Why I Oughta...

Back in May, I b ought two very small/young Greenspire Linden trees with designs on giving the art of espalier a shot with them in our #newoldbackyard.  I initially trimmed/pruned them up to make them two-dimensional and they sat for a more than a month in the driveway in Elmhurst before we moved into Downers.  Then back in July, I posted a few photos that showed these Lindens in their containers awaiting their final position as our new fence went in.   Once the fence was in, I was able to plant them in their final locations, along the south property line, butted right up against the cedar fence - which in this part of the yard is 6'+ tall.   There were additional steps including the installation of the posts for the espalier system back in the beginning of August .  I s unk 3 steel posts in the ground in preparation of the wire system.   And that leads me to this post and an update on the process.  After a few trips to Menards and some thinking/cogitating, I was able

Up in Twin Lakes, there is a row of fir trees in the side/rear yard close to the property line.  Well...at least I *think* they're fir trees.  I'm no conifer expert, so they might be spruce trees?  Chime in here if you know for sure.  Anyway...they were there when we arrived and they provide a good amount of screening.  And I never thought about them too much until I was recently walking by them as I dragged a tube from the garage to the pier and notice something pretty incredible about them:  They have purple cones.   They're pretty tightly wound up cones, but they're definitely purple.  A little bit of searching says that they might be Picea purpurea or they might be Korean Fir - Abies koreana .  Either way, they're pretty great to look at up there right now.  I'll keep an eye on the cones to see if they turn from purple to brown as they dry out and drop.

Just yesterday, I posted another photo of Menards Halloween setup with two of the kids and I've already covered a few of the Spooky Town structures .  But, there's a few things that we've bought already that have me giddy with Halloween excitement.  I'll share the bigger things in another post, but first, check out the newest inflatable to our crew: He blinks!?! Yeah.  And this one is definitely not a budget buster and there was just one box remaining on the shelves, so I *had* to buy it, right?  It remains to be seen where Nat will allow me to put up the inflatables at the #newoldfarmhouse.  In year's past, we've always kept most of our holiday-related freakiness (aka inflatables!) in the backyard.  This one is too cool to be hidden from the public, right? And, say what you want about Halloween Creep , but the fact that this was the last one of these things at Menards tells me that consumers are ok with Halloween stuff despite it being August.

Last week, I posted a photo of part of the Menards Halloween section , but it didn't include the kids.  Here's a post with a photo to correct that omission. That's The Bird's "scared face" she says.   And yes, that is a 10' tall pumpkin inflatable in the cart.  You have a good eye! Here's kids at Menards Halloween 2016 . Here they are in 2012 .

Last week, I showed off the first 2017 Lemax Spooky Town structures at Menards in their new Halloween display.   That one was animated and was called Ghostly Manor .  Today, I'm posting a few photos of another large structure called The Grim Reaper's Department Store.  This one is in stock at Menards and is listed for $69.99.  Mantleburg doesn't have a department store, but I'm not sure that the Mayor is going to annex this one, despite the uptick in sales tax revenues that would certainly come along with it. This particular structure doesn't move or isn't animated, but it does have it's own, original soundtrack (with announcements and noises and such) and it has some interesting lighting effects. Here's the video from the Lemax YouTube Channel, where you can see the lights and hear the sounds.

It isn't everyday that you come across the Epcot Germany train laying on it's side, right?  Is this a metaphor for Epcot in general?  Or at least for Future World?  

One of the girls traded for this Pirate Pete pin and I love it.  It is nice sized and not a scrapper, but it features Pete, Mickey's foil all dressed up in a pirate get-up with pirate Mickey.   It is technically not the ONLY Pirate Pete pin , but since this one is Pirates of the Carribean-related, I think it is a nice cross-over between Mickey and the movie.  No hidden Mickey, but that's fine by me.   This listing says it is from 2011 .