There is Halloween in the woods. Limbs and leaves fall. Decomposers invade. The trees take on a different beauty in death, with fungi threading through its tissue, splitting its bark open. Beautiful rot, as it becomes part of the forest floor. Orange fungi. Black muck.
Happy, happy Halloween! It's the finale of my celebration of October and the spooky things that emerge at this time of year. My Halloween morning was perfect: I spent it running through the woods from zombies and a swamp monster. The MudWalk is a tradition for elementary school kids in our area. They visit the Environmental Studies Center and … Continue reading Running Through The Swamp – Halloween At Last
The Halloween shelves are shrinking with the last of the cackling skeleton brides and tombstones. There are some turkeys overlapping them, but Christmas and winter holidays are coming on strong. I see you, giant nutcrackers and elves, just on the other side of the shelf. Halloween is almost here, our last revelry of this spooky season, … Continue reading Christmas Is Creeping Up Behind You – 1 Day Until Halloween
May you find only the best bio-exorcists along your trail today. You can visit Betel...oops, better stop...and other legendary ghosts along the Seminole Wekiva Trail, painted by John Demshock. To quote Delia Deetz, "This is my art, and it is dangerous. You think I want to die like this?"
Orange for pumpkins. For Halloween. For turning leaves and intense sunsets. For brightly colored creatures, beautiful and frightening. And black, to offset the orange. To bring on the longer nights.
Wild areas teem with life and death. The urgency and decay are deeply beautiful to me and source of much of my writing. In the wet areas, life bursts forth throughout the year. Mosquitos emerge from the water desperate for a blood meal and mating. New shoots grow from the ground at alarming speeds. And all … Continue reading Writing From Wild Areas – 25 Days Until Halloween
Alligator by Victoria Nations Thunder rolling. Drive the cart faster, hurry past. Dead gator. Entrails.
Victoria Nations 