Nag time

I was going to call this simply, “Reminders,” but I like this better.

The first is, are you prepared for All Hallows Read? You should be – I’ve featured it here often enough. Last year was, of course, a bust because no one was trick-or-treating, nor should they have been so, good on them all. The previous year was truncated by a fierce storm rolling in – silly helicopter parents worried that their little boogums would get wet. It was, like, the perfect weather around here for Halloween, warm but with a gusty wind that threw the leaves up in little tornadoes, and a storm brewing audibly in the distance – atmosphere out the ass.

But anyway, if you’re not the kind to click on links, the premise of All Hallows Read is, you give out books for Halloween, instead of or in addition to candy – we do it in addition. The Girlfriend collected a load of books appropriate for all age ranges, spooky-themed and not, mostly at used bookstores and thrift shops, and we keep them out on a little shelf by the front door. It remains a hit with both the parents and the kids, and is loads of fun to observe. There’s a good chance I’ll move the fire pit out front and have a fire going, maybe even roast some marshmallows.

Anyway, it was The Bloggess that first alerted us to the practice. Spread the word, because this is the kind of thing we need more of.

New kitten getting into act
Had to re-use this photo of course

The second thing I’m here to tell you is the Orionids meteor shower is peaking the night of the 20th, so not quite a week away. Unfortunately, this means the moon will be full, which is far from ideal because it’s up all night long, and of course Orion, where the majority of meteors will appear to be originating, is not too close to the moon but not far enough from it either. Most meteor storms are best after midnight, and in this case Orion doesn’t rise until about that time anyway, but the moon itself won’t set until about sunrise. So why am I telling you about a storm with such crappy viewing conditions, even if the weather is perfect?

Yet many storms peak on a certain day, but are visible for a few days before and after – some for an entire month, so feel free to try earlier, like tonight if you’re inclined, just to see what happens. Listen, I don’t set the schedules, I just try to alert you to them. Routinely, I see excellent photos that people obtain of the storms while I see bupkiss, so maybe I should just give it up. What’s the point, anyway? Who’s even coming to this site?

[It’s still Friday, by the way…]