to share. May they brighten the day! The top one I carved. It's a spider, carved in honor of our son, the arachnophile. The bottom two were carved by the Better Half. I think she did the owl because she knows I've a thing for owls and she did the ravens (or the dove and the raven if you look too closely) because she liked the picture on which the carving was based. If I were that capable with carving tools, the spider would look more like a tarantula, but all those fuzzy hairs intimidated me.

for the arachnophile in your life

Photo by J. Harrington

pumpkin carvings for the birds

Photo by J. Harrington

Today we start the last week of October, and it's not even a full week. Then, again, we get to enjoy Halloween and Samhain as the week and the month end and November begins. May all our haunts be happy ones and may the darker half of the year see us warm, dry and with harvest stores that last until next year's fresh food emerges and ripens and may this week bring us more treats than tricks!

October

Evalyn Callahan Shaw

October is the month that seems 
All woven with midsummer dreams;  
She brings for us the golden days 
That fill the air with smoky haze,  
She brings for us the lisping breeze 
And wakes the gossips in the trees,  
Who whisper near the vacant nest  
Forsaken by its feathered guest.  
Now half the birds forget to sing,  
And half of them have taken wing,  
Before their pathway shall be lost 
Beneath the gossamer of frost.  
Zigzag across the yellow sky,  
They rustle here and flutter there,  
Until the boughs hang chill and bare,  
What joy for us—what happiness  
Shall cheer the day the night shall bless?  
‘Tis hallowe’en, the very last  
Shall keep for us remembrance fast,  
When every child shall duck the head 
To find the precious pippin red.

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Missing something?

Sometimes we don't realize how much we can miss something until it's back. Since our posting yesterday, that's happened to us twice.

some things can make you batty!

Photo by J. Harrington

Last night was the first time since early last Spring that we've had homemade chili with corn bread. It was every bit as good as we remembered although, we admit, during the Summer we don't recall even once thinking about how good a bowl of chili would taste. [Back story: the local big box grocery doesn't really put the boxed chili mixes anywhere near the shelves of canned chili. We wandered for more than five minutes looking hopeless and hopelessly before the Better Half managed to bail us out from the opposite end of the aisle we were searching.]

Who me? I would never...!

Photo by J. Harrington

The second time we ended up missing something was at midday today, when our dog SiSi decided she needed to see some of the country beyond the yard. Usually, after we've been for a walk, and we take her off the lead at the street end of the drive,  she bolts straight for the front stoop. Not today. She swerved around the North side of the house and kept going until she disappeared! We bellowed. No response! Again we called. Still no response. We still needed to feed and walk the Better Half's dog, Franco, so we turned to that task and hoped for the best. By the time we got back to the house with Franco, SiSi had returned and was checking out the interior of their dog run. We were so happy to see her we didn't even yell at her for being naughty. She winked and told us she was both a treat and a trick!

Now we've had more than enough excitement this week, or at least in the past twenty-four hours. Then, tomorrow's Halloween and next Tuesday is Election Day. Life is sometimes just one joyful event after another. It would have been a much different story if our little yellow idiot weren't curled up on the couch napping.

Theme in Yellow

By Carl Sandburg

I spot the hills

With yellow balls in autumn.

I light the prairie cornfields

Orange and tawny gold clusters

And I am called pumpkins.

On the last of October

When dusk is fallen

Children join hands

And circle round me

Singing ghost songs

And love to the harvest moon;

I am a jack-o'-lantern

With terrible teeth

And the children know

I am fooling.

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