Once again, I would like to point out that the jack-o'-lantern is a wonderful symbol of the harvest season, and as such, Thanksgiving. Before the smiling jack became the icon of Halloween, we were using it as a ward during autumn. The pumpkin has long been associated with Thanksgiving, of course. Pumpkin pie is as ubiquitous to the holiday and autumn as it is Halloween. It makes for one of the most beautiful displays sitting atop a bale of hay, with corn stalks and colorful mums. But to spice this up a bit transform some of your pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns deep into November. Keep the Smiling Jack alive this and every autumn! Not personally much of a poem guy, one of my favorites however is from John Greenleaf Whittier. The Pumpkin (1850) touched on the jack-o'-lantern during Thanksgiving. Check it out:  Oh, greenly and fair in the lands of the sun,  The vines of the gourd and the rich melon run, And the rock and the tree and the cottage enfold, With broad leaves all gr...

All my life, or most of it, I have been infatuated with spring and summer. The warm weather has always sustained my soul. But as I get older the summer doesn't fill that sweet spot in my heart that it once did. Anxiety plays a large role in the change, I think. I've had a lot of physical health problems the past few years, and many began in the summer in the afternoon or middle of the night. And my mind has not forgotten those moments of terror and realization, and it sticks with me. As I've gotten healthier, I'm trying to leave behind those memories that are imprinted into my body. The changing of the seasons helps. The past so many years I've fallen in love with Autumn. Hard. The chill in the air and sweater weather with the changing of the leaves brings new cozy moments to enjoy. The sun, especially in the morning and the evening, takes on this warm golden hue that you just don't see in the summer. It hits differently. You get to light the fireplace in the ev...

Today most of America seems to have forgotten that the venerable jack-o'-lantern is not only an important symbol of Halloween, but also of Thanksgiving. As a kid this icon of Thanksgiving was a decoration you would see in people's yards throughout October and November; through most of autumn. Today you don't see it as much, with folks settling for simple uncarved pumpkins on the steps on the porch, or on bales of hay. I bring this up only because I'd like to see a return to the pumpkin-headed scarecrows staying around for more than one holiday. I'm keeping my jack-o'-lanterns out in the yard and on the porch until the day after Thanksgiving. It's time we keep the pumpkin-head scarecrow around all fall. This is a perfect way to repurpose your jacks into November, instead of letting them get tossed by some teenagers post-All Hollows Eve! However, there is something to be said for rotting jack-o'-lanterns after Halloween that just screams cool. Aging jacks ...

  Happy Halloween everybody! I hope it's spooky and fun for all of you! Enjoy this last great day of Halloweentober! Personally, I'm carving one final jack-o-lantern tonight, watching Hocus Pocus, eating pumpkin pie and making some Barmbrack bread! I'll be counting down to next Halloweentober as of tomorrow... I read The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. The first time I read this book, I didn't know what to make of it. But now, I get it. I think it's a beautiful book about life and death, and Halloween. I think I'd read it again one day. It's amazing how, with each Halloween, we add another day - another month - of celebrations to remember and hold near and dear. This holiday gets more special with each passing year, I suppose, because I'm older and wiser and take something from this celebration each time, even as I rewatch the same movies or TV shows or decorate with the same decorations. But it's in the air of autumn itself, and the leaves as they c...