Halloween

The world around me is slowly turning orange as the end of the month October is nearing. Instinctively I thought of an influx of Dutch sports fans. They are traditionally dressed in orange and are very well capable of coloring an entire city. But I quickly realized that the world Championships soccer are not due within the next couple of years and that the speed-skating season has neither started, nor does it have Vancouver as its center. 


Nope, Halloween is forthcoming which means that there are big orange pumpkins everywhere. Real ones, ready to be carved into masks or as a familiar shape in all kinds of expressions.  

 
 

And it does not look all that bad either I concluded after I had a look at the shop window of the local 'Save-on-Foods'.

Kids are in for a fantastic time going from house to house in order to ask for treats such as candy or nowadays even demanding money. Albeit not at gunpoint, yet. Should the house-owner refuse to give in to the demanding little beggars, mischief will be performed by the disappointed door knockers.  However, it normally does not come to the 'playing-tricks' part. The average house-owner is quite willing to oblige and if not so probably pretends not to be at home by turning off all the lights. It can get a lot nastier though. There are house-owners that try to scare the living daylights out of kiddies that dare to stray onto their property. I for one can fully understand why they do such a thing. After all, being tricked is not a pleasant experience at all. Therefor many different attempts are made to keep the little beggars away.

Rather innocent ones...

 

...and more sinister attempts.

 

And it does not stop at carving pumpkins either. House-owners get very creative for a smashing effect. Starting at the gate. Or should I say startling at the gate.

The sun disappearing after the horizon is no reason to stop either. Lighting can add an extra touch to an already scary setting. Very entertaining.

And do not be fooled. A lot of work is required to reach this result and therefor all help is welcome. Be aware though when your neighbor asks whether you can give him a hand. It can turn out rather different from what you expect...