2024 Wrap up

The Spouse & I had the front yard looking like this by about 12:20pm on November 1. 

Quite the change, eh? 

Just don't look in the back yard!

Halloween was a beautiful night - windy but the Spouse & I sat out in the driveway with only hoodies on.  We had about 50 kids come by, which is more than we've had in the past couple years!

I actually ran out of the full-sized candy bars, so I was happy that I had 2 bags of candy leftover from one of the trunk or treat events I'd gone to.  I gave out handfuls from that.

My favorite costume(s) had to be a dad who was dressed in khakis and a safari hat, pulling a wagon decorated with Jurassic Park logos and filled with 3 toddlers all dressed like dinosaurs and one older kid tagging along, also a dinosaur.  

I truly appreciate that the Spouse volunteers to take the day off work and help me take everything down.  It makes it so much quicker & smoother. 

The skeletons are the biggest issue to put away.  We have a lot of stuff in our garage (no car has ever been in there!) which means we have to clear out everything in the one area so we can get back to the far corner, where the skeletons belong.  Then we hang them up and have to put everything back in. 

I don't hang them by the heads or necks, I loop some twine over the tailbone, then do a half-hitch below the neck and then the rest is for hanging.  So it distributes the weight more evenly. 

The backs of my hands are also all scraped up from threading the twine thru ribs.

I also took this opportunity to make a skeleton inventory.

1 - 7' skeleton named Homer

1 - 6' skeleton named Marvin

1 lonely 5' non-pose & stay.  This was one of my first skeleton purchases.  And it's still in decent shape! 

11 - 5' pose & stays, noting any breakages

2 - 4' non-pose & stays.  I like these because you can't find them anymore!

8 - 3' pose & stays, including a bright pink one belonging to the Spawn

6 - 3' non-pose & stays, only one of which is not broken in some way.  I'm slowly phasing these guys out.    

2 - 2' pose & stays, orange with JOL head & rainbow!

The goal here is to actually have a plan next year of what they're going to be doing in the cemetery. 

LOL - I just got sucked into the rabbit hole of reading old blog posts and I was just reading one from 2014

How quaint!

We do have one honorable retirement that needs to happen. 

Frank was my first bigger than 5' skeleton, I got him back in 2015.  

The plastic was on the thin side and it finally just wasn't fixable anymore. 

The feet are torn off.  The limbs that are left (and head) are attached with zip ties. The neck/spine is completely severed. 

R.I.P Frank! 

I don't have a pic, but the Spouse who is a Tetris master can fit the full sized horse, the pony and now the unicorn all in the original box the horse came in.  

This sight always make me cringe. 

So here we go!

The headstones did get repainted this year, but they are very shiny & new looking. 

So aging will have to happen before next year. 

Here they all are in the shed + the fence & spool.  

I had to fill in a giant groundhog hole in front of the leg of that chair. 

Next we have the former Mosh Pit. 

I have new ones this year, but I seem to have fit them all in there better than usual!

The coffin is in the back of the bottom shelf. 

As of posting this - the critters are still here. 

As soon as I get home from work, I'll be moving them into the little loft part of the shed.  

I'm concerned about the furry raccoon tails, so they may not go in there. 

The 2 big chickens are a problem, too.  I'll have to get creative. 

So as we were taking stuff down, we came across a few friends that are unusual in Michigan in November,,,,

a 5 legged grasshopper

and this big ol' toad who was crossing the patio.

Not hopping ~walking~! 

And finally, I went on a walk around the neighborhood with the grandkids.

Probably the best campaign signs I've ever seen! 

So at least by this weekend, the yard should be all ready for the winter.  

The JOLs are still on the front porch, they're only a little shrunken & moldy.  They can probably hold on another week or so!

And I did zero clearance shopping!

I glanced at what the Kroger Marketplace had but didn't see anything that leaped out at me.  I'd already gotten some 3' black light reactive (3 white & 1 green) skeletons from there at 50% off before H'ween so they actually got to be in the cemetery.  But I haven't been any place else.  

oh man!!

My favorite tree dropped its leaves!