Alex's Asteroid Astrology

It’s that time again – spooky season!  My absolute favorite time of year!  All nature seems to burst with vibrant color, a last hurrah before the deathliness of winter.  Days are sunny and cool, nights crisp and frosty, farmstands piled with pumpkins and gourds, and rosy-cheeked apples hang thick on the trees.  As October settles in, ghosts and goblins start to appear in front yard haunts, building to a crescendo on the last day of the month – Samhain, All Hallows Eve, Halloween, the most magical, eerie, charmed night of the year.

After the exuberance of last year’s decor, where nearly every room was festooned with spooky tchotchkes, I needed to take a step back this year.  Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s still a lot more than sane people do for the holiday, but there’s a notable reduction, particularly upstairs.

I was further hampered by logistical issues this year: normally, I want to start decorating the last weekend of September, but my box mover was unavailable then, so there was a delay until the first weekend of October, affording less time to pull things together.

Finally, I’m mourning a loss this Halloween – my ancient digital camera died in September, and it took me awhile to find something reasonable that I was satisfied with, as its replacement.  I can’t really complain, it gave me 16 years of faithful service, but I’m still not used to the new workhorse, and I fear some of the images of this year’s display are less than optimal.

That said, let’s dive in!

As always, if it’s Halloween, can witches and cats be far behind?  This dynamic due has dominated the holiday from time immemorial, and they’re faithfully represented in my annual display.

But first and foremost, Halloween celebrates the dead, and in this regard, the archetypes fall into two categories – the physical remans after death, i.e. skeletons; and the spiritual remnants, i.e. ghosts.

Over the decades since the publication of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” in 1897, which popularized and romanticized vampires, the lusty bloodsuckers have become an integral and valued component of Halloween décor.  Mine roost in the hall.

Washington Irving’s Headless Horseman has carved out a niche in the Halloween pantheon as well; this is the only collection displayed in the guest room this year.

The bathroom, normally Kingdom of the Spiders, has taken a back seat for 2026 as well.  With one notable exception.  The last thing I needed was another skeleton, but when this model came out, with poseable fingers, I just had to have one!  Introducing Larry, who has replaced Clyde as my skeleton in the shower, and is rather frank about expressing his feelings when interrupted in his ablutions.

Just a few shots of the kitchen, my apologies for the lighting, but this new camera has a mind of its own.

Outside, things are much the same, but less so.  Most of the main skeleton installations have made the grade, but the accompanying bits of detail, such as cats, bats, bones and webs, have fallen by the wayside.

And a bit of cheeky fun – welcome to Dead Lover’s Lane, where the pleasures of the flesh never wane!

And a few more cemetery shots:

Some traditions never die – I did manage to carve a jack-o-lantern!