My usual exuberance for all things Halloween, and for October in general, has been tempered by the approaching mid-term elections in the US.

I signed up to write 200 get-out-the-vote postcards, but I severely underestimated how long it would take to hand-address each card, print a specific message, and add postage to so many. They had to be mailed on October 21, and I didn’t return from my Ohio trip until the wee hours of October 20.

I tried writing the cards on my flight to Ohio, but only managed to write ten! Yikes. The plane’s bumps, the low tray table, and other annoyances had me set them aside for something more mundane. Once home and easing into local time, I got started in earnest. My friend Mary offered to help, stopping by for an hour and a half to complete 25 cards. In the end, I mailed over 100 postcards by the stated deadline, and I know the next time to invite a group of friends to help.

Nearly 80% of California voters vote by mail, but you can return your ballot in person to a drop box, which we opted to do this time. Tuesday is election day, so for now we wait.

Temperatures throughout October remained unseasonably warm, sometimes as much as 15 degrees above norms. We had one glorious day of rain, and then the warm weather returned. It’s an odd juxtaposition of falling leaves and shirtsleeve weather.

My garden surprised me with a volunteer pumpkin in early August. I watched over it like a mama cat with her kittens. I harvested the pumpkin when it was fully orange, but over the month it turned green. I’ve never had that happen before.

Mike loves carving pumpkins, so he bought three at a local market today, and as of this evening, he’s finished carving two. One is a new pattern he printed from the web: a pumpkin-headed scarecrow. He also carved a Minion from the popular children’s movie—just one more to go.

Halloween is big in our neighborhood, and it falls on a Saturday this year, so we’re expecting about 500 doorbell ringers tomorrow. I enjoy the creativity of many of the costumes, and I adore the little ones holding out a bag for a sweet, not fully understanding what’s going on. I’ve taken snapshots of a couple of neighborhood displays, below.

In between work, travel, and other responsibilities, I’ve been doing the usual fall chores. The Magnolia drops leaves and heavy seed pods this time of year, so I clear them out of the shrubs below using a rake or my gloved hands. A few weeds remain, but prolonged dry temps keep them in check, at least for now. The work is therapeutic, and the earth’s closeness soothes my rattled soul.

Happy Halloween!