A little Sunday outing

Today I took a jaunt through an apple orchard and a pumpkin patch with [Львица] and her mother and sister. What a beautiful way to spend a sunny, 80 degree Sunday afternoon.

[Side note - Not that I'm complaining, though I am a little bit because our apartment building retains heat like a greenhouse, but how is it 80 degrees in October in Minnesota? THIS TIME LAST YEAR WE HAD GOTTEN SNOW. Not that I want the snow just yet. It's just I'm longing for crisp days and cold nights. Though this hot spell reminds me strongly of Indiana.]

The apple orchard was cool. Okay, it was more of a store than an orchard, not like the one I went to in sophomore year with [X] and [it's a twin thing] and their parents which actually required us to pick apples and put them in a bucket (fun and an iconic autumn event, but quite difficult if you don't what kind of apple you are looking for). Regardless, I got honeycrisp apples and apple cookies and STRUDEL. And I learned what lefse is (Norwegian potato pancakes. Norwegians baffling me with their cuisine once again!).

And off to a pumpkin patch. I was sort of startled to realize that I, a red-blooded young Midwestern American woman, have never been to an actual pumpkin patch to get pumpkins. Or maybe I did when I was much younger but I don't remember it now. Regardless, it was... magical. I know that sounds bizarre. But there's something about this time of year that is really unlike any other season. There's a scent in the air that appears at no other time, there's a glimpse of possibility, the chance that anything could happen.

Maybe it's the little kid trapped in me that always thought something crazy was going to happen around Halloween. I always wanted to get whisked off to some magical land or fight some sort of otherworldly creature. There's something about this month that's just... exciting.

Deep down I know it's just another month, another time of the year. But it never feels just like that. There's something that jumps into my bloodstream when the leaves start changing and the corn starts getting harvested that makes me a little... well, a little crazy.

I also find myself thinking about Indiana a lot this time of year. Probably because of the corn harvesting (stereotype that Indiana is nothing but corn? Not one hundred percent true, but trust me - there is a HELL of a lot of corn). And also because all of my childhood Halloween experiences happened there. I never really picked up trick-or-treating after I moved to Minnesota because I didn't have anyone to go with and then I got to old and then it got weird. Yay.

But when I was little, I used to count down the days until Halloween. I wrote short stories about it. I spent months planning my costume. I looked forward to all the movies and TV shows with Halloween themes (my personal favorite? One I've actually seen in recent years - the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode where everyone turns into their costumes). I was quite obsessed.

I still am. I just want to run around in a costume for the rest of the month, eat candy, embrace the whimsical and morbid experience that is Halloween. Why do I get this way? I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with being born this time of year. Maybe Halloween is a Scorpio's idea of a perfect holiday (except that I like Christmas too. Like a ton).

But Halloween feels more than a holiday... it's historical. Like Jack-o-lanterns, stemming from the old Celtic tradition of carving gourds to keep away evil spirits (or so I recall reading somewhere. Or watching on that God-awful film reel in Catholic school). It's also controversial. Like the people who won't celebrate Halloween because they think it's a Satanic holiday. I love controversy.

Usually, I don't get this gung-ho about Halloween. While in school, away from all decorations and stores selling stuff for the parties and trick-or-treating, it's easy to forget. Maybe because the season is so weird with the strange weather that it's gotten my attention, reminding me of fall days in Indiana (going to the orchard reminded me of Indiana big time. Selling homemade fudge and apple pies and such  - it was a flashback to Brown County, where the town of Nashville is. Yes, there is a Nashville, Indiana. A bit unfortunate. Anyway, it's the classic old-style town that has a bunch of shops. A bit like Northfield I suppose, for you Minnesotans out there. My parents and I used to go there every year in the fall and they had they BEST fudge in the world. Sometimes I miss Indiana. Just a bit. ) Or maybe it's me trying to make up for last year's Halloween disaster (more about that later). For whatever reason, I've gone bananas over Halloween this year. I want to do something awesome, have a fantastic costume, really REALLY have an American Halloween celebration this year. Maybe because I feel like I don't really know what that means. And I want to find out.

No idea what this means... let's make it a goal to find out, shall we? ;)