mcnab's

There is no better place for a blustery late-autumn day trip than a tiny island in the harbour of a small city on the North Atlantic coast.  And so it was that I took what is quickly becoming an annual fall excursion to McNab's Island. In the mouth of Halifax harbour.

What was once a thriving community and recreational weekend destination for residents of the nearby city, McNab's is now largely deserted and used only sporadically by individuals or small groups of hikers.  It gives the island a desolate, lost-in-time quality, as the decaying remains of its former lives (military base, amusement park, summer retreat, year-round community, quarantine station, and jail) contribute to its atmosphere.

This year marked the opening of the newly-restored Fort McNab, on the island's southern tip. As with so much of the island, the land used for the fort was once part of the McNab family homestead. And it includes the old family graveyard. So rather than disturb the graves when the fort was constructed, they appear to have simply built the fort around it.  And there it remains.

Oddly enough, while most of the grave markers seem to have received upgrades from the originals, one small wooden cross remains behind all the others.  No one seems to know why, but there must be a story here.  And likely a resentful ghost.

first snow

Yesterday saw the first snowfall of the season. And it was a significant one.

From their off-season home at the side of the house, the jack-o-lantern stumps are handling the sudden winter weather quite well, albeit with only one eye exposed.

costume-less

So in the aftermath of Halloween, another Hal-Con has come and gone.  Initially, I was thrilled that they had to move the date of the second annual sci-fi/comic convention in my city to November of this year.  Last year, it had fallen on the same weekend as Halloween.  It almost killed me.  Afterwards, I recall thinking, "In 2011, at least it will be in November.  Nearly two full weeks following Halloween to put the finishing touches on my costumes."   As it turned out, the exact same lack-of-time-combined-with-poor-organizational-skills that resulted in a scaled down Halloween display this year also resulted in no new costume for Hal-Con.  With the exception of the masquerade dance, to which we wore last year's costumes, I attended Hal-Con 2011 dressed as . . . myself: victim of poor planning.  It was still a hugely fun weekend, however.  Especially when I got to encounter creatures like this.

And there's always 2012 to look forward to.  Which sees it move back to October.  Maybe I'll start working on my costume right now.  Maybe . . .

candy corn in space

Finally.  It's been a long time coming, but it appears that the lowly candy corn may actually be getting some respect.  Especially since the tri-coloured Halloween candy has played an integral role in scientific research on the international space station.

Maybe our intrepid researcher was motivated by a desire to win new admirers for the much-maligned candy.  Or maybe he just wanted an excuse to bring extra snacks along on the trip. Oddly, the remaining candy corn had vanished before additional experiments could be conducted.

the spoils of November

So on Halloween night, my son was on the front porch helping to distribute treats. And at one point, we ran out of treat bags and had to turn to our back-up supply of miniature chocolate bars.  A steady stream of trick-or-treaters approached, and he knew he had to act quickly to open the sealed plastic bag of chocolate bars.  Alas, he acted a little too quickly.  And dozens of Mars bars exploded from the torn bag and scattered around the front step.

Surprisingly, approaching trick-or-treaters did not descend upon us in a sugar-induced frenzy, scooping up all the chocolate bars they could find.  Instead, the vampires and zombies and princesses waited patiently while we gathered them up. And we were sure we had them all.  Until weeks later.  When the removal of fallen leaves and the trimming of shrubs revealed a surprise. A beautifully-preserved, chocolate-y surprise.

Suddenly, I'm motivated to do more yard work.

Creepmas is coming . . .

This time of year always signals a lull in my blogging activity.  After the frenzy of October and the decaying pumpkin photos of early November, there doesn't seem to be much left to say.  So I tend to be rather quiet while catching up on neglected Countdown to Halloween posts and looking at other people's Halloween photos.

But that may soon change.  Now that Creepmas is coming.

"A reaction to the continuing incursion of Christmas into Autumn and Halloween,CREEPMAS is a good-natured chance for Halloween lovers to exact revenge by bringing some spooky good cheer into the holidays or, more appropriately, the Hallowdays."

What's not to love?  This may be just the motivation I need.

boxing day

Early November is a quiet, anti-climactic time of year.  And it would be absolutely depressing, if not for one thing:  Halloween clearance sales.  The Boxing Day of the Halloween season.  On a somewhat smaller scale.  Nevertheless, it's the time of year when I venture out into the stores to seek out some coveted items that were not in the Halloween budget this year.  Or that simply carried a price tag with which I did not agree.  

This year's after-Halloween sales, however, were a disappointment.  Many stores had scaled back on their Halloween merchandise throughout the season.  And then hurriedly packed it away as the sun rose on November 1st.  The nicer merchandise, that is.  There were still plenty of cheap wigs and fake cobwebs to be found at deep discounts.  But I did pick up a couple of things that I've had my eye on since September.  

First, a couple of ceramic wine glasses.  That have already been used more times than I'd like to admit.  And second, one of those battery-operated, motion-sensored, self-propelled brooms that seemed to be everywhere a year or two ago.  At 50% off, I couldn't resist.  Although its cheap, plastic appearance will require some modification before I reveal it to the world.  And then of course, there was chocolate. Wonderful bargains on miniature chocolate bars, which I had planned to use in the "leftover-Halloween-candy" dessert recipes I'd been saving.  Sadly they didn't last long enough.  I'll need to find a better hiding place.

And now, time for another glass of wine.

last days of the jack-o-lanterns

After a few days of frosty temperatures following Halloween, the weather suddenly turned almost summerlike. Less than ideal jack-o-lantern preservation weather.

I may have to part with them soon. I don't think I can bear to just sit by and watch them deteriorate.

Halloween Night

The Great Pumpkin would have been pleased.

Sunday's rain and wind subsided and left in their wake a day of clear skies, crisp late-October air, and just enough of a breeze to rustle the leaves on the ground.  Perfection.  More than 150 enthusiastic trick-or-treaters.  And enough candy left over for a late-evening (and next day's breakfast) snack.

Sincerity as far as the eye could see.