Inspiring Yard Creations in Bayview

As I mentioned in my last blog post, there were some amazing yard decorations in the neighborhood around the Pumpkin Pavilion. For those familiar with the Milwaukee area, that neighborhood was Bayview. 

I have been looking forward to sharing these photos with you guys, because it's fun to show pics of something people probably haven't seen before. So many of these are DIY creations, so you won't have seen them in stores. You may have seen some parts in stores, like the skeletons, but the displays are pretty original.

Isn't it amazing how something so simple as a mask with the right lighting can have such an effect? I think simplicity is sometimes the scariest.

Those masks were hanging on the door of this house.

This decorator knew how to work with pink and red lights! I have a feeling that every angle was tried with the lights until it was just so. 

This little pirate spook was on a fence around the backyard of the next place you're going to see. 

Boo! How great is this? This pumpkin man was super tall and on a bit of a hill, so most people would feel like they're looking up at him.

See the floating candles above the door?

Here's the entire front of this very well-lit house. 

I love the friendly ambience with the string lights and pumpkin pail, but the figure was unnerving. I really couldn't tell if he was a real guy or not.

Even as I got closer to take this pic, I was thinking "Please don't move. Please don't move." I'm 99% sure he was a prop. I am noticing a lot of beer can accessories on figures and props this year. In this case, the can was what was making me unsure about his liveliness. 

I've probably shared pics of this house in the past. I think this will be the only display you've possibly seen on here before. But I will keep sharing it every time I visit it! How can I not? I don't think I'd captured how tall the house is before, though. You can see that small upper story window lit up. Look for the "Beware of House" sign.

That part of their porch that juts out really adds to this unhinged jaw look. I love everything about this.

I feel like a little kid when I look at this porch. This is an intimidating set of stairs to climb on Trick or Treat night!

I can't decide if this porch is welcoming or not! It looks like the skeletons are having a conversation. Check out that wreath.

There were some unique inflatables out that night. I have never seen any of the following inflatables in any other yard. The Sandworm from Beetlejuice: 

Here's the full view so you can see him coiled on the ground. There are so many little parts on this one.

The Reaper:

Yes, he's holding a heart.

This one is so well lit. I'm sure this is the most vibrant red I've seen from an inflatable. 

Those are spiders crawling on the skull. And you may be able to tell that there is a big purple spider in the background.

This is a good one for "Squirrel View" as I call it. :) Lately, I've gotten some more interesting photo angles by crouching down to the ground.

I don't know how to describe what this cool tree decoration is made of. It's some type of hard, transparent material you can see lights through. I remember seeing a lot more of this style of decoration right before inflatables became the thing. I'm sure this takes less upkeep while outside, although it takes more storage space since it doesn't deflate. 

Do you see the doll face emerging from the corner? They even set up some candles inside the window. I'm not sure if that was supposed to be part of the decorations we saw from outside, but they add something being behind that skull.

I thought I'd save this guy until last because it looks like he's waving goodbye as we leave the neighborhood. This skeleton looks metallic, at least in this light. I'm pretty sure he would look gold in the daylight. Wouldn't he be perfect in a pirate display?

On the way to the car, we passed this church. I had to include these pics because even though they're not of Halloween decorations, they are still pretty dramatic and spooky.

This door looks like it could be featured in a Hammer movie.

This is a pretty great area to explore when looking for Halloween decorations. Browsing up and down these streets was actually as fun for me as the Pumpkin Pavilion. I think there was an equal amount to see! 

I love it when a whole neighborhood gets into decorating for the holidays. Surprisingly, there have been some pretty solidly decorated streets closer to home this year. Pics from those streets will be coming soon.

Wicked Renaissance 2019

That's right, you're about to see this year's Ren Faire photos in November. Perhaps you were brought a bit of autumn warmth by my last blog post. Now, here comes summer!

I'm not sure why I'm just getting around to posting these pics now, but I think I'm going to enjoy the timing of this too. It will be nice to see a bit of August.

I'm going to start with what I'd call the woodland creatures.

This costume is so great that I had to share two photos of it. If anyone out there knows who these people are dressed as, please let me know! I have a feeling they're known characters to someone, but that someone isn't me. :)

Bear claws! I just love this photo. I had good timing with this one, because the teeth and claws are being shown off perfectly. And it looks like a double set of fangs is being worn.

There's a parasol shop on the way in. Looks like we have some yoga cats to go with the skulls.

And a sea creature parasol:

This is the shop itself. I hadn't noticed that sign out front until now. "These are displays. Drunk people and children run into them. You get new ones."

How's this for some intensity!

I took a few pics of the audience during this concert. Looks like we have an astronaut here.

I really like the way her head is turned, showing her profile and part of that dragon.

The back of the hat is worth a read.

The next photos are of my favorite buildings at the faire.

This was hands down my favorite sign.

You've seen him before and you'll see him again. :)

Peeking in the side of the pirate shop...

I'm sharing this one to give you an idea of the beautiful forest setting we were in.

This is a really pretty area too.

You will no doubt remember the baby man!

I'm not sure if I've shared this guy before. He hangs out in his little enclosure all day, usually making noises or semi-offensive remarks. Although, this is looking like a pretty sweet interaction.

This is the back of his cart, and I don't even want to know about some of this! :)

I'm going to call this next section of photos the warrior section.

The blood adds something!

And a different type of warrior altogether! I thought these pieces of armor were really creative and well made.

I can't remember if we were there on Steampunk day, but we did see a few Steampunkers.

Looking these two over, I'm seeing a sort of Old West thing going on along with the Victorian/Industrial themes.

Check out these mechanical looking wings! It's fun to look these photos over now and notice little details I didn't see before, like that Scorpio tattoo that is in the perfect placement for her sleeve.

Looking at this one, I'm wishing that I'd asked this man about his octopus  accessory. That's looking felted, but it's massive.

This woman was really photogenic, so I ended up taking a lot of photos of her.  Every move she made seemed like a great pose to photograph.

Now onto the royal section. These people are the ones hired by the faire to represent actual figures in history or their entourage.

So many details, even in her hair!

A close-up of that magnificent sleeve:

There's a peacock on her hat! I had thought that other woman had an interesting bun on her head until realizing that the "bun" is another person's head. :)

I love his expression.

Near that royal area is this cool little bridge. I don't think we'd ever seen fairies sitting up there. It was so fun to walk under them.

How sweet is this? You can tell they're just looking up in awe. It would probably be pretty fun to sit up there and look down at the expressions of those walking underneath.

This picture was my computer wallpaper for a while.

An owl?

Some of the fairies sit and wander around a circle of trees.

Some of those trees have "cobwebs" strung between them. You'll see little surprise objects hanging from the strings here and there.

The fairies and creatures like to hide around the grounds too.

This one is hiding really well.

We had the yearly tempura and it was wonderful. I wish I could have some of that right now.

Joust to the death!

This knight is our favorite. You can tell he is loving every minute of this.

From a real horse, to a metal one. I do actually feel warmer looking at what was probably hot metal in the sun.

One of the food vendors during the joust.

Sometimes I take photos across the bleachers to the other side of the audience. That's why this one is a little fuzzy. I had to zoom waaaaay in. So if you're wondering if she knew she was posing for this pic, nope. There's no way. But it does look like it!

Quite the cool vest!

I'm pretty sure this is the sign that went with his show.

Mom near the end of the day:

These next pics were taken on our way out. I love this one. The picture of serenity.

The guy in the back is taking me back to another time. It's kind of weirding me out, because the last time I saw that outfit I was about his age! Anyway, the man in the front was the reason I took this. He has that kind of vampire on the move look, hey?

Jack Sparrow and his lady friend. I'm just noticing and really digging her shoes.

This outfit was so creative. At least what I think is going on here is Disney's Snow White, but made of flowers.

I bet you guys will remember him from years past. The Falconer! I like his skull necklace. And I like this pic, because every creature in it is looking every which way. I just find that interesting, that zig-zag of eye focus.

This adorable owl was feeling like my little buddy, because every time I focused my camera on him, he'd look at me and pose.

And to a different type of bird... This guy is great to watch. He rolls across the ground, standing on a large ball. All while either moving fabric or the large wings that are tucked behind his back here. It's fascinating to watch.

Oh and that silver ball he's rolling on his hand and up his arm is fascinating too. If you've seen someone doing what I'm trying to describe here, you know what I mean.

These photos, including the bird man above were taken in the drum circle/dance area where people hang out at the end of the day.

That little guy looks related to my skeleton rat!

I love the late afternoon light on this guy.

I couldn't decide which of the next two to include, so I chose both. There was something to be said for either one.

And these two were the last people I saw that day, and I think a fun way to end this.

I hope you all enjoyed looking back at Ren Faire as much as I did! There were more interesting characters and detailed costumes than I had remembered! I guess that's the thing about revisiting photos a few months later. It's all new again. :)