The area where I live is all dressed up for Halloween, and I'm going to give you guys a tour of it! I'll start with some very cool yard decor. Those floating ghosts look genuinely spooky when the wind blows, and that was luckily happening as I took this picture. I was reminded of this:
That's the way they were moving in the wind. There was a whole cemetery of ghoulies next to the flying ghosts.
Parked across the street from this cemetery display, was The Mystery Machine!
As in
The Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo! Just parked on the street. Someone actually painted their van to look like this! That's a lot of work and I think they did a pretty good job.
I'd love to know who this van belongs to. Probably someone who owns a Great Dane. :)
This autumn has been a beautiful time to walk in the park.
I just learned this is
The Spindle Tree. The pink part is a little fruit that opens up to drop those orange seeds. I had thought these were flowers, but it turns out the tree's flowers are very small and light green.
A little heart-shaped tree.
I can almost hear the leaves crunching looking at this.
Check out this fallen hornet's nest! Doesn't this look like a head? You see the little nose and the frowny mouth?
And check out this one! It's like a little monster with eyes, a nose, and a mouth. He's a little more friendly.
I was so thrilled with how these two photos turned out. Although, this looked even wilder in real life. I wear sunglasses with a real red tint, so from my view it was like the leaves were on fire.
Actually, it was just the good timing of seeing them at sunset as the light was hitting the bright leaves in the background.
I took this picture looking down from the side of a bridge. It looks like a Monet painting, doesn't it?
There are lots of colorful berries out at this time of year.
I love how this photo turned out! They're like miniature oranges.
I'm not sure what these berries are. I'm calling them the little honeydew berries.
Anyone know what kind of spider this is? It's new to me! It almost looks like it has a spiny little armor on.
The trees here are in full color.
I love this tree. It has a little bit of everything going on.
The village where I live has some nice autumn decorations up. You might remember seeing the Christmas decorations here in one of last winter's posts.
This is kind of a little pickle gourd, although I suspect it's missing a part. Maybe something chewed on it?
This mysterious jug of Witches' Brew was sitting outside a shop. "Witches' Brew to grow warts" it says. Because everyone wants to grow those, right?
And then there's Skull Maggots, "to enlarge your brain". If you look closer, it says "eat five maggots before dinner". Eww... Actually, the more you think about this, the less sense it makes. Wouldn't you lose a bit of brain with the maggots in there?
This bicycle display looked so cute. You'll see more of it later on.
I loved this black iron piece behind the spider! There were some very nice displays out, and when you crop in on a favorite part, the picture becomes more enjoyable somehow.
This is so clever. The mohawk pumpkin was in the window of a hair salon. If you enlarge this pic, you'll see that he's covered in glitter with rhinestone eyes.
A few flowers were still out, like this black-eyed Susan. At least, I think that's what we're looking at here.
A bluebird was browsing the shops. I don't have more of an explanation.
There were some exotic pumpkins around town. I felt like this was Cedarburg-lite. You know, the way Cedarburg goes all out with the decorating.
A warty one.
This is nothing I've seen before. An exploding brain pumpkin? A waded up piece of chewing gum pumpkin? Anybody know what this is?
Some kids were carving pumpkins and setting them up on bleachers. I think there was some charity involved, like they'd pay for the pumpkin and that money would go to charity. You'll see these pumpkins again in a bit.
Now we'll revisit the village at night. This is outside that same store with all the cool outdoor decorations. The jugs of Witches' Brew and Skull Maggots were sitting around this trunk before. Pretty spooky. I didn't think to open it at the time, but I'm thinking about it now. Wonder if anything was in there?
A little silver tea set in the window. It's funny how something like this can look spooky at night, like something out of Disney's Haunted Mansion.
This too! What I'm assuming was some light reflecting on a dirty glass window looks ghostly at night.
I wonder who this lady was? Her picture looks right with this typewriter. She looks like someone who would have been typing away.
I should go in this place when it's open. I'd like to see more of these pieces in the light, like that cool mirror behind the little Steampunk girl.
There's that bicycle again.
And here are those carved pumpkins I showed earlier, all lit up on display.
As you can see, there were a lot more of them at this point. They're all lit up by a string of lights. A girl was threading the lights one by one into each pumpkin.
This photo is the wallpaper on my computer right now.
That one with the jagged teeth is my favorite. I always like the wicked looking pumpkins.
There was something wholesome about seeing rows of pumpkins that kids had carved. This hasn't happened around here before, so it was a neat surprise. I hope the pumpkin carving and lighting becomes a tradition in the village.
Have you guys been seeing any good decorations while you've been out and about? I'd love to see some of your pictures!
Neat potion bottles - they look like antiques.
ReplyDeleteLady M ~ Yeah, they do have an antique look. I'm sure they're just wine jugs filled with water, but they look worn down. The labels look tea stained, and that adds to the old look.
DeleteWonderful photos as always Justine! Autumn seems to come and go so quickly, its nice to capture the moment while you can. Nothing says says Fall like those leaves and all the grinning pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteAlison ~ Thank you! :) I agree, it's good to get out there and photograph the leaves before they change yet again or fall off the trees. And with some trees, it feels like you only have a few days to do that! Yes, fall leaves and carved pumpkins make for the classic fall scene!
DeleteThis is such a great post, Justine! I love that you take the time to share so many photos with us because I know how much time goes in to organizing them all. I want to come live in your world for all the fall color! <3
ReplyDeleteMiranda ~ Thanks! :) True, it does take time to go through the photos and choose the ones to share. For all the pictures I put on my blog, there are a ton more on my computer! But, I had a fun time last night playing a little Halloween music and picking my favorites. Haha! Yeah, we have the classic autumn colors here! This year more than ever I've been thinking that it looks like a traditional Halloween around town.
DeleteJustine, enjoyed looking over all your photos! I'm going to make an attempt at the bushes and trees you questioned.
ReplyDeleteThe first (w. red leaves), is probably a burning bush.They are usually so red, and quite beautiful.
That second one threw me. The leaves look like Redbud, but they usually flower in spring. So, not sure.
Crabapples, bitterroot (?), persimmons, and the white berries, are probably poisonous, whatever they are.
Love that shop. And jack-o-lanterns are my favorites for Halloween.
Enjoyed this a lot!
Lorelei ~ Thanks! I think it is a burning bush. It seemed a little pinker than expected, but it could have been the way the light was hitting it. I'm looking at pictures of burning bush plants now and it looks like you're right. That's definitely the leaf shape.
ReplyDeleteOh, while looking up pictures of the burning bush, I saw a related search for something called The Spindle Tree! That's what those little pink/orange berries are. The ones where I wasn't sure if they were flowers or berries. The Spindle Tree must be what you saw as the Red Bud. I just looked up Red Bud and that's really pretty! All the pictures I'm seeing of that are light pink. Wow, that is really springy looking. I think we have one of those trees in our park too.
You think the berries are poisonous? Yeah, better safe than sorry with mysterious berries!
I love that shop too! I ought to go in and see the displays. The outside decorations were intriguing enough. Yup, jack-o-lanterns at night = pure Halloween.
I'm glad you enjoyed this! :) Thanks for your comment and ideas on the plants!
beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteDJ Trish ~ Thank you! :)
DeleteLooks nice and autumny and atmospheric! The ghost tree is cool! Thank God I've lived to see the Mystery Machine in real life! That reminders me, a couple of weeks ago I dreamed that I lived in Cedarburg! Anyway, nice post!
ReplyDeleteMatt ~ It has been all those things around here! The last day or two has been gloomy/rainy so I was glad that I got out to take pictures while it was sunny and the leaves were on the trees.
DeleteYeah! I loved that ghost tree! That's the first time I've seen that work. Usually, it just looks like someone hung shredded garbage bags from their trees. But this time it was done in a way where it really looked like they were flying. These people must have had a different type of fabric or cut it in a new way? The strong wind didn't hurt either.
Haha! Yeah, the real Mystery Machine. How about that? I was half expecting Scooby and the gang to walk out of the house it was parked by. :)
Ah, Cedarburg. I hope to have some photos to share from there soon. Weather permitting, I might just be there on Halloween night. We'll see! That sounds like a nice dream. Cedarburg looks like a nice place to live. I'd like to live nearer to that shopping area I blog about. I'd probably be hanging around the shops at least once a week! And Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed this one. :)