Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!


I had planned to take some photos for Halloween -- there are many spooky old buildings and shots to be had along nearby Crantock Road -- but I didn't get around to it. I love Halloween although since we live in a somewhat isolated locale we don't do much for it anymore. When I was a kid and lived in a suburb filled with other kids I used to decorate the yard with ghosts and carved pumpkins. We had a garden with trees in the front yard that lights from the house could not penetrate, so that the pumpkins set on stands looked like they were floating in the darkness. In addition to decorating and pumpkin carving I loved ghost stories. A local AM station had wonderful ghost stories that they played hourly. To this day I still re-read Ghosts of the Carolinas and This Haunted Land by Nancy and Bruce Roberts, both compilations of short stories. "The Demon of Wizard Clip", "The Talking Corpse" (set in Old Salem Tavern), and "The Surrency Ghost" are among my favorites. There's something about those stories that really captures the history and essence of the Southeast and North Carolina. In the garden I am often reminded of this passage from "Room for One More": "It was dusk and for a few minutes there was that intense light in which everything takes on a glow all its own. The fragile, spider-like cleome flowers in front of the dark gray unpainted little shacks were a vibrant pink. The cotton fields could not have looked more green."

Currently it's cold and raining, too gloomy even for Halloween! These days we decorate for fall mostly in black and gold


Texas Sunflowers


pumpkin orange


leaves of rugosa rose


Tommy the cat


hints of ghostly white


Dog Fennel


Crinum 'Royal White'


Rose 'Blush Noisette'


with dashes of blood red thrown in, and let the spiders decorate the garden with webs.


rugosa hip


Rosa arkansana


American Holly


Black Highbush Blueberry


Granted these pictures are not at all spooky but Happy Halloween anyway!


11 comments:

  1. Happy Halloween to you, too! We are out in the country and never have trick or treaters, so we don't do anything for it either. Your cat is so funny, hanging off the sofa like that!

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  2. No, not spooky but your images are hauntingly beautiful. Happy Halloween :)

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  3. Love your photos as always. You have so much growing there no matter what time of year.

    Those TX sunflowers are great! The Dog Fennel looks lacy and diamond covered and your roses are exquisite.

    Tommy looks like he should just slide right off the sofa.

    Enjoy your week ~ FlowerLady

    The word verification word is cycho. :-)

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  4. Oh, I much prefer these images to spooky tales! The dog fennel looks like the perfect backdrop for some scary story. Love your cat napping:)

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  5. I love the shimmer on the Crinum!

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  6. Glad you had a nice Halloween! We live in a rural area also. We never have trick or treaters so I don't really decorate for Halloween. Carson didn't even carve a pumpkin this year. Your pictures are great. I especially love the one of Tommy! Too cute! Carla

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  7. What a clever take on Halloween decorations! We never get any kids in our semi-rural location and so don't fuss over Halloween either. I do miss decorating a little bit though. The shots of the dog fennel and the rugosa rose are really great. Tommy the cat is hilarious.

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  8. Great Halloween post! I absolutely love the quote and could picture the cleomes. Hope you had a wonderful Halloween. :)

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  9. Your post reminds me that I should really think more about rosehips. There's a rose I need to find a spot for, r. moyessii 'geranium'. It produces large hips shaped like flagons!

    Tommy's a real ginger 'Tom'!

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  10. Tommy the Cat makes me smile. Cts always look like they are resting well! Hope your holiday was fun. gail

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  11. Happy belated Halloween SB! Seeing all the color in your photos made me sad for my garden ~ we lost it instantly when we had the 14 degree overnight lows. Everything just turned brown. :-(
    We enjoy all the Halloween decorating too. One of the fun things about a neighborhood. I think living where you do more than makes up for what you miss this holiday!!

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