The howling

I hear it's Halloween. Faaabulous! Here in the Hudson Valley, everyone is Halloween-mad (which you'd know if you read Xmas Carol; I'm just saying). I went to the grocery store today and the streets were filled with people in costume. Halloween is practically a religion around here. The stores have people in costume outside their doors to give candy away to passing kids. And inside the stores, the employees are dressed like true believers. I'm tellin' ya: they're Halloween-mad here.

So it's probably a good time to mention the howling. We've been hearing the strangest howls just after dark. Whatever these creatures are, they congregate right next to our house and howl their hearts out. And it's such a weird howl! Like nothing I've ever heard. (And there are no wild ground animals on the farm. I haven't even seen a squirrel, though there are lots of trees. It's the howlers; they're killing everything out there.)

Yesterday I ran across an explanation of what these critters are. They're hybrids of wolves, coyotes and dogs. Here's an excerpt from the linked article:

An analysis of 437 hybrid animals found that coyote DNA dominates its genetic makeup, with about one-tenth of its DNA from dogs, usually larger dogs such as Doberman pinschers and German shepherds, and a quarter from wolves.

The animal’s cry starts out as a deep-pitched wolf howl that morphs into higher-pitched yipping — like a coyote.

That's exactly what I hear. It's such a wild yipping/howling. I still haven't seen the animals but I know where they live. The farm's manager pointed out a group of trees and said "that's where the coyotes live". Mind you, they're a bit more than coyotes. Puts a chill in your spine, it does.

Hopefully this news will put a few goosebumps on your arms. Now, if you want to go hog-wild and really get scared, pick up a copy of Xmas Carol at the Kindle store. The tale begins on Halloween day, so you'll be in synch with the seasons if you start reading it today.

Have fun. And Happy Halloween, me bloggies.

Halloween is coming!

When I went out yesterday, all the stores had huge Halloween displays. It was a bit of a shock, but then it is getting cool around here. The leaves are already turning.

I love this time of year. To me, Fall is the beginning of the year. Where other people get into "Spring cleaning" in the, you know, Spring, I feel this way in the fall. Lately I've been sprucing up the house, getting heavy clothes ready for wear, bagging up fans for the winter, etc. It's time to get my act together: that's how Fall feels to me.

Anyway, in celebration of all that is to come, I wanted to post this pumpkin patch photo. Commenter Carmine took it a couple of years ago (and he promises to take more photos when he takes his family to pick pumpkins tomorrow; go Carmine!)

October brings Halloween, which is the doorway to Xmas. And you know what that means: It's time to read Xmas Carol (if you haven't already). Great read, cheap price, fun thrills and liberal leanings -- that's Xmas Carol. It'll kick-start your holiday season. I promise.

I love this story

Even though it's at HuffPo, this is a wonderful story about a boy who wanted to wear a dress for Halloween. Extra bonus: the kid's name is Twirl. And his sister's name is Firecracker. You gotta love a family like that.