It's Spooky Season

Don't know if you have noticed, but it seems that there are skulls jumping out at you everywhere.

So just in case you are missing all the action where you live, this is what we are seeing here:

Glittery skulls

This pink skull is cute...

                                                                       but this one isn't!

                                        a cookie jar? maybe I would put my dog bones in here!!

                                                                    spooky cup cakes..

Skulls on straws

Skull lights, take your pick...

Skulls on fabric....the range is wide...

Even the candles want the latest skull accessory!

Salt and pepper!

craft skulls

                                            skull picks...for your flower arrangement of course!

                                                                  Skulls in costume.....

                                             I saw paper plates, napkins, cups and tissues....

                                                       A spider skull....my personal favourite

Getting a bit more spooky...

                                                            and now really spooky!

Boo!

Fairhope is full of surprises

Landscaped for Fall

many arty fish....

An old type writer by a front door?....  odd & quirky!

colourful art - the location of a geocache

shady gardens

A french Quarter

little courtyards

And stopping at "Panni Pete's" of Food Network fame, tucked away in the French Quarter...not macarons, but a plate of beignets, served hot with a squeeze of lemon, delicious!

Fall Fury

A couple of small tornadoes ripped thru Mobile late yesterday - not a lot of damage,  power outages in some sections of town and a couple of roads closed due to debris and trees down etc....I read about it in the paper this morning and thought no more about it....

Until....I am in town meeting Frank for lunch. We were just arriving at a favourite Middle Eastern restaurant.

We notice the damage to the building, the outdoor ceiling is missing and the fan is broken!  We go inside to order and intend to come outside and sit at tables under the fan.

But things then got a lot more interesting...I looked out at my car and standing next to it is a camera guy from a local TV station...he thinks the damage is worth looking at too. Thank goodness we were still inside! I guess we missed our moment on TV! (I'm taking a stealth photo from inside)

Most of the debris scattered around were being cleaned up...you can see a bit of roof and window damage to the McD's across the street- the big golden arches sign is completely gone.

A few buildings over there is some pretty interesting roof damage....who knew those tiles were some kind of plastic!

Our lunch was delicious - chicken shawarmas at the Jordan Cafe.

We are seeing orange

We are having beautiful dry cooler days...finally.

Everywhere we go we see orange, not so much in the trees with leaves changing -

those oranges are few.

The is orange in the air, fluttering around and on the bushes.

The Monarch Butterfly stops briefly here along the coast, on their autumn migration south to Mexico. Your timing to watch the spectacle is obviously crucial... We set out early for the hour drive to a location known as one of the best areas for seeing a huge gathering place of millions of the butterflies. Our timing was off.. we didn't see one!!

But I just had to walk down our path to the bay and there they were., not millions, but many, fluttering around and gathering on bushes. 

                                      and more orange - seen on front doorsteps, in the markets -all transported from far northern climates....

and orange maybe from China.

There is no doubt about it...even if nature is a bit slow to change here, a fake Fall

arrives right on time.