And heerre's .....Winter!!

Yesterday someone mentioned to Wayne that snow often arrives here either with or just after Halloween.

Yes. We recall several years when the ghouls and ghosts approached our front door escorted by -- Old Man Winter

There was the year when our first guest arrived a bit earlier than the community-appointed hour, terrifically costumed as a TV set (a cardboard box heavily wrapped in black tissue paper and sporting an aluminum foil "screen" with coat hanger antennae poking from the top to capture whatever spooky signals might be out there).

After collecting candy from Wayne's large "treat" bowl, the young man skipped off into the night and down the street in search of more opportunities for collecting sweet bounty.

Then the clouds opened with heavy, wet snow!!! Down, down it came with no suggestion that it might quickly subside. The flakes increased -- in size...in number... and also in moisture.

About two hours later, we spotted TV Man retracing his steps up the street. He no longer skipped with Halloween joy. Soggy tissue paper wrapping dripped rivulets of black water and deposited wet black globs onto the sidewalk. The cardboard box was beginning to cave in, and the once sturdy and perky antennae sagged under the heavy moist snow. Clearly, TV Man was NOT having the trick or treat adventure he had so excitedly anticipated! With sadness and resignation, he trudged toward home.

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Another year, heavy snow greeted the young revelers the moment they donned their costumes and headed outside. But their attitude was So what? It's Halloween and time to roll!

Children wove in and out and around each other and checked their plastic pumpkins and pillowcases. They shouted with glee, "Look at this! Wow!"

What they failed to see in their excitement over the snow, the holiday, and each other's "haul," however, was the albino skunk who had joined the festivities and was sauntering among them, crossing the street when they all did, but otherwise, paying them minimal notice. And they, in turn, followed suit. In spite of calls from adults to "Stay away from the skunk!" and "Watch out! There's a skunkout there," the youngsters were on a mission.

After a bit of time, the skunk found his way to the opposite sidewalk, the children squealed with gleeful excitement, the plastic pumpkins and damp pillowcases rose higher with a cargo of candy.

Just one more snowy Halloween to tip off the onset of winter in upstate central New York State!!