[UnOrthodOx]

Overall great year. Lots I wasn't totally happy with, and an injury of unknown severity to my knee while tearing down and the annual flare up of tendonitis in my hands hit especially hard this year, but considering all challenges this year, about as good as could be expected.

Unfortunately, Jim got broken during the party (by some kids messing with it), and though it will be an easy fix, I just didn't have the stuff on hand or the time. Never got a full up video of him working properly. Don't know how you guys with more animatronics deal with that. Don't know if I'll be doing them again or not.

We're still finding it challenging to get a great video in the lighting. It's really not this dark in person.

I'll be getting through the pictures as I can.

 

[Serpentia]

Brrr, you've got that dog-thing or whatever it is back again this year; I find that thing unutterably creepy. As a small child that just by itself would have had me hiding under my bed for weeks.

Which is a sign you're Doing It Right!

If you carved even half those pumpkins, no wonder your hands are hurting. Your setup is awesome, and thanks for posting the video. *sends you ibuprofen*

 

[UnOrthodOx]

This year was pretty much all about the party as far as I was concerned. And, the local church scheduled conflicting activities, so I was a tad bit nervous. We had kids show up early.

And soon we were hopping.

(neighbor with autism, really impressive we can get him in the crowd)

One minor annoyance this year, we asked for a mix of doughnuts from the bakery. Last year that meant roughly half chocolate, this year, that translated in 2/18 boxes chocolate and LOADS of bizarre varieties. (plus it takes a special kind of talent to make pumpkinbread doughnuts dry)

Son with his black eye. (learning stage makeup in drama class)

 

[UnOrthodOx]

Night descending on the party.

Jim

Note the very CLEAN row of pumpkins...ah, kids.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

Normally, the fence is mine...this year, I bifurcated the pumpkins, but my daughter did most the eyes.

Impromptu pumpkin shrine on a coffin.

Another under Jim.

Niece with her pumpkin.

My camera was giving me trouble as I couldn't find my remote, and I just started with the pics when the batteries quit on me. It was late, and I was tired, so just let it go since my wife had so many good pics.

Jim at the end of the tunnel, a vague outline, that shrine under him really help define that something is there.

I always love the range of talent.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

While detailed, I still don't know what this is supposed to be.

Halloween morning, off to school.

"evil face"

New batteries in my camera, after rearranging that clean line of pumpkins. Goal of making little clusters and getting more up in the trees.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

really wish I would have made some wooden crosses for the back. The tombstones I had, just wouldn't fit the area.

"Ancient wizardry" one kid called it.

more to come, but gotta get moving.

 

[im the goddess]

Everyone looks like they had a blast, and the decorations are very creepy. Great Job!

 

[UnOrthodOx]

I'm still not sold on the whole pumpkin on a head type costumes, but this fooled a lot of people thinking it was a real pumpkin, so I guess it was at least effective in that sense. Hated every second of being strapped (literally) into this thing. Claustrophobia inducing terror, and turned out I couldn't even get a straw up through the mouth area to drink like I thought I would.

The family picture, minus one, my middle son skipped out on us this year for a party.

Opening at 6 PM...this is what's waiting at 6 PM.

Our neighbors, I'm responsible for that knight. "The ones in the store weren't REAL"

Tribute pumpkins, cancer ribbon for my wife's mom who's had breast cancer metastasize to her brain, and one for her dad who died on the 13th.

Out front with my scythe.

 

[vampyrespro]

Beautiful work, as always, unorthodox! I can't get enough of the way you use organic materials; and I absolutely love the corpse in your toe pincher. Happy belated Halloween!

 

[scarybella]

Love it all, very impressive. You can never have too many pumpkins☺

 

[halloween71]

so cool..my mouth was watering over all the doughnuts lol

 

[Darth Vader]

 

[Ghost of Spookie]

Looks like you live in a great neighborhood. I loved the photos with all the kids carving pumpkins to help out the yard. What a great idea. Do you grow your own? With the cost of pumpkins in my area even with farms around they get pretty pricey. Cool they all waited in line to enter too.

I thought your photos in general turned out great. Especially liked the spookiness of the ones that are at the wooden path at the fence. It's like you were looking into bleak nothingness and your soul might get lost if you entered the path and went beyond. It goes to show that what I'll call an old-fashioned halloween setting (pumpkins carved into JOL being the main thing) can be beautiful and spooky at the same time.

Thanks for sharing your photos. And your family photo should be photoshop'd with a vintage look and framed.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

Looks like you live in a great neighborhood. I loved the photos with all the kids carving pumpkins to help out the yard. What a great idea. Do you grow your own? With the cost of pumpkins in my area even with farms around they get pretty pricey. Cool they all waited in line to enter too.

Yes and no. On property, I grow 20-30 pumpkins, depending on the year. My Uncle grows between 100-200 at his property, which was my grandpa's farm. I generally keep 120 for the party, figuring on some rotting before, and shooting for around 100. We sell the surplus pumpkins for a buck, which really pisses off the local markets, but thrills the neighbors. I see lots more pumpkins around the neighborhood since we started doing that.

However, really odd weather this summer, and we had a lot more rot than normal. And, the ones that didn't rot shrivelled a lot quicker than normal after they were carved. A neighbor's parents heard of our rotting pumpkins, and own a farmer's market in another town, they drove 30ish pumpkins up 100 miles to donate to the yard this year.

I thought your photos in general turned out great.

I was REAL lazy with them this year...kicking myself...they could have been better.

Especially liked the spookiness of the ones that are at the wooden path at the fence. It's like you were looking into bleak nothingness and your soul might get lost if you entered the path and went beyond. It goes to show that what I'll call an old-fashioned halloween setting (pumpkins carved into JOL being the main thing) can be beautiful and spooky at the same time.

I seem to be going more and more 'old-fashioned' the longer I do this. The front is my favorite this year, tured out pretty much how i envisioned. That almost never happens. I think the fence was better last year, but that's mostly due to the lower quality of corn stalks down the corn tunnel this year. Bad part about going all natural is the variation of what you get from year to year.

 

[Skeletoncrew]

Fantastic job, it all looked wonderful. Love the pics of the children carving the pumpkins, they looked like they were having a fantasticl time. That is what memories are built on! Great family photos too!!