The Blood Month

And so we enter November. Halloween was a little slow here at the Manor - only had about 35 trick-or-treaters. I notice quite a few of the children are ferried around in cars by their parents. seems kind of lame to me, but I suppose the spacing of houses in our neighborhood is more than the usual. At least everyone came dressed in costumes and there were only a couple of young teenagers out, (I dislike 17 year olds just going door to door begging for candy - how wimpy...). Some day I want to get a bunch of folks together, dress in eldritch costumes and go Cthulhu caroling. If only we could avoid arrest...
And now comes the herculean task of packing all of our Halloween decorations away. I always consider November the beginning of Winter around here. And although we're supposed to have some nice days coming up, I know that the leaves are falling fast, soon the trees will be bare, and a gray overcast sky will be around more often than not. You begin to look back, and inward. It's a time for listening to the Moody Blues, Simon & Garfunkel, Jethro Tull, Buckingham & Nicks, Al Stewart and Jim Croce. And also a season of pumpkin ale, Port, and cabernet, (bourbon never goes out of season...).
If you're a kid, I guess you go into full Christmas mode now, dreaming and begging for that Red Ryder BB gun. For the rest of us, I guess it's getting ready for Thanksgiving, grabbing the last fresh veggies from the farmers market, and hoping for a mild Winter. And one last thing - it's a time for connecting with your friends and your family. The harvest is done, time to settle down for awhile and enjoy each other's company. It's important...