Halloween Dusk

When those kids start knocking while the sun's still up...

Peddler's Village Scarecrow Competition 2026

Some really fun ones this year.

Walking around last weekend on a very cool day with a beautiful breeze made me ponder entering this competition next year with a spooky scarecrow.  

The Tarot Cards Of Sergio Toppi

Amazing artwork.  Reminds me of the illustrations I'd see as a boy in old textbooks or magazines.

More works here.

Summer Hag

The Hag is astride,
This night for to ride;
The Devill and shee together:
Through thick, and through thin,
Now out, and then in,
Though ne’r so foule be the weather.

- Robert Herrick

Some more instant photographs from my new Fuji Instax camera.

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.