The Spooky Garden

Well, this post might be a little lame, because frankly, my garden is rather far from spooky - it being a cheerful, colorful, subtropical garden.  BUT, All Hallows' Eve is absolutely one of my favorite times of the year, so I'll give it a go and you can see if you get a chill or two up your spine, haha.  

Now, don't worry...none of my photos are very chilling.

And this one is probably more psychedelic than spooky.

And this one a bit goofy as this grackle is definitely giving me the evil eye!  

But add a little black and white - and the mood suddenly changes.

The Birds, The Birds!  Honestly, this was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  A flight of swallows flew up out of the preserve behind our house in a vortex motion.  I wish I would've gotten a video, but I was so surprised and felt I was very lucky just to have been in the right place at the right time for such an event.  Google bird murmuration if you aren't sure what I'm referring to, it is amazing!

"Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore - Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."  E. A. Poe

Maybe the scariest thing about this is how I let this beautiful vine dry up!  I did however like the decayed draping over the urn.

Wooooooooooooo - eerie birdbath.

Even the gorgeous morning light can create a spectral atmosphere using some of the photo editing features.

Vines can be spooky.

Spanish Moss definitely has a Southern Gothic thing going on.  (I keep thinking I should take that moss off, but I like it too much.)

Some of our neighborhood residents are rather ominous.

Definitely just an experiment with editing features, but this Anthurium ended up looking kind of dark and shadowy to me.

As did this peach Hibiscus.

Southwest Florida has some truly very picturesque places that make for a spooky vibe.  This is Shadow Lane in old Fort Myers, one of my favorite streets to wander down and take photos. The gardens in this section of town are drool-worthy!  But that's another post.

LOVE old oak trees!

I'll refrain from posting any more local shots after this one.  Buckingham Cemetery is an historical and hauntingly beautiful place filled with live oaks draped in Spanish moss,  It has a jungly setting with a few confederate graves.  (I've been wondering if the "PC" Police have made the caretakers feel they must take down the confederate flags...) 

I also apologize if this is an upsetting photo to any of my readers - I realize cemetery photography is not every one's 'cup of tea'.  I appreciate the historical aspect of old cemeteries, some are peaceful, some have an uncanny, uncertain feel - but that's probably just me...

And just to end on a brighter note - here's a baby pic taken eleven years ago of our Tibetan Terrier Flash and the rest of his brothers and sisters.  Flash is second from the right.  Our older TT named Kohl sired this litter and I think he did a pretty good job with mom Goldie. 

I did not take this photo. I don't remember the photographers name and apologize for not giving him credit...I normally wouldn't post someone elses photo, but gosh darn it, they're so cute!

 I hope you all have a safe and very Happy Halloween!