November...

We only had about 30 trick-or-treaters last night. It was raining off and on; I'm sure that was a big discouragement. And about 2/3 of the houses in our immediate neighborhood had all the lights off, etc. So anyone travelling through would see pretty slim pickings for the amount of distance they'd have to walk. Oh well.
And so, we're putting away all of our Halloween decorations, and preparing for the long Winter. Long ago, November was known as the Blood Month, a time to slaughter those animals one wasn't prepared to keep until Spring, (our Thanksgiving is a rather bleached reminder of those times and the ceremonies that accompanied them). It's a time for hunkering down.
If yesterday was gloomy, today is positively morose here at the Manor. It's been raining all night and looks like the drenching will go on for all of today. I don't know when we'll be able to take in the outdoor decorations. One amusing point - someone left 4 Chick comics by our outdoor display. But the rain soaked them and left them unreadable, though; (I'm a big fan and collector of Chick). My soul will just have to remain in peril...