halloween sunset @ front yard

join me while i do a sound check in my front yard & visit my neighbor's front porch . . . every halloween i take my 90's boom box & play a halloween cd i've have for years . . . i open the front middle window & blast it way up high & set on repeat . . . i live @ end of a circle & it really does carry up/down the street . . . i was informed this year by a very serious sounding young man that "i have the best sound effects in the whole neighborhood" . . he made my night :O ) . . . . once traffic picked up several of us just stood outside w/the candy as when you answered the door it was obvious there were more soon to follow . . . very busy year & a definite local baby boom . . . didn't get photos as i felt the parents might not approve, etc. . . but trust me there was lots of them & we're SO cute . . . i take you from the front of my house to a view down the street showing the sunset, to my neighbor's front porch w/features their hard work earlier in the day . . . their pumpkins were all hand carved . . the treats shown @ the end are the "special" bags i prepare for the neighbor's kids that live directly next & across from me . . . i also make cookies to give to the parents as i think they should get something as well . . . this year it was fresh baked chocolate chip cookes . . . here's a tip for those who love home made cookies but want to bake only a small amount . . . i'll freeze the cookie batter so i can slice & bake whenever i want some cookies - just like the frozen cookie rolls in the grocery store. . . put a small amount into the snack size zip lock bags & toss into the freezer & use w/in month . . we only need a 1/2 dozen @ time so it works great for small/single families . . . hope you'all enjoyed your halloween as well :O )

ya got to kiss a 100 . . . .

messy karen created a monster w/her shout out to roy in a previous post, lol! enjoy the video below which was a joint effort.

tropical storm fay - FINAL ACT

above is a bird of paradise that bloomed during the rains this week - i cut two today as they were @ the back of the screen facing nowhere, lol! i have them resting on the back porch table w/an ant bait for a while - those ants like to run to high ground w/heavy rains - but by morning they'll be ready to come inside to be enjoyed for two weeks+

while 'home alone', for a brief time this afternoon one of fay's outer rain bands decided to fall over my house for about 10 minutes . . . the problem is that the gutters surrounding the pool screen had not yet be cleared of debris from the week long storm - for the most part, florida homes don't have gutters except when you have a pool screen. . . you can see why as gutters are no good in a down pour & overflow . . . especially when full of debris and/or like when it rains as hard & fast as this quick little squawl - the gutters typical get full of leaves from the myrtle trees out front - . . . the rain from the whole back side of the roof line falls into those gutters, of course . . lol - the water backed up so quick . . . you can see as the video goes on . . . i used a push broom to push the water into the pool . . . which means the pool now needs to be shocked - you can see all the pots, yard ornaments, etc. under the part of the porch w/a roof & the outer porch w/screen is fairly empty . . . crisis avoided . . . good news is that was pretty much the last drop we'll see from tropical storm fay - goodby!

tropical storm fay - UPDATE!

above are some shots of the frog from the "last night" olympic video that i think shows the frog much better than the video did . . . and . . . as you've all heard on the news the critters come out when the water gets too much for them - here's a visitor to the front yard earlier this week!

i been distracted by the storm since tuesday . . . still have my summer cold :o( . . . been draining the pool ALOT i.e., 10" & it's pouring out as i write this blog friday @ 9:10 p.m. on the back porch listening to some music, all yard/small stuff is under wraps & safe, potted plants under porch roof, etc., all is good w/us except lots of rain, however, living on high ground area of central florida it's so hard to complain @ all while others experiencing historic flooding. . . shot some footage daily & put together a short video w/sounds of fay all by herself as seen, of course, from my back yard :O) . . . suppose to stop raining sometime this weekend as we're still in line for the outside bands that wrap for hundreds of miles w/this S L O W tropical storm!