Trick Or Treat

Got a very cool birthday gift a few months ago - a Fuji Instax Square camera.  

THE SKELETON KEY

An annual favorite is back - K.O.'s Halloween blog.

Click below for some terrific entries and a wonderful Halloween mix playlist.

Witch's Potion

Something wickedly delicious has arrived. Witch’s Potion is a spellbinding blend of warm cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, anise and smooth vanilla, perfectly balanced for a cozy cup full of comforting spice. Made for crisp mornings, sweater weather and everything you love about fall, this mysteriously delicious seasonal brew is only here for a limited time.

Just ordered some of this coffee from New England Coffee.  I'll report back.

Click below...

Weil's Doghouse Antiques

Road trip to Allentown, PA for the most amazing antique mall, packed with Halloween (reasonably priced too!)...

Late Cretaceous Fun

When a friend asks if you want to go panning for shark teeth fossils in a stream, you should probably go.  I never knew you could even do such a thing.  Big Brook Preserve in Monmouth County New Jersey is the location of a stream that runs through ancient layers of sea floor sediment -  65 to 75 million years ancient.  It's boggling to ponder.

So you work your way to a very normal stream located in a local park and you begin seeing people in the shallows.  The banks of the creek aren't even all that high in most parts.  But you can see strips and layers of pebbled sediment in spots.  During heavy rains, the banks will erode into the stream, depositing prehistoric shark teeth, belemnites, and oyster shells.  We found an isolated spot and began scooping rocks and debris from the stream floor into our sifting pans.  It was slim pickings at first until a young guy who was passing through asked us if we found anything and we told him we found a tooth.  He showed us his technique and the best spots to pan and it was a night-and-day experience.  We began finding a bunch of various shark tooth fossils.  As you pass folk in the stream or as you're leaving the park, they all ask "Did you find anything?!" excitedly.  It was a really neat experience.  And the weather was perfect for sloshing through a stream in sandals digging up ancient choppers.

Some photos below...

Now Playing: Hostile Lifeform

From the new album by Void Stasis, a favorite Dark Ambient project.

Click below...

Artist Matt Schu

The artist's site here.

His Instagram here.

Terrain Halloween 2026

Stopped at this home and garden store on Saturday.

Click here for their online shoppe.

The Lady Of The Lake

In the background there is a lake,
and beyond that, some low hills.

(The photograph was taken
the day after I drowned.

I am in the lake, in the center
of the picture, just under the surface.

It is difficult to say where
precisely, or to say
how large or small I am:
the effect of water
on light is a distortion

but if you look long enough,
eventually
you will be able to see me.)

- Margaret Atwood, This Is a Photograph of Me

A friend and I spent Saturday morning at the edge of a lake, sloshing around with a Lady, and a lot of tiny fish (and some hungry ducks).  Here are some of our photos...

(pics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 11 were taken by me.)