Lughnasadh

Hard to believe that it's already August. 

In just a couple more weeks, I'll have been back in CT for 6 whole months. It feels like summer just began, and now we're entering the autumn zone in earnest. 

 

I've been pretty busy. Going on a lot of evening walks. Gone swimming a bunch of times. Have eaten a ton of summer squash (that my mum & I grew from seed). Had some art up in a group art show in Hartford. Went to a summer carnival, saw fireworks a couple times. Spent time with family. Went to my fave local farmers market a few times. Ate some grilled food. And I got put on a big project w/ my usual contract gig, so I've been working a ton, too. Honestly? This has been one of the most relaxing summers I've had in years. I've had my ups & downs, but it's been so good for me to be back here, back home. Even just the smell of the earth & air here has been restorative. 

 

The thing about New England is, no matter what season it technically is, there's an underlying mood of Autumn mixed in. There's a certain haunted quality here year round. And I love it. Life still has a lot of challenges for me ahead, but at least I feel more at ease for awhile. This is a healing time.

 

 

 

Sturgeon Full Moon mood

Tuesday, August 1st was the Full Sturgeon Supermoon, a cool clear night good for moon-gazing. It's still summer, but the autumn vibe is definitely in the air.

The Switch

The dark half of the year, the season of death, approaches.

For those of us closely aligned with the Autumn season, I think there comes a point every year (and it is probably different for each of us, & on a different day each year) when you wake up and something has turned. The bone-deep feeling that summer has begun to wane as autumn approaches.

It doesn't really have anything to do with hot weather, or lack thereof (so far, we've had a pretty mild summer in western Washington, knock on wood), but -- a certain slant of sunlight, or the way the wind sounds in the trees, or just -- something. Something crosses a threshold and suddenly, there it is, as obvious as flipping a light switch. You just know. You can feel it.

The ancient holidays known as Lammas/Lughnasadh occur around Aug 1st, celebrating the first of the year's big harvest festivals. Crops are plentiful at this time, and we might be thinking about what has come to fruition, literally and metaphorically.

For me, this year, that day of The Switch was the 25th of July. I woke up and just felt it in the air as the morning breeze came in through the window. On my way throughout the errands of the day, I came upon a small dead bird on our sidewalk. I don't know what happened to him, why he died. He looked like he was sleeping. We picked him up to place him on the far side of our yard so he wouldn't just get picked up by someone else and tossed in the trash. He deserved a dignified resting place as he becomes one with the Earth again. I placed a tiny flower by his head and blew him a kiss goodnight.  

Spooky Travels: House of Frankenstein Wax Museum

When I was planning my summer visit to the east coast for a camping trip with friends & family in upstate NY, I did a bit of searching for stuff to do in the area, and was delighted to find this place in Lake George that was nearby -- The House of Frankenstein Wax Museum!

So, a couple of weekends ago, I went! They seem to be open for most of the summer tourist weeks as well as Halloween season. If you're in the area and in need of a Summerween fix, this might just do the trick.

I won't give too much away, but overall this is campy, good fun. It wasn't too crowded when we went, despite the downtown Lake George area being very active with tourists. There was no wait to get in, although there are some fun horror-themed things to look at in the lobby to keep you occupied in case it's busy when you go. I loved this friendly guy who greeted us, he had to have been inspired by Roger Corman's film, The Raven.

 

Once you pay your admission, you ascend a flight of stairs and follow the hallways from scene to scene, many of which are interactive and/or animated. It's mostly campy and endearing in the way that old horror films are (and indeed, some of the scenes involve familiar horror characters), but there are some genuinely spooky moments to be found. One scene actually made me jump -- and THAT is no small feat, I'm not an easy scare when it comes to these things.

 

It's a self-guided tour which you can take at your own pace, but I'd recommend planning at least half an hour to 45 minutes in there, especially if you're with a small group.

 

If you find yourself in the Lake George area, check it out!

 

 

My rating: 7/10 Jackos!

[🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 _ _ _ ]

(All photos by Petrichor & Pumpkins 2021)

Summerween 2021 Mixtape!

July 4th is over -- Orange and black stuff is starting to appear in craft stores and home decor shops. Spooky season has now begun! Here's a selection of tracks to accompany the sultry evenings where sweaty, creepy things go bump in the night.

If you'd prefer like a YouTube version of this list, it can be found below!

Great Seattle-area news for horror fans!

Over the span of two days, two of the great Seattle-area horror institutions - Crypticon Seattle and Friday Night Frights - have announced their post-Covid return and I could not be more excited!! Read about them below:

1.) Crypticon Seattle - Seattle's annual summertime horror convention, usually held in May, was cancelled completely in 2020. It is returning this year from 27-29 August!! Crypticon has always been a fun time, with great celebrity guests, vendors, cosplayers, prosthetic makeup demos, panels, film festivals, after-hours parties, and more. I can't wait!!

Here are some pics of past Crypticons I've been to!

Harry Goaz and Kimmy Robertson of Twin Peaks

So many fantastic cosplays!

2.) Friday Night Frights - A monthly classic horror film series held at the historic Blue Mouse Theater in Tacoma, WA. Before Covid, they held events every third Friday of each month. In addition to screening the feature film, they have trivia contests, local artists selling cool horror-themed creations, and more. The crowd gets rowdy every event and it's fantastic. FNF finally announced they will be returning in July!! Exact date still pending, but I'm looking forward to having this event back in my life!

Click the pic above for their Instagram page

Here are a few pics from some of the ones I've been to - Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Suspiria, and Beetlejuice!

Seriously impressive Lydia Deets cosplay

I'm looking forward to a lot of fun this summer - what horror related events are you excited about this year??

Now watching - The Burning (1981)

    I expected The Burning to be yet another summer camp slasher movie, but honestly, now that I've seen it, I consider it to be one of the best.

    Possibly unpopular opinion: It's a far better, gorier, and scarier film than any of the Friday the 13th movies. Yeah, you heard me.

   

(click poster image for movie trailer)

    It's got great cinematography, good pacing & suspense, and great special effects makeup (by the legendary Tom Savini), even by today's standards. 

I was hooked the moment I saw this iconic imagery.

    The characters are rather well developed for what seems like it would be a formulaic film (1981 was pretty early in the slasher-movie genre, however, so the so-called 'rules' were still being written). This film also features the first major screen roles of Holly Hunter and Jason Alexander.

    The Burning is on Shudder right now so go see it there or elsewhere if you haven't. Or watch it again, it's great. 9 outta 10 jackos.

[ 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃_ ]

Poster image via IMDB

 

Where will we be when the summer's gone?

We had some good times

But they're gone

The winter's comin' on

Abandoned Jack O'Lantern

Flashback Friday story: 

Back in September of 2008 when I still lived in Connecticut, I found this jack o'lantern abandoned on the side of the road in front of our house one night when I got home from work.  I rescued him and put him on our porch. 

    New England weather being what it is, though, there were a few warm/muggy days and he got a bit fuzzy. I still loved him though, I think the mold made him look even more distinguished. 

I submitted these photos to the Flickr group Porch Pumpkins, which isn't adding new submissions anymore but still has plenty of beautiful photos to look at, over a thousand of them, check them out below.

    Is there anything more beautiful than a carved jack o'lantern? 

Farmers Market vibes

Memories from last year's Lughnasadh visit to a local farmer's market.

    Seeing the first waves of summer apples - lots of Ginger Golds and Paula Reds - makes me ridiculously happy. Sadly, not a lot of U-Pick apple places near me, despite Washington being a major apple producer. They exist, but it'd be a couple hours drive one way; most of them are huge farms north and east of the Seattle/Tacoma area. When I still lived in Connecticut, our local farm was just a drive across town, and there were lots of others within short driving distance.

    I couldn't leave here without a mini bag of freshly-made mini cinnamon-sugar doughnuts. 

    

    The final haul - peaches, plums, corn, gruyere cheese bread, the most AMAZING blackberries I've ever had, and - 

    PUMPKIN SPICE WHIPPED HONEY from my favorite local honey producer.

    This added to softened butter on fresh bread is absolutely amazing.

First Harvest

    Today marks Lughnasadh, an ancient Irish festival also known to modern Pagans as Lammas. It is a celebration to honor the first harvest period of the season, which concludes with Samhain/Halloween in October.

    As of today, we are about the midpoint between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox here in the northern hemisphere. Those of us who start celebrating Halloween early might be feeling the anticipation of our ancestors who had a more intimate relationship with the land and the seasons. 

    Best way to celebrate Lughnasadh, in my opinion? Visit a local farmers' market and enjoy the foods that are in season. 

Watermelon jacko!

Summerween continues, and I finally got around to carving a watermelon jacko! 

    I've been meaning to for years, but we almost never buy whole watermelons unless there's a party. This personal size one was the perfect size. Last night, I finally did it.

    Once I scooped him out, he was super easy to carve with a regular serrated knife.

    As you can see, I had lots of fun taking pics of him. I submitted him to The Great Pumpkin Project Instagram so hopefully I'll get a feature on there. (If you haven't checked them out, please do so, they're doing great work for Halloween lovers! @greatpumpkinproject)

10/10 would absolutely recommend this activity.🎃🍉