It is three days before Halloween. This is my favorite time of year, right before the holiday season. It is at this time I miss Ohio with the changing colors of the leaves to brilliant red and orange and the cooling of the weather which heralds Buckeye football. Here in California it does get a little chilly at night but then is right back to 60 and sunny pretty much until spring.
I’m out on the porch swing and the weather is cool, with a beautiful blue ocean for a view and a slight breeze through the eucalyptus trees which sadly, do not change color.
I enjoy the anticipation of the holidays even more than the holidays themselves. It is also a very good time to reflect on life as yet another year is coming to a close and it has been decades since I was a child when this season held so much excitement for me. I want to feel that excitement again but can only catch a glimmer if I take time to reflect and appreciate this moment. Soon Halloween will be over with Thanksgiving on the horizon and before I know it will be the dreaded first work week of the new year with another season of holidays in the history books. So, yes, these few days before Halloween are important to me; they are peaceful, a serene moment before the rush of the holidays.
This morning I was up early enough to catch the full moon before it set over the horizon. I hadn’t done a time lapse in over five years. The last time I did one was also at the same time of year. The moon is full and sets over the horizon just when day is breaking with the planet Jupiter in tow. So I got out my phone, set up the tripod and captured this video.
The early morning is always a very peaceful and spiritual time for me. It is a time when I can think and reflect. This morning was particularly special due to the moon being full and in the right spot to catch it setting over the Pacific.
I continue to be amazed at how quickly time passes. I remember going out for trick or treat in my neighborhood of Golfview Woods with friends. It was wonderful growing up there because it was a new development, most families were young, many with kids and so Halloween was a lively time. Most everyone decorated their houses, and the entire neighborhood had trick or treaters out and about. I now live in California and on a hill so we get no trick or treaters at all. Not many houses decorate and so we go to friends houses that are not on hills and are known for being great places for Halloween. We’ll go out with the kids for about an hour so they can collect their candy but it just isn’t as magical as Halloween in Golfview Woods in the late ’80s and ’90s.
Well, I’m starting to get a bit tired. This always happens after karate class on Saturdays. I’ll come home, eat lunch and if I sit down I’ll soon be asleep. I wanted to get this post up before the sleepiness set in but now it is hard to fight. Also, being out on the porch isn’t as peaceful as I’d hoped. My neighbor is always doing work on his yard and like always there are saws buzzing and hammers being nailed. Other than that, it is a beautiful October day.
Before I go I should mention that we finally got our solar up and running as well as a new water heater and HVAC that are heat-pump models and run only on electricity instead of gas. I’m looking forward to having next to no energy bill from now on.
