Halloween came early...

I think I have made it quite clear that I love fall.  What I have not made clear is that I also love Halloween.  The day itself is whatever, but the decorations, the spookiness, the events, and especially the Garfield Halloween special-  well that's what I really love.


Yesterday morning I walked the dogs along the Frenchman's Bar Trail in Vancouver where it seemed like Halloween was coming early.   The entire area was shrouded in a dense fog and a hint of mystery. Ghost birds emerged out of thin air (or the fog) to suddenly perch within feet of me. 

Song Sparrow

 White-crowned Sparrow, American Goldfinch

I could hear thousands of ghost geese and cranes, but could barely make them out...


A Brewer's Blackbird perched on the fence could easily have been a Halloween decoration...


So far I have shown you ghost birds, blackbirds, fog... What else do we need for Halloween?  Death!


I saw a few dead geese along our walk.  I'm never sure if they are hunting throwaways or if they just didn't fare well during migration.  Adds some creepiness either way.

Once at Frenchman's Bar Park I realized we were walking along the end of the world.  I could see where the sand met the Columbia River, but beyond that was pure white fog.  SPOOKY.


Jake (rocking his skull & crossbones name tag) got frighteningly close to the edge of the world.  I realized we would not be seeing any kind of ducks or grebes swimming so we headed off on the trail into the trees...


This is where the morning got even more Halloween-esque.  I was standing still with the dogs, watching some chickadees, when suddenly a Great Horned Owl started hooting so loudly I nearly jumped.  The area the hoots were coming from was unfortunately covered with dense leaves up top, and blackberries below, so I never saw the owl.  No doubt Rhett would have located the owl in half a second.

So now we have added death, the edge of the world, and an owl to the scene... What's left?  Spiderwebs of course.


I have one last creepy critter for you to enjoy...


Why is this ground squirrel creepy?  I don't know.  But I had never seen one in this area before so there is a bit of mystery there, right?   Good times!!

Comments

  1. Nice to see the fall shots! Love that one of the trail and fog.

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  2. A+ on the Halloween post. NICE.

    Oh, the ground squirrel is creepy because they are the HARBINGER OF DEATH to any garden. Like mine. No single squash, bean, or pumpkin plant will survive these creatures, who are pretty much able to cross ANY barrier (via digging, leaping, climbing, levitating, etc.), so they are a baby plant's WORST NIGHTMARE!!! They will tear your precious cotyledons apart with their razor like teeth, and dig up your roots with their scrabbling claws and eat that too. Then belch. It's not pretty.

    =) I also heart H-day in a big ol' hairy way. Heaven.

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    Replies
    1. The squirrel makes so much more sense now, thank you!

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  3. Your foggy shots are BOOOOOtyful! I love that blackbird with his yellow eye. I think I saw a squirrel like that on NBC's show GRIMM...its a Wesson or whatever they call them, you think its an innocent fluffy animal but its really more destructive to a homeowner than termites!
    LOVE Jake's skull n cross bones tag...lol

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  4. Love the photo of the autumn colors and your path. What a fun walk!

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  5. eerier than Lake Eerie!

    Very spooky stuff Jen. We disagree on Tom Petty, but we're on the same page in that Gar-Halloween-Field is one of the best things.

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  6. Jen, fun post. I love the eerie foggy shots. I love the blackbird shot and Jake. Happy Halloween!

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  7. Love the blackbird photo!

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