Halloween Countdown Film #28... Dark Night Of The Scarecrow

 

 “After watching too many scary movies it was hard not to have an overactive imagination, along with an inherent distrust of seemingly benevolent (and sometimes inanimate) things, like lawn gnomes.” 

 
~Kat Stiles,

 Connected

 

Tonight's scary movie is, Dark Night Of The Scarecrow. It was a CBS television movie, which aired on October 24th, 1981, and was originally written to be a feature film but was ultimately pitched to CBS. This movie stuck with me, and everyone I knew, for a long time. Watch it in the dark, with no distractions. And then let me know if you had to sleep with the lights on afterwards!

 

Dark Night Of The Scarecrow 

 

Spring, Yet Autumn Too

 

“She turned to the sunlight
    And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
    "Winter is dead.”

 ~ A.A. Milne,

  When We Were Very Young

 

 “There's a promise between
beginnings and end.
And, there's a hope between
end and beginnings..!!"

O' Autumn, you'll never stop,
singing your sanguine songs.”

 
~Monika Ajay Kaul

 

I found this photo, while rummaging through my photo files from last April. I didn't post it at the time because I was feeling less than enthusiastic about everything. Yes, everything! The election had been rough, and I caught Covid-19  in December. Dylan passed away, and Hendrix was having some problems with grief and age. Last spring seemed black and white most of the time. But one day I was out with Alan, enjoying a walk through the Cosumnes River Preserve, I saw this blossoms beauty, but I don't think I grasped the bigger picture. I took that picture, because the blossom's colors remind me of autumn. Through all the sadness, I knew deep down that autumn would eventually come, and despite everything, I would feel better again, and I do. We are only a little ways in, and it's been incredibly magical. Marin county was stunning the other day, and we added 5 new birds to our album for this year, and one to our life list! Needless to say, Bodega Bay was... fabulous! Pictures to be posted soon! And we are planning a lot more trips. One for next week, fingers crossed. I am not mentioning where we are going, it seems like every time I do, something happens and we end up not going. So, you'll just have to keep visiting Ellipsis to find out where I am gallivanting off to next!

 

And there's a lot more to come!  

 

 

 

 

  

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #14

“Autumn questions: Does a dead leaf have a dream? Does she want to return to her green tree again? Does she want to drift in the wind and travel the world? Or does she want to meet other dead leaves? Maybe she just wants to get into the frame of a photo and become immortal?” 

 
~Mehmet Murat ildan 

 

  

Halloween Countdown Film #28... Village Of The Damned

 

 

 

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

 
~L.M.Montgomery,

   Anne of Green Gables

 

 

 The town of, Midwich, in the 1995 film, Village Of The Damned, is actually Point Reyes Station, just south of Bodega Bay, California. Filming for the movie took place in other surrounding towns as well, as it gives a nod to the natural beauty of Marin county. It's a spooky place in autumn, and nobody has a better eye for spookiness than John Carpenter. If you haven't seen the movie, you might like this one. It's not what I would call, terrifying, but more like it drags you into one hell of a fun little supernatural mystery ride. It's eerie. 

 

 

Watch it! 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #13

 

“I love the autumn—that melancholy season that suits memories so well. When the trees have lost their leaves, when the sky at sunset still preserves the russet hue that fills with gold the withered grass, it is sweet to watch the final fading of the fires that until recently burnt within you.” 

 
~Gustave Flaubert,

  Memoirs of a Madman and November

 

 

 

Halloween Countdown #29... 1408

  

 "Hotels are a naturally creepy place... Just think, how many people have slept in that bed before you? How many of them were sick? How many... died?

 

Mike Enslin (character)

Based On The Short Story, 1408

By Stephen King Stephen King 

 

Tonight's film is 1408, starring John Cusak and  Samuel L. Jackson. If it's a story by Stephen King, it must be a psychological horror story, capable of spinning you into a nightmare, even if all you are doing is sharing a bowl of popcorn with your favorite person, and hugging your favorite cat! I used to enjoy going to movie theaters to watch scary movies, but not so much since Covid-19. For me, it's much more terrifying allowing movie monsters and all things supernatural into my home. How do you sleep right after having the candy corn scared out of you? Suddenly, unfamiliar shadows are everywhere! This story points out how terrifying it can be to leave home! If you've ever had a horrible vacation, you will certainly have had a better time than Mike Enslin did! 

 

 

 

On An Rainy Day In Autumn

 

 “Night, which in Autumn seems to fall from the sky so suddenly, chilled us...” 

 
~Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly,

  The Crimson Curtain     

 

 

I took these photographs on a slightly rainy day in autumn.

 This Great Egret took my breath away. They are such elegant birds.

 

  

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #12

 

“Maybe late afternoon is autumn; summer’s retreat
not being archived, but suspended, as the feathered
vane of a bird wings its way across the avenue.”

 
~Michelle Cahill,

  The Accidental Cage

 

 

Halloween Countdown... #30 The Mephisto Waltz

 

October
I sit with braided fingers
and closed eyes
in a span of late sunlight.
The spokes are closing.
It is fall: warm milk of light,
though from an aging breast.
I do not mean to pray.
The posture for thanks or
supplication is the same
as for weariness or relief.
But I am glad for the luck
of light. Surely it is godly,
that it makes all things
begin, and appear, and become
actual to each other.
Light that’s sucked into
the eye, warming the brain
with wires of color.

 
~May Swenson 

 

Well, we didn't make it to Bodega Bay, but we are making another attempt today. Sigh. Cat dramas can be big, yet little sometimes. I don't mean to be cryptic, everyone is okay, it's just that we found out that Simon is terrified of spiders. Big or small. Last night he saw one, and bounced high and low, taking the stairs 4 at a time, and bouncing off the walls downstairs! We were afraid he was going to hurt himself, so we sat until he calmed down by himself, which took a couple hours. Finally, at 2:30 am, hubby went to bed. It seems the situation would be handled in shifts. About 45 minutes after hubby turned in, I was able to pick Simon up, snuzzle him, talk softly to him, and finally put him in his condo for the night. I was exhausted, hubby was exhausted, so we called it a night at 3:30. No trip, but at least our little guy is okay. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! 

 

Now, about the movie! The Mephisto Waltz was spooky as HELL when I was a kid, and you can say it's one of the movies that boils down to, FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT!" Alan Alda is perfect, as usual, as is the whole cast. I loved it when I was a kid, and I love it now! I don't want to give the plot away, so I will just say it is devilishly good fun! It's available to stream on Fandango, so if you haven't seen it, go watch it. 

 

But turn all the lights out first! 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #11

 

“For art, she had thumbtacked hundreds of autumn leaves on one of the cracked walls.”

 
~Eleyne-Mari Sharp,

Inn Lak'ech

 

The Rain is falling, as are the beautiful colors of autumn. The smell of damp earth, and the sight of the earth tones of the trees, just about fills me up, but add in wearing my favorite autumn sweater, and the first taste of a big mug of hot chocolate, or a tangy Chi latte, and I am in a dreamland.

 

 Life in autumn. 

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #10

 

“I learnt from the autumn leaves, the formula of healing.
every year, they break, fall off the trees and die.
and then again in a few months, they find their way back home.
reborn, living a new life just to die again.
but never did that stop them growing again.
so why can't we humans just live up to them.
fall, get hurt, bear pain but have enough
courage and energy to stand up and fight back again.”

 
~Renesmee Stormer

                         

Today's Halloween Countdown... #31 The Birds

 

“Then he saw them. The gulls. Out there, riding the seas.
What he had thought at first to be the white caps of the waves were gulls. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands... They rose and fell in the trough of the seas, heads to the wind, like a mighty fleet at anchor, waiting on the tide. To eastward, and to the west, the gulls were there. They stretched as far as his eye could reach, in close formation, line upon line. Had the sea been still they would have covered the bay like a white cloud, head to head, body packed to body. Only the east wind, whipping the sea to breakers, hid them from the shore.” 

~Daphne du Maurier,

  The Birds

 

 I have a love affair with this movie. I remember watching it, for the first time, when I was about 8, or so, and being terrified by the eeriness of the pace of the film. It built slowly. It made you wait for what you knew was inevitable, for the final attack, and oh boy did Du Maurier, and Hitchcock, make it easy to identify with Melanie Daniels! After all, there are birds everywhere, and how long before they lose their every loving shit on the stupid people who ignore the ecosystem of the Earth. So much could go wrong. Anyhoo, I grew up loving this movie and I thought it would be great as our first choice for the month of October! Mid-century movies let your imaginations run wild. And in that we are on our way to Bodega Bay today, you bet I will be keeping a close eye on, THE BIRDS!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #9

 

“It's like summer wear the world out, and by October everyone is just ready for a nap”

~ Ta-Nehisi Coates,

 The Water Dancer

 

 

Autumn Emotions

 

“I needed a long and lingering autumn, a tenure with which to ease into another state of being.”

 
~Ruchika Tomar,

 A Prayer for Travelers

 

I love watching leaves float to the ground.They are in their last moments of life, and they deserve my respect and empathy. But more important they need my deep appreciation for their work all year, and the beauty revealed. Isn't autumn, and oak leaves, just magical?

 

  

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #8

 

“There is something incredibly nostalgic and significant

 about the annual cascade of autumn leaves.” 

~Joe L. Wheeler 

 

 

It's The Third Dragonfly, But There Could Be More

 

 
“It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.” 

~Sarah Addison Allen,

  First Frost 

 

This the third dragonfly. I captured this beauty at Yolo Bypass Wilderness Area about a week ago. It's been a hot September, and the dragonflies are loving it, but as dragonflies go, I haven't seen a lot of varieties yet. I will keep looking, and hopefully be the time the weather changes to the cooler days of autumn, I will spot many more dragonfly colors and shapes. I love the blue ones, and the ones with double wings. Here's to the journey! 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #7

 

“I am falling in love with autumn all over again”

 
~Charmaine J Forde 

 

 

Yet Another Dragonfly

 

“Fruitful. Lusty. Wild. Revealing. Every day a brilliant reminder of how nothing stays the same, every day an exercise in variability, resilience, and trust.

I love seasons, live for the changing seasons, could not imagine my life without seasons, but, I must admit--at the risk of offending the others-- autumn is my very favorite one.” 

 
~Shellen Lubin 

 

And there's only more dragonflies to come.

 And birds too.

 Just wait!

 There's much more to life then all this despair. 

 

 

Autumn Leaf Of The Day #6

 “You cannot move forward in the real world
if you cannot see the real world.
You cannot find the beauty in the world
if all you see is its adornment.

Autumn comes.
Autumn falls.
Autumn leaves.
The world turns fire
and burns off all that is fading.”

 
~Shellen Lubin 

 

 

Another Dragonfly

 

“There's a promise between
beginnings and end.
And, there's a hope between
end and beginnings..!!"

O' Autumn, you'll never stop,
singing your sanguine songs.”

 
― Monika Ajay Kaul 

 

Summer's dragonfly, meets autumn's beginning. So beautiful, and so emotional. I like the transitions of the seasons. How two moods share one space. Sometimes I can find lovely autumn leaves as late as March. Winter's sorrow blends with the earthly giggle of spring. I don't care much for spring and summer, but I appreciate the wildflowers, and the return of the Mexican Free-tailed bat. Maybe I am obsessive about the turn of the seasons, I get that, but they affect my creative side in all the best ways, and gives me a respite from the stresses of the moment. It's magic.

 

 By the way, I have more dragonfly pics to come!