Halloween Across the U.S.

Looking for some frightening fun this Halloween? About.com has published a list of things to see this spooky season. From theme parks to The Big Apple, you’ll find events like Guavaween, a Latin-themed Halloween celebration in Ybor City, Florida; creepy corn mazes; horrifying haunted houses; and more.

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The Pumpkin King outside of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, by Imperpay via Wikimedia Commons

Or check out The Travel Channel’s “Best Halloween Attractions 2014.” Not for the faint-of heart, these attractions have been chosen by Ghost Adventures lead investigator Zak Bagans and paranormal expert Jeff Belanger, and will give you shivers to last a lifetime … if you survive the thrills and chills.

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Halloween is a favorite holiday of mine as it falls right in the heart of my favorite season. Although there is a huge popularity on the macabre therein most places , my preferences are still rooted in family fun of the 1950s. Funny homemade costumes, carved pumpkins, and old fashioned fun like apple bobbing, and a wee bit of spookiness appeals to my sense of a celebration. I always wanted to attend a Halloween Murder Mystery Dinner at an old castle that was all decorated out for Fall but where this unexpected event takes place. Sort of in the Hercule Poirot style or maybe Miss Jane Marple style. Attendees would dress in clothing of the era and the dinner would be set up as just a fall dinner party. Or maybe I am dreaming of a Downton Abby Halloween experience?

    • MaryJane says:

      If you find a good venue, I’ll join you!

      • Winnie Nielsen says:

        That would be awesome to find such an event and show up together! Hey, How about this one. When you get your farm set up for the B&B plans, we plan the perfect Wall Tent Halloween Murder Mystery dinner? ……. on a cold crisp Halloween night, amid big orange grinning pumpkin faces on the main lodge porch, and the warmth of the inside fire as guests lingered over pumpkin cheesecake and hot tea or cider, a sudden scream was heard that broke the cozy dreamy ambience. The Headless Horseman back for another scare? And who let out that scream? Everyone is here inside……

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    I am in love with that truck! Does it still run?

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Wall Tent Romance in the tall fall grasses. sigh!!

  2. Nancy Coughlin says:

    What a lovely setting. I have not been able to get out tenting this year and have truly missed it. However, my screened in upstairs porch has become my special get-away place. I have a reading area with two comfy chairs and some big , plush pillows. Also have my sleeping area: daybed with mosquito net canopy, side table with reading lamp, etc. Unfortunately, it is now becoming too cold to sleep out at night and I will soon have to dismantle that area until Spring rolls around again. Guess it has become my “stand-in Glamping” spot. We do what we can to have our ‘own’ spaces.

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bee surprise

While out in the garden snapping photos last week, our farm photographer, Karina, was startled by a bee.

But not just any bee …

Not the industrious honeybee, who’s busy gathering pollen for the long winter ahead …

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Not the giant, fuzzy bumblebee who buzzed past her ear, sounding very much like a very large, very close remote-control helicopter …

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Yes, this bee had the signature yellow-and-black stripes …

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but his upper body was bright, shiny GREEN!

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What the heck? Were her eyes playing tricks on her? Was Karina’s camera lens hooked up remotely to Photoshop? She quickly snapped a couple of photos, then buzzed on over to her computer to find out more about this shiny, green bee.

Turns out, our visitor was something called a Metallic Green Bee (Agapostemon). They’re commonly called “sweat bees” because they resemble (and are kin to) other species of bees that are attracted to human sweat. But don’t worry, these little beauties are too refined to like your stinky sweat. There are about 40 species of Metallic Green Bees in both North and South America. And our guy was a guy—the females are usually metallic green all over, while the males have a yellow-and-black striped abdomen, like our guy did. There are two generations of Metallic Green Bees a year: one in the summer, which is almost all females, and one in the fall, which includes both females and males.

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Photo by Dan Mullen via Flickr

These bees are ground-nesting, living alone instead of in a hive, although many can live in close proximity. Sometimes, a couple of dozen females share one entrance, but each one then builds its own little nest off the main corridor—a kind of Miss Lavinia’s Lodgings for Ladies, if you will. In this case, one of the ladies (Miss Lavinia?) guards the entrance and you can see her little green head sticking up slightly above the hole. Don’t mess with Miss Lavinia’s girls!

Keep an eye out for these gorgeous green buzzers … and their bright-blue cousins, Augochloropsis sumptuosa … simply sumptuous!

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Photo by Bob Peterson via Wikimedia Commons

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Wow, this is incredible. I have never heard of such a thing. The metallic green with the yellow and black is stunning against the purple flowers. I must say, however, that their size makes me think bad bee sting for some reason. We have some black and yellow large bee/hornets with a similar body configuration down here that pack a whallop of a sting. Thanks for sharing these photos and information today. I love a little science class first thing in the morning!!

  2. Oh good ,then iIwasn’t hallucinating after all when I saw a metallic bee about a month ago. I just thought I had somehow confused a bee and a bright blue dragonfly- now I know, as Paul Harvey always said : ” …the rest of the story ..”

  3. Cindi Johnson says:

    THAT is amazing!!! Oh I must go out and find some to photograph myself ~ yes, to show off my new found knowledge to all of my friends! They will be way more impressed with this than they were when I told them about the giant Palouse earthworm I found in the yard (lots of “ewwwww – that’s creepy” comments for that one 🙂 made me proud). Nature continually astounds me! What a wonderful gift she gives us.

  4. CJ Armstrong says:

    Very interesting! I find bees to be most fascinating! Loved the book required for the “bee” Merit badges, “Bees, Nature’s Little Wonders”. One of my favorites!
    Thanks!
    CJ

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    I have never seen a bird house complete with a door and latch. It makes it convenient to clean it out on occasion? I love that outhouse style!

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Possibly heading my way south? Next month the Sand Hill Cranes will belying down here to winter by the hundreds. They like to spend their winter months on Paynes Prairie on the south end of town.

    • MaryJane says:

      Great Blue Heron that has taken up residence in our pond. I had the privilege of being near a pair of mating Sand Hill Cranes once. They sounded so prehistoric! Gorgeous birds.

      • Winnie Nielsen says:

        The coolest thing is hearing them fly overhead at night when the windows are open. They call to one another and navigate by the stars, I guess. It seems to happen the week of Thanksgiving and I always look forward to waking up and suddenly hearing them pass over my house in the final descent to the prairie about 5 miles south.

  2. Get the giant blue herons sometimes in my trees, they are headed to a nearby wildlife sanctuary with a large lake that caters to the migrating birds especially. Love them, they are huge ! They have eaten all my friend’s koi in her fish pond however.

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Beaches of Idaho

Here’s the view from our tent flap last weekend. Notice the little girl and puppy footprints from a weekend filled with digging in the sand, playing in the water, and enjoying a campfire. One last weekend sleeping under the stars before the weather cools.

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    What a peaceful scene! Is this the Salmon River you have mentioned before? I bet now it is a great time to camp because it is cool enough to have fewer mosquitoes and other bugs to deal with.

    • Megan says:

      It is and yes, fall is often the most beautiful time of year to get out in our neck of the woods. We did have a deer that kept showing up at meal time. Apparently, it had been bottle fed as a babe. A rather large pest now but a beautiful one.

  2. connie-kilalrney says:

    wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Damson Plums??

    Heading home from Boston today. Going to miss the beautiful New England Fall!! High in the mid 80s back home. Sigh. Fall is over and Summer still hangs on.

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Dolbear’s Law

Today, dear hearts, let’s dabble in Dolbear’s Law.

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I Vespri Siciliani by Domenico Morelli (1823-1901) via Wikimedia Commons

Oh, no—don’t run off!

Dolbear’s Law is neither as lofty nor as boring as you might think (c’mon, now, you know me better than that).

Forget gavels, girls, and take the hint:

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Image courtesy of Walt Disney Productions for RKO Radio Pictures via Wikimedia Commons

Mind you, the clue is not so much “Jiminy” as “cricket.”

That’s right—Dolbear’s Law concerns crickets. More specifically, it reveals the relationship between air temperature and the rate at which crickets chirp.

It’s true. When crickets are singing in the evenings from spring through fall, you can actually figure out the temperature outdoors by counting chirps. Here’s how, according to The Old Farmers Almanac:

Count the number of chirps in 14 seconds, and then add 40 to find the temperature in Fahrenheit.

For example: 30 chirps + 40 = 70°F

It works for Celsius, too, in case you were wondering. Metric mavens can count the number of chirps in 25 seconds, divide by 3, then add 4.

The cricket sound clip below plays for only a few seconds, but you can play with it to get an approximation:

As far-fetched as it sounds, this is an actual scientific fact proven by 19th-century physicist Amos Dolbear. At the time, he mistakenly believed that the number of cricket chirps determined the temperature, but he did come up with a factual formula. How he noticed or even thought to test his theory we may never know, but he published his findings in an article called “The Cricket as a Thermometer” in an 1897 issue of The American Naturalist.

And, as if THAT cricket fact isn’t mind-tickling enough, there is a rumor floating about that says a slowed recording of cricket chirps sounds like a human chorus. Listen:

Lovely, but can it be true? Read more about the mysterious music on Snopes.com.

 

 

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Wifi just tossed out my comment. I am fascinated at how there is a synergy between this insect and the atmosphere conditions allowing a predictability of something as sensitive as temperature. Absolutely fascinating!

  2. Wowie Zowie ! I always loved cricket sounds ( got one in my basement now been singing alot) but this is so amazing. I did know the cricket chirp counting thing, we learned it in 3rd grade ( don’t they teach kids anything cool anymore? ) but the “choral music” thing is so supernatural and spiritual. Just a great way to start the day ! Our crickets are slowing down and first frost will put an end to their music.

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  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    Is this a barb wire wreath? At first glance it looks like grapevine, but when I looked closer, it had these predictable little stick outs that made me pause. Great photo challenge for today. Or maybe it is these glasses aren’t up to speed!!

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