The morning is lovely, a bit chilly though, only 48°. We have sun, but partly cloudy is the forecast. I checked the bird feeders this morning through the window and noticed the traffic is heavy. I filled all the feeders yesterday so the word is out.

The dogs are festive. They are each wearing their Halloween collars. Nala’s has witches, mummies, Mrs. Frankenstein, bats, webs and skeletons, a perfect choice for her. Henry’s has cats, smiling pumpkins and ghosts and witches. His ghosts look like Casper. His collar creatures are much friendlier than Nala’s.

When I was a kid, choosing a Halloween costume was never easy. The planning took weeks. I’d pick one, discard it, pick another, discard it and then keep looking. Some kids bought costumes from Woolworth’s. They were usually one piece worn over clothes and tied in the back on the top. The fronts were characters like skeletons, witches, cowboys, clowns or the devil. The masks were plastic with such small eye holes it made them difficult to look through, and they were hot. We always wore homemade costumes. My mother was a costume designer. Many kids did. A ghost was the easiest, a sheet and two eye holes. Some girls wore old dresses and hats their mothers used to wear. Cowboys were big as were hoboes who always carried a stick with a tied neckerchief at the end. They had dirty faces rubbed on from a burnt cork. My sister, who took dance lessons, wore her tutu one year. The only bought thing was a new mask every year. It looked like the sort the Lone Ranger wore except it was colorful.

My mother had a set of Pyrex bowls and a set of tulip bowls. The sizes nested. We’d use one of the bowls to hold our candy. I’d carry the bowl with me, but at night I’d keep the bowl under my bed for quick access. Years ago, I was shopping at an antique mall sort of shop. I watched a woman put out a set of those tulip bowls for sale. I bought them right away. Those bowls carry with them strong memories.

The rain has come and gone for now. The thunder was way off but just enough of a sound for Nala to raise her head and wonder. Today will be fall warm at 65°.

I’m watching a great bad movie, King of the Zombies from 1941. It takes place on an island, has voodoo, zombies and a Dracula lookalike. It also has a sort of happy ending.

When I was a kid, my classroom on rainy days had almost a comforting feel. The lights were pendant lights hanging from the ceiling. They left shadows. The rain quieted us. It pelted the windows, long windows from the ceiling. I used to watch the rain trickle down the panes of glass. When the rain was the heaviest and the loudest, we read our literature books and answered the questions at end of each story. They were easy.

When I was young, I half believed in ghosts. I was open to possibilities. I never lingered by any graveyards just in case. Night noises had me on alert especially when the wind howled. My father’s stories of the hook man were real to me. I remember hearing a noise outside one night. I yelled out the door, “Who’s there?” It was bravado. An answer would have had me running for my life. When I was older, the graveyard near my house was a shortcut of sorts. I never worried about spirits, but I stayed on alert, sort of hedging my bests.

Henry is a barker. Even the smallest outside sound gets him started. He sometimes drives me crazy. I’ll open the front door and tell him, “Look! Nothing is there.” He’ll check up and down the street then back into the house. He does have an intruder bark which I now recognize. He saves that for Amazon or UPS trucks or someone walking a dog by my house. Once in a while, his bark is a bit ominous. Late at night, he’ll sometimes jump off the bed, stand in the hall and bark his scary, loud bark. I just stay in bed. I figure an intruder would not want to tangle with the source of that bark.

My dance card is uke heavy this week. I have practice Tuesday, my lesson on Wednesday and concerts on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.