10-13-2010 October at Rocky Point

I love October for many reasons, not the least of which is Halloween.  There is something about the decorations and colors that just make me smile inside.  I grew up in Southern California in the 50’s during a time when neighborhood trick-or-treating was safe and fun, where we all stayed out without our parents hovering late into the night.  That time of year in California is often punctuated by Santa Ana winds, clearing out the smog and bringing the smell of smoke from the wildland fires. As a kid, though, the smoke just smelled like campfires and scented the moonlit nights and hayrides along the dry riverbeds with a pungent sweetness.

For me, Halloween decorating is one of the delights of this last month before the frosty gray and brown days of November come to the basin. Walking through Fred Meyer, affectionately known as Freddies, (our local mini-mega grocery store) was tempting me at every turn with orange lights and black spiders, but I promised myself that this year, before buying anything, I would take down the bins and put up what I already have. 

This is the first year Mo and I have actually shared a home, and this is a bit of a change for her.  Mo is a very practical person, not particularly prone to collecting random “stuff” and she has just a few simple decorations for fall. Mo just shakes her head at my colored bins of holiday decor, and patiently builds more shelves in the garage. I put up the little village on the side table, hang the witch curtain on the patio doors, and drape all sorts of orange and purple lights on the porch. I don’t even live in a town where kids might show up for trick-or-treat.  My daughter is on the way to visit this afternoon with my grandkids, and a neighbor might drop in now and then, but mostly it’s just for my own pleasure.

 

Here in Rocky Point, the colors of the aspens down by the lake are turning gold, but in the yard our maples have a way to go.   While we were traveling last month, I must have received  two dozen “weather warnings” for hard frost and freezing temperatures in this part of the world, and yet the impatiens under the trees are still blooming as if it were high summer.  

I have been spending some time in the gardens, pulling the random grass that insists on taking over the flower beds, enjoying the slanting fall light and crisp air. 

In the cool mornings, Mo builds a fire and we watch the news, amazing how things haven’t changed much after six weeks on the road without much television.