Autumn is Coming! 2016 Edition

32 More Days Until Autumn!

Fall starts September 22, 2016.  Looking west along the Chicago River in Chicago's North Park neighborhood.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn is really not that far away...  32 more days! Autumn greets us (or we greet Autumn) on September 22 at 9:21 a.m. Central Daylight Time, this year, 2016.  That's 10:21 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7:21 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, and 14:21 UTC (Universal Coordinated Time).  

After a long stretch of humid, 85+ degree days here in August, Autumn (or Fall), with beautiful bright days and cool nights, is very welcome!    

Just in case you can't quite remember the science of the Autumnal Equinox, which is the time when the sun appears to cross the equator and the days and night are of equal length, here's a primer from Wikipedia:

The September equinox (or Southward equinox) is the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Due to differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox can occur at any time from the 21st to the 24th day of September. 

At the equinox, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. Before the Southward equinox, the sun rises and sets more and more to the north, and afterwards, it rises and sets more and more to the south. In the Northern Hemisphere the September equinox is known as the autumnal equinox. In the Southern Hemisphere it is known as the vernal or spring equinox.

And just in case you forgot that the tilt of the Earth is responsible for the seasons, here's a good link that explains that whole thing.

So.. what do we have to look forward to this Autumn?

September

To me, September has always meant the start of school even though most kids start school before Labor Day in the US now.  I guess I'm a traditionalist at heart.  Tomatoes and zinnias are bountiful in early September, and it's time to get the last barbecue of summer fired up.  In our family, we celebrate many September birthdays.

Labor Day is late this year, 2016, on Monday, September 5th!  By the end of the month, the nights are cooler, and the leaves are starting to change colors.  Chrysanthemums and asters (Michaelmas daisies) are in bloom, and we celebrate a few more family birthdays.  Farmer's Markets are overflowing.  And another football season begins.

October

October is full of beauty, golden and red colors, gourds, squashes, especially pumpkins, haystacks and hayrides, and the last apples straight from the orchards.  In our family, another birthday or two.. and, this year, a big wedding!

Then we move on to witches, ghosts, goblins and Halloween.. and the end of Daylight Savings Time as we plunge into those longer, dark nights.  Halloween is on a Monday this year.. Not a great day for Halloween, but that's just the way it is.  Daylight Savings Time ends early Sunday morning, November 6th, 2016.  "Fall behind" and enjoy that extra hour of sleep!

November

November brings Thanksgiving in the United States (November 24 this year, 2016) and the start of the Christmas holiday season.  As a kid, November always seemed just cold and grey, but now that I'm older, I really appreciate the peaceful quality of November.  The gardening is done; the craziness of the Christmas season hasn't yet started, and those empty branches against the deep blue of an early sunset are always stunning.  Then we usually have a few magical sparkling snowflakes sometime in November.

Apple Cobbler, Soups, Stews, and Meatloaf

I absolutely refuse to turn on the oven when the air conditioning is running, so Autumn means a return to baking, casseroles, breads, soups and stews.  I always promise myself that I will try more new recipes than I actually do, but I'm definitely going to make that wonderful apple cobbler with home-whipped whipped cream that I made almost every year when my son was little.. if I can find the recipe.  And there will definitely be meatloaves and lasagna.  Definitely! 

The Countdown Starts!

So let's start counting down those days until Autumn....  32 days until Autumn today.  (It's Sunday, August 21st, 2016.)  Every week will be a little cooler, a little more pleasant than the hot weeks we've had recently.  It will be nice not to have to water as often.  And we've all started to notice how early sunset comes these days.  I'll miss the long evenings, but it will be great to have lower air conditioning bills starting in mid-September.

Halloween: Great Creepy Stuff on Sale!

The ghosts have moved into this birdhouse!

Creepy Stuff at Etsy has so much great Creepy Stuff that it was really hard to decide which pieces to feature.

In addition to all of the great things you see below, there are voodoo dolls, a great collection of cards, a monster ring and a monster bracelet.. and other bracelets. Not to mention the paper mache sugar skull jester rattle and many sugar skull pieces for celebrating Day of the Dead.

Creepy Stuff is having a very un-creepy sale right now as well. I guess you will just have to link over to Creepy Stuff at Etsy today to see that stuff that I missed.

At the top, a one of a kind ghost birdhouse fully renovated for the mini ghouls in the neighborhood with glow-in-the-dark ghosts, moss, toadstools and a tiny skull (perhaps to commemorate a tiny former occupant who has moved on to the spirit world?) The ghost house is completely made of sticks & a log and is 7 1/4" tall and 15" in circumference. Details and purchasing information HERE.

Conjuring the spirits on the Day of the Dead

Below, a Day of the Dead Ouija board decorated with sugar skulls from Creepy Stuff--

Sugar skulls are a tradition used in the celebration of the Day of the Dead (November 2nd) in Mexico and wherever people of Mexican heritage now live. Vendors sell the colorful sugar skulls during the days before the holiday. From the website Mexican Sugar Skulls: "Spirits of the dead are welcomed back to their homes with beautifully decorated altars made by their loved ones. Sugar skulls, marigolds, candles, incense and special foods adorn home altars."

If you don't celebrate Day of the Dead, you'll want to link over to Mexican Sugar Skulls now. You can never have too many holidays to celebrate if you celebrate them with honesty and appreciation of the traditions behind that holiday.

If you already know about and celebrate Day of the Dead, you'll definitely want to link to Mexican Sugar Skulls! Molds, information, socks (Yes, they do have Day of the Dead socks), a gallery of finished Day of the Dead sugar skulls and other treats await you.

Back to Creepy Stuff at Etsy:

Here's an original, handpainted & handlettered Day of the Dead ouija board. It's small (about 7" by 7" and half an inch thick), so you can carry it and use it whenever you might feel the need to contact the spirits. It's made of acrylics on wood; varnished, with a matching planchette. It has felt pads, and can be used as a wall-hanging as well. They can be custom made; just check with the Creepy Stuff. Details and purchasing info HERE.

Decorate your halls and doorways:

Here are some creepy, one-of-a-kind monsters painted on wood blocks for a creepy Halloween touch to any hallway, doorway, or entryway. Use them to great the little ghouls and goblins who will come trick or treating to your house on Halloween. Each block measures about 3 1/4" by 3 1/4" plus the length of the chain. Details and purchasing info HERE.

The first thing that caught my eye at Creepy Stuff was a shadowbox that has since been sold. I had to include a picture here because it is such a great thing. If you like it as much as I did, you may want to ask if Creepy Stuff can make a similar one for you. Perhaps if you promise tasty brains?

You can sit that little cabinet right next to your Trick or Treat bowl. The marauding candy-eating spirits would love that!

Here's a smaller zombie and brain shadowbox that is available now:

It's a one of a kind zombie & brain shadowbox. The zombie & tasty brains are made of handpainted polymer clay. Shadowbox is painted black & has "blood splatter" inside & out! The zombie head & brain are suspended & appear 3 dimensional. Glass front. Varnished. Ready to hang in your entryway to greet those goblins! Details and purchasing info HERE.

A Coffin purse!

What could be more appropriate than a coffin purse to carry those essentials.. like blood red lipstick... at the next monster gathering? Painted black & adorned with the handpainted symbols for Baron Samedi, the handle is made with handpainted skulls & coffins beads. It includes a mini handpainted voodoo doll featuring the Baron's symbol and painted clay face. the purse is varnished & measures about 12" long by 6" wide at its longest point, about 4" deep. If this one sells, it will be gone, as Creepy Stuff will not make another one. So if you don't yet have your coffin purse, you will need to get it NOW! Details and purchasing info HERE.

Creepy Halloween pins decorate everything!

Finally, three handmade and handpainted Halloween pins. Decorate your coat, sweater, or hat for the upcoming haunting holiday. Or perhaps your curtains or pillows? You'll get a glow in the dark ghost, a tombstone & a coffin. 1 1/4" up to 3"; Varnished. From Creepy Stuff. Hurry. Not much time left and things are going fast! Details and purchasing info HERE!

It's Creepy Stuff at Etsy.. for some really Creepy Stuff!