The street I grew up on dead-ended into open space, so I spent a good deal of time walking through the nature preserve that was less than a mile from my doorstep.
One evening around dusk I was walking with my Mom and we heard, and then spotted, an owl perched on a tree. My Mom decided to attempt to communicate with said owl with a few hoots and some jaunty head movements. Whether this attempt at communication was some sort of blasphemous threat or the commencement of a mating ritual, we shall never know. But whatever she managed to say did not please Mr. Owl, to say the least. He came swooping down directly at us with a screech and we had to duck and cover.
Traumatic experience with a raptor aside, I am rather fond of the feathered creatures.
These days I usually only hear them, but every once in a while on a late night walk I see a light colored flash of movement swoop on by. It's truly amazing how SILENT their flight is, and I have been startled more than a few times. Thankfully, they don't seem to be aggravated by a lone human being walking along their flight path, minus the awkward hooting and any exaggerated head movements, so they never come directly at me. And they are definitely welcome to any rodents that might be living nearby.
A few years ago, I started an annual tradition of making myself a novelty print themed Halloween outfit instead of costume (although I am quite certain that a large percentage of the population would consider a large portion of my wardrobe a "costume").
Part of this has to do with the fact that the availability of fabulous novelty prints has improved over the years.
It has always been easy to find Christmas themed designs printed on fabric, but the Halloween themed prints have come a long way, probably due to the increased number of individuals who are quite obsessed with this holiday in recent years - because I do not remember the entire month of October being spooky season when I was a child. I am sure it has a lot to do with the commercialization of the holiday, similar to Christmas, which is a shame, but I will definitely take the opportunity to make and wear more novelty prints.
So when this whimsical owl print grabbed my attention last year, I knew I would enjoy making something with it. And I am very pleased with my choice for this year's holiday themed project.
I have also come to the realization that the idea of working only with "flattering" colors is easily forgotten when a print is just too good to pass up.
I now have one more lovely choice to add to my arsenal of Halloween appropriate frocks.
And this project has reminded me that I should recall the existence of my rick-rack collection more often, because scallops of any kind are always a fabulous choice. Happy Halloween, everyone!
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