On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveler in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless! – but his horror was still more increased on observing that the head, which should have rested on his shoulders, was carried before him on the pommel of his saddle! Washington Irving
It that time of year again—the Autumn season with falling leaves ( I have raked the red maples seven times this year with only the sugar maple yet holding a few leaves), a crisp coolness in the evenings and mornings, a passing snowstorm or two, finally freezing the flowers enough that sheet covers are worthless, the honking of squadrons of geese and the trumpeting of a sedge of Sandhill Cranes heading south on the winds of a cold front, the strutting of city slicker deer, the bugling of elk in the high country, the clanging of male big horn sheep as they follow an ancient mating ritual, and the bright orange color of pumpkins in a patch.
I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. L.M. Montgomery
Today's hybrid pumpkins do not resemble pumpkins from the past. From the field of Farmer Ron.
For the farmers in my boyhood hometown area of central Kansas fall was a time of picking corn or making silage for the large, tall, circular silos dotting the countryside. My first farm job, before I could drive my uncle’s tractor (5th grade), was walking through picked corn fields and nabbing ears that the picker missed—up and down and up and down the rows I went. A few years later I was driving a truck along side the silage grinder catching the ground up corn spraying into the truck—"pay attention Mike,” my uncle would yell. “Just keep a steady speed.” When the truck was full, I was replaced by another worker pulling a trailer and I would head to the silo and dump the silage into an elevator that would blow it into the silo. I don’t know the exact chemical changes taking place but the silage sort of mellowed as it underwent anaerobic fermentation and converted sugars to acids. During the winter months one had to climb the ladder, open a port, get inside the silo and throw out forkfuls of silage into a truck bed below and then “go feed the cattle.” Lots of hard work. There is a reason I headed off to college and became a geologist!!
In other instances, families gathered to make molasses, a fascinating process to watch. Modern day molasses is made as a byproduct of sugar cane refining. Decades ago, some farmers planted an acre or so of sweet sorghum. Sorghum is a tall grass that can be used for cattle feed, either cut and baled or ground as silage. The sweet sorghum was hand cut and transported to a farmer who had a crushing mill where it joined the product of other farmers. It was run through the mill with the juice saved and added to a large, really large, pot and slowly cooked on an open fire until about 10% remained (is black and syrupy) when it is poured into jars and canned in hot water. Up until the early 20th century molasses was the major sweetener for American families. In one particular instance the farmer used a horse walking in continuous circles to power the crushing mills. The late afternoon was usually capped off with a picnic (possibly with chokecherry wine if farmers were Lutherans, soft drinks if it was a Methodist event). I still enjoy molasses, especially when used in cookies!
Making molasses the old fashioned way. Photo courtesy of chloesblog.bigmill.com/
I think a person has to believe in something or search out some kind of faith; otherwise life is empty, nothing. How can you live not knowing why the cranes fly, why children are born, why there are stars in the sky. Either you know why you live, or it's all small, unnecessary bits. Sarah Ruhl
What more could one ask for than Autumn? I know—a special holiday celebrated on the last day of October, one of the special days even at my age. Halloween ranked just after Christmas when I was a kid running around a small central Kansas town. There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch (Robert Brault). We looked forward to the day when every young boy in town dressed up like a hobo and the girls were in the princess mode. Our parents certainly did not have money for a purchased costume, so we cobbled together something from a rag bag and on the good years we had a new mask. My mother always said, “Mike what do you want to be this Halloween?” I replied, “how about a Viking this year with a red wig and a real sword. Well,” she replied, “maybe you could go as a hobo.” So, I went as a hobo around town collecting candy, apples, and other goodies. We always hit our back-neighbor’s home for Myrtle gave us popcorn balls. Mrs. Jones down by the railroad tracks had Baby Ruth candy cars while “Ole Lady Jackson” doled out Butterfinger bars. Mostly we avoided “mean Jack” since his prize was a single piece of chewing gum. And so, it went. I was always a firm believer in the old saying, During the day, I don’t believe in ghosts. At night, I’m a little more open-minded. It was nice to return home with the goodies, for mom usually had hot chocolate and popcorn ready for us. We stuffed ourselves and mostly received a “stomachache” for our efforts.
Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night. Steve Almond
We knew that Halloween was a time for vampires, ghouls, ghosts, werewolves, zombies, and other creatures of the night. Besides the trick-or-treating, I remember town-wide bonfires or “wienie roasts” with marshmallows and telling scary stories usually involving someone losing their noggin, having a Jack-o’-Lantern carving contest, with the older kids sneaking off to play a few pranks like outhouse tipping. As we got to the “girls discover boys” stage there were often costume parties with soft apple cider and apple bobbing. Parents were in the outer circle of the fire often with some hard apple cider or my father’s specialty, chokecherry wine (lush, unctuous ripe fruit with a light touch of battery acid). Wine Spectator gave it a strong 3/100).
When the witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ’tis near Halloween.
What all this means is that in small town, post-War through the 1950s, America Halloween was a fun time for kids and adults alike. Men had come home from Europe or the Pacific wanting nothing more than a job, a home, a spouse, and children, well maybe a dance on Saturday night. Males would talk about duck hunting or farming (or chokecherry wine) while moms were bragging on their vegetable and fruit canning labors. The old men were on lawn chairs complaining about their hemorrhoids, or “piles” as they called them, and remembering the days they shot 25 ducks for the “missus” and her sisters. As a disclaimer, and an important note, these remembrances are from a kid growing up in the plains of rural America. A land that was settled mostly by northern European immigrants, Caucasians who held a grudge against Native Americans. Cultural and racial diversity was nonexistent. Most younger persons today would look back with disgust and call the entire life arrangement sexist, racist, and disgusting (women work, men drink wine, kids run wild); however, that was life 70 years ago. Perhaps it was wrong and too much like Beaver Cleaver, but I can guarantee that my parents worked hard and raised children to the very best of their ability (Mom, Happy Halloween 107th Birthday). But as a kid I always had a fantastic time and never even uttered the word sexist (or any of its derivatives).
Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen. Voices whisper in the trees, Tonight is Halloween! Dexter Kozen
As a kid, little did we know that Halloween had something to do with the dearly departed and was a serious Christian liturgical celebration. In many/most Christian cultures November 1st is celebrated as All Saint’s Day or All Hallows’ Day and November 2nd as All Souls’ Day. Most Christian holidays start the vigil with a feast the night before—All Hallows’ Eve became Halloween. Early Christian churches sent criers into the street dressed in black cloaks ringing bells to remember the departed. This probably morphed into costumes of the secular Halloween. Soul cakes were baked and shared. The kiddies would go house to house asking for soul cakes in return for praying for the dead. Again, this practice morphed into “give me a treat or I will play a trick” on you. Somewhere the praying for the dead disappeared. However, in some countries All Saints’ Day and All Hallows’ Eve is serious business as people visit cemeteries and leave soul cakes and candles for the departed. They then light large bonfires to guide the souls of the departed back to their earthly homes. In my hometown we lite bonfires to roast “wienies” but perhaps some of the departed did return for a marshmallow.
Painting of various saints by Fra Angelico, an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, Public Domain photo.
What could make Halloween 2020 better (I know, I know, the election being over and Covid-19 eradicated but that ain’t goin to happen) but what will happen is that on Halloween 2020 there will be a Full Blue Moon. We all know what a full moon is—big, bright, orb even seeming larger as it pops over the eastern horizon (due to an optical illusion). OK! A Blue Moon is a second full moon in a month, not an extremely rare feature, but still uncommon happening about every two and a half years. The 2020 full moon on Halloween is a really rare event as there has not been a full moon on Halloween in all U.S Time Zones since 1944. Take the Moon sight in as the next is scheduled for 2039. We should also realize that every full moon that does appear on Halloween is a Blue Moon since the days in the Gregorian Calendar are 30 or 31 days in length except February. Moon cycles are 29.5 days in length.
The Harvest Moon glows round and bold, in pumpkin shades outlined in gold, illuminating eerie forms, unnatural as a candied corn. Beware what dare crawls up your sleeve, for 'tis the night called Hallows Eve. Richelle Goodrich
We associate two colors with Halloween—black and orange. Black is the color of death and children were often afraid of older women and associated then with black clothes (often mourning clothes) and assumed they might be a witch. Actually, the word witch comes from the Olde English word wicce meaning wise woman. I am uncertain where our perception of witches changed from wise woman to someone who could cast a nasty spell on you. Probably during a pandemic when we needed to blame something or someone on our troubles—today we could try China? Modern witches are usually associated with the Wiccans and their religion. However, in olden times one would not want to be accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. As a kid I was certain that some older women in my hometown were nasty witches, or at least they had magic and were to be avoided. The last thing a kid needed was a spell cast on him—that is one reason we carried toads in our pockets (that and to scare the girls).
The witches fly across the sky, The owls go, Who? Who? Who? The black cats yowl And green ghosts howl, Scary Halloween to you! Nina Walter
And speaking of orange color, what about Jack-o’-Lanterns? As far as I can tell, the Jack-o’-Lantern tradition comes from an old Celtic tale that recounts the experience of one Jack, a parsimonious fellow who managed to trick the Devil. As a result, ole Jack was forbidden entrance into either Heaven or Hell and was instead condemned to wander the Earth—waving his lantern to lead other people away from their paths. A wandering ghoul if you wish.
Oh!—fruit loved of boyhood!—the old days recalling,
When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within! John Greenleaf Whitter
In Great Britain, Jack-o’-Lanterns were traditionally carved from turnips. When the practice reached America, where turnips were much more expensive, cheaper pumpkins were used instead. In rural Kansas boys sometimes used turnips since farmers often grew them as a fall crop to feed the porkers, or to serve as a substitute for potatoes (I actually like turnips, both raw and cooked). However, turnips are hard, solid, and tough to carve so we used—wild growing Buffalo Gourds. These aromatic (stinky) baseball to softball size fruits (Pumpkin Family) grew on vines and developed a hardened outer shell with a hollow interior when dry. They are not nearly as “cute” looking as the numerous ornamental hybrid forms grown today. But they held a cheap little candle and served as a mini globe. Kiddie ghouls could then march around with a globe in one hand and shaking a ghoulish rattle ( a gourd with either the dry seeds, or a few pieces of sand/gravel) in the other hand. The light and the noise served to scare off the bad ghosts and witches. It was also a tradition to use an actual craved pumpkin Jack-o’-Lantern with a candle as a talisman on the front porch or windowsill to ward away evil spirits. I always thought that the more Jack-o’-Lanterns we carved the less pumpkins I had to eat (yes, I dislike pumpkin of any sort including soup or pie).
May Jack-o-lanterns burning bright, Of soft and golden hue, Pierce through the future's veil and show, What fate now holds for you? Jerry Smith
Since this is a geology blog, mostly, I need to add some material about a mineral, so let me pick an orange one to signal my endurance in this time of self-quarantine. Pure orange minerals are tougher to find than say black, red, or blue varieties! But, I have found one in my collection—minium, a lead oxide [Pb3O4]. It may also be red; however, I chose the orange variety.
Minium is actually a mixed valence compound with both Pb++ and Pb++++ in a 2:1 ratio—Pb++2Pb++++O4. Since specimens of minium are mostly red in color it obtained the name red lead and has been used in paint pigments for millennia, especially in the Middle Ages. However, this pigment was mostly made rather than mined! White lead, cerussite or lead carbonate, was roasted in air until it turned yellow and then orange or orange-red It is toxic to humans if ingested since: 1) it is not soluble in water; but 2) is soluble in stomach hydrochloric acid!
Mimium from Santa Fe Mine, Bala nos Muncipality, Balanos, Mexico. Width FOV 1.7 cm.
Minium is an earthy mineral occurring in small masses as a secondary mineral in lead deposits that have been highly oxidized. It is found in a number of localities around the world but never in large amounts at any one locality.
Minium is soft at ~2.5 (Mohs), opaque, earthy to massive habit, it may be striated if you can find a cleavage face. Some specimens, especially those bright red, have a shinier luster and are translucent. The streak is an orange-yellow color. Not much else I can say about minium.
I hope your Halloween is fun and spooky. Eat, drink and be scary! I wish for a day full of peace, joy, and divine blessings for you and wish you a Happy All Saints Day. Let the beauty of the Full Moon inspire us to bring a change in our lives. Let it motivate us to keep moving ahead to achieve our goals. Wishing you a bright and Happy Full Moon Day my friends.