Just too much to do. Although it seems as if I hurry about my errands, chores, jobs and sundry business with head bowed, eyes on my toes, the car door, the wheel, the road… I do in fact look up long enough to notice the trees about me gradually thinning out their leaves. The maples at my place have hardly a leaf left. Only the giant beech has held onto its orange-yellow leaves. And as for the rest of our property, it’s beginning to look barren. So in driving to school, I change my route; I go the longer way ’round so I might enjoy the massive spills of yellow covering the grand lawns of the North Broadway mansions, and I feel some relief that the bright colors of autumn are not entirely gone. But mostly. We’re reaching that time when the silhouette of our environment will be changed for good. Or at least for a good long time.
This is always a densely packed time of the year for us. Each year I make Elihu his own bird costume, and this year he desires to be an exotic and long-extinct flying creature (Quetzalcoatles) and this requires a hefty investment of time. It also takes a good bit of research, a lot of enthusiasm, a bit of cash (don’t ask) plus lots of love and good humor to pull it off. Halloween is next week, in fact there is a party coming up on Sunday, and I must have it all ready by then. Tomorrow is an early morning and a long day. So is Friday. Most nights I find the resolve to pull myself out of bed in the middle of the night and spend an hour or two working on his costume. But tonite I am pooped. I just can’t find it in me.
For that matter, I hardly feel I have it in me to sit and write a quick post. But here I am, checking in, saying hello and hopefully, falling back to my bed again.
The Hillhouse 
That is going to be an interesting costume! The Quetzalcoatlus was one of the largest of the Pterosaurs, those flying reptiles which lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. Hopefully, the costume won’t be the actual size of that creature, or else you will really need some rest! Then there’s the mythical Mayan creature, called the “Quetzalcoatl”, which from drawings looks like a really complicated thing to design. You might as well stay with the Quetzalcoatlus, which was an actual species, with a more simple design. Here’s hoping that it all goes well for you and your son. If it doesn’t work out that well, you could have him dress up as a paleontologist who is looking for Quetzalcoatlus fossils.
It may not be a true-to-life size costume, but the wings are mechanical and stretch out to a good 8 feet across. ! I myself will be his pith helmet-wearing paleontologist companion.
Eight foot wingspan! That sounds like it will be an impressive pterosaur suit. If there are any strong winds that day, be sure to attach a rope or cable to the suit, just in case if your son starts to fly like a kite. If you make the suit sturdy enough, it could be a new style of hang glider! Anyway, you’re creative, so however you design it, the costume will be good.
Most of the leaves have fallen here, south of the city, but there are still a few stubborn trees which have held onto their leaves. There are still some green patches left in some areas, while some trees have yellow, orange and red to look like scoops of sherbet ice cream. Many trees are scattering their golden-brown confetti, in the October wind, skittering across cool streets as autumn winds down.
Side question: Do you still have the same email address on the “Say Hello” post?
yup. still the same.
Hello again. I sent you an email about three weeks ago, but never knew if you received it, so I thought I’d ask, just in case if you weren’t using that address anymore. You probably get a lot of emails anyway, so let me know if you got it or not.
I hope that Hurricane Sandy fizzles out before it gets too far in your direction. Otherwise, you will have to “baton down the hatches” and stay inside for awhile. Best wishes for gentle rain.