Fall Colors - Halloween Style

Mount Washington Resort - Oct. 17, 2013 - New Hampshire

At home in Kirkland, my friends and I often walk the neighborhood streets. A park is our usual destination, but along the way we notice flowers, holiday decorations, business openings and closings, and houses under construction, being repaired, or up for sale. Sometimes we are delighted by a miniature art show in someone’s yard, a yard sale underway, or strangers with familiar faces walking dogs we now recognize, since their walking schedule and route often intersect with ours. We appreciate a friendly “hello” from other walkers, gardeners, and occasionally a driver confused by the street patterns and addresses. When we reach our park destination, some of us decide to do stretching exercises, while others claim to prefer at home work-outs and instead attempt to converse with walkers, fishermen or swimmers at the dock.

West of Market Neighborhood, Kirkland, WA:

On my recent visit to Chicago, I was eager to walk the neighborhood where I was staying. Like Kirkland, the Lakeview neighborhood has level sidewalks and clearly marked streets, with a mixture of housing styles, old and new, single family and apartments, as well as businesses and schools. There’s also a cemetery, which can also be found in Kirkland, but not on my usual walk. Since my visit was in October, I was curious how the decorations might compare to those at home.

Lakeview Neighborhood, Chicago, IL:

My grandkids wanted to be sure I saw the giant skeleton one family had in its yard. While I have not shopped for Halloween decorations in a very long time, I was told that giant-sized skeletons were a hot number this year. When we drove by this remarkable creature, I asked to be let out of the car. I’d walk back after taking some pictures. My family was a little concerned that I might not find my way, but I pointed out that I could always use the map on my phone, confident that that would not really be necessary. The giant skeleton reminded me of an odd scene at the airport when I arrived in Chicago. A man in the airport was carrying a skeleton along with his carry-on. His was a miniature one – appearing to be an accurate adult human but at a 50% scale. What an odd thing to carry off the plane! After taking a couple pictures of the giant skeleton I moved on to see what else I might find, only noticing when I looked at my photos that there seemed to be nothing holding the giant in his pose. There were lots of additional skeletons, including dog-shaped skeletons, but no additional giants on my route.

Since it’s fall, pumpkins and their gourd relations are the most common decoration. Homes in the Lakeview neighborhood commonly include front steps that provide a popular spot to display Jack O-Lanterns and other fall décor. Some displays appeared to be so perfectly styled that I suspected they’d been provided by a professional. In other cases, there were hand-carved pumpkins with imperfections that made me envision a family project with kids overly eager to light them, contributing to a premature droopy appearance. Where did all the variety of pumpkins and gourds come from? Suddenly they show up in a wide array of colors and shapes. Do some people make pumpkins pie out of the blue, green and white pumpkins? Curious minds would like to know. Some windows displayed hand-made paper decorations that made me smile, since they were a reminder that this was likely a family home with kids eagerly awaiting the arrival of Halloween.

Many people associate Halloween with cemeteries, tombstones and ghosts. Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood is home to several real cemeteries. Graceland Cemetery is a well-known historic cemetery that I toured during an earlier visit to Chicago. It is well worth a visit, but on this walk I just took a quick peek through the fence at the nearby Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery, which was founded in 1851. I didn’t see fall color or decorations, so I walked on by, preferring the fake tombstones and ghosts in neighboring frontyards.

Not all the neighborhood color was related to Halloween. I was delighted to see several neighborhood library displays offering free reading material to those passing by. Several colorful businesses and advertisements added interest to my walk, even when not holiday related and sometimes confusing as to their message. However, the empanada shop was a familiar site because I had been there several time on past visits. There were two new wall murals that brought a smile to my face. I always appreciate art decorating otherwise blank walls. They also leave me wondering who created them and hoping that they will be well maintained. I was really tempted to stop at Nuts on Clark but knew that was a snack I would love, but was not compatible with my current diet goals. I had almost forgotten that I had no money in my pocket. Had I attempted to make a purchase, it would have been very embarrassing.

My favorite decorations were the friendly ones, especially the straw-stuffed scarecrows. If I were giving out awards, my top prize would have gone to the business which had about 25 feet of decorations along the planting strip to the side of the business, which happened to be located on a corner, which allowed lots of room to decorate.

After getting home and reviewing all my photos, Facebook reminded me of my visit to New Hampshire in 2013. Each of the small towns we drove through seemed to have a competition for the best holiday decorations. I enjoyed all of them. Wherever you may find yourself, walking the neighborhood and appreciating what neighbors have done to share beauty and fun is always a worthwhile activity.

Carolyn Hayek