Can I spare five minutes at this point in my life? If that’s what it takes because I have to admit I do enjoy the creativity that people throw out in their yards and I like to share it with the world. Sure I complain about store bought decorations, but come on, anyone making an effort means the results still have a bit of charm. So this rushed post will be a bit skeletal. I’ve been dreaming about a city wide skeleton tour but I just can’t make it happen. I don’t even have time to tell you how crazy it’s been. When I’m out making a hanger run, it’s nice to pause and catch the real spookiness of tree shadows made by the wind in a parking lot on a cold late October evening. That’s real but everybody else’s attempts at creating fear and fun need to be celebrated too.

Webs We Weave

Webs don’t always cut it. It seems to be a matter of what’s lurking beyond the web. No matter, a good webby mess is at least spooky. Toss in a few eyeballs and I can’t resist jumping into the web only to be eaten later by a hungry spider. At least a web or two on a picket fence and a few pumpkin heads breaks up the monotony of said fence. It is the season after all.

Inflatables In Times of Inflation

I couldn’t find the inflatable car crash on Dolph St. so I thought I’d pay a visit to a house in the Arnold Creek neighborhood that had every square inch of their yard decked out in hot air creations. It felt a bit extreme in a folk art environment way. I couldn’t do it justice photographically without inviting myself in and of course I was in a hurry. So sure, inflatables seem like cheating but it’s so much more interesting when it’s overblown, I mean overdone.

Creep Scene

I have to admit I saw this display in Multnomah Village from a car out of the corner of my eye and it freaked me out. It wasn’t until I went back in broad daylight that I realized things were not as they seemed. The black figures had seemed so much bigger. Now they were nothing but Ewok sized decorations–still creepy but less threatening in the light of day. The scene included a menacing couple who looked as if they were going to jump out and catch someone–not me!

Other creep scene examples, like this one in West Portland Park, featured a bony handed Skeletor dressed in black surrounded by skulls. The imagination puts it all together as if Skeletor has come to my neighborhood after devouring a lot of human flesh.

I couldn’t resist a shout out for one sad, fallen ghost. Ghosts are supposed to float not croak.

The Hell I Can, It’s Skeletons

Giant skeletons are still the hot trend and the ones spotted in the Maplewood neighborhood seem like they might scare people in cars too much. One would only hope there’s no ditch driving after passing these gargantuan Goliaths. The rest of my skeletons don’t compare in the fear factor department. The boy and dog look innocent while the mermaid skeleton, seen in the Kerns neighborhood, seems more like a bony old fish. When in doubt, don’t forget to throw a skeleton on your garden decor. More ideas for next year. See you then again.