Happy Halloween!

There's something scary about this pumpkin, if you ask me. Jolly-turned-sinister. Crazed. I was just trying to put the too-small squash from the garden to good use - squash ears, squash spectacles - but it took a turn for the worse. Maisie was not deterred, however, and helped herself to the turnip nose as soon as she got the chance.

Halloween blew in on a howling wind. Friday night, the temperature plummeted and I stood at the window watching porch lights flickering and trees tossing and lashing all down the street. Leaves pelted down, driven against the house like steady hail. I was awakened by roaring gusts all night, wide-eyed with worry that one of the giant oak branches overhanging my house might come crashing down at any moment.

All limbs still intact on Saturday morning, it was time for the Zombie Run through town. The crew from the Conservation District convinced me to join their 5K team. I wasn't into fake blood, and I was a little limited on materials when I finally started putting my costume together late the night before, so I went as a Zombie Carrot. (No blood in vegetables, right?) Carrot tops harvested from the garden at midnight and duct-taped to a hat. An orange shirt. Some white face paint with dark circles under the eyes. Goofy enough to fit in with the rest of the crew, anyway! And my outfit went over well at the last farmer's market of the season, where I stopped (half-frozen) on my way home in a cold rain.

Halloween night turned into an impromptu party at my house. Mom and Dad came down for the day, and friends Emily and Jennifer arrived to help hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Neighbor Michael brought Maisie's best pal Powell over for a while, so there were crazy canines tearing around at top speed. There was pumpkin chili and apple cake and a fire in the fireplace and lots of cute costumed kids at the door.

The favorite line of the evening was from a little girl dressed in a dinosaur outfit. When my mom asked her what kind of dinosaur she was, she said, "A tater tot?" Her older sister rolled her eyes and explained, "She's a triceratops."

I love these kinds of spontaneous gatherings. And it was exactly one year ago - the day after Halloween - that I looked at this house for the second time and decided to make an offer on it. It was nice to have a bit of a celebration to mark that milestone.