All Hallows Eve

I awoke the other morning to the sound of bagpipes. Living in a town of Scottish heritage, it's not all that unusual to hear bagpipes but I don't usually hear them first thing in the morning. At first I thought W4D had changed the ring tone on his cell phone but the pipes kept playing so I followed the sound down the hall and out onto the upstairs veranda. Still nice and green here, isn't it?



The lone bagpiper was playing in honor of the memory of a former resident of our town. I'd like to have the pipes played in my honor after I pass. I'd also like a New Orleans jazz band and to have my coffin driven around town by Clydesdale horses. This is feasible since know someone who raises Clydesdales and the carriage house here in town has custom carriages and a horse drawn hearse. The New Orleans jazz band might prove more difficult and expensive to obtain. Perhaps, I should only request two of the three. Pipes and jazz might clash, but how do you chose one over the other?

We are all ready for Halloween. We decorated for two days and I quite like the lightning and thunder effects we added this year. We buy candy and favors for 300 kids. That's a lot when you realize that there are probably only 30 - 35 kids in who actually live in town that are the age for trick or treating. Most of our tricksters come from neighboring towns and the local farms and countryside since we have a nice concentration of old houses and everyone gives good treats. I gather a lot of folks think these Victorian houses are sort of spooky. With what we spent on decorations, favors and candy, we could have spent the night in St. Augustine and had dinner at The Columbia. Next year, Flaurella gets the treats and a well deserved rest.

Anyway, we've also added high beam lighting (think Kleigs!) to the show the moss in the trees behind the house. Spanish moss looks good and spooky when lit up at night. I think I need a newer camera to be able to get a photo from any distance. Will plan to add more pix here.



There are dozens and dozens of little bats fluttering on our porch, jack-o'-lanterns, giant spiders crawling near the door and black cats in the windows. W4D even wired up a PA system with horrible sounds. You will need earplugs to even get close.


Happy Halloween!