Halloween Reads

I love a good ghost story. I even have a few stories of my own. So, while other bloggers will be showing you their Halloween costumes today, I'm going to be a nerd (nothing new there) and share some Halloween themed reading. And don't worry, that sound you heard was probably just the wind... Probably.

Starting at the top of the pile:

The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatly Snyder: Scared the crap out of me-- in the best way-- when I was a kid.
The Shining by Stephen King: Come on, it's a classic.
Turn of the Screw by Henry James: Ghosts and child abuse, both very scary.
The Haunted Looking Glass stories collected by Edward Gorey: Includes short stories by authors you never knew liked ghosts stories.
The Ghost Stories of Edith Warton: A good ghost story is scary when it's ambiguous. Over explain the plot points and all the mystery is gone. Warton's ghost stories don't have that problem.
The Tell Tale Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allen Poe: Do I even need to explain this one?
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: Shirley Jackson is a genius in my opinion. What makes her stories and novels scary is the implication that it is not the ghosts that are evil, but our own broken psyches.
Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link: Please, please read Kelly Link. She is amazing.
The Dark Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack: Another one that scared me as a kid.
Tales of Terror collected by Alfred Hitchcock: Some (ok, most) of the stories in this collection are pretty cheesy, but it's still a ton of fun to read.

Curious about Corvids

When I was little, my mother always warned me to never chase or tease crows because crows remember you. I think my mom's superstition came more from folklore and general proximity to crows and their behavior than from anything else. As it turns out though, crows do remember you, and apparently they have a pretty long memory. Right now I'm reading Gifts of the Crow, a fascinating look at the behavior and brain function of corvids (crows, ravens, magpies, and jays). It talks about how the corvid brain can to do many of the things ape (including human) brains can do, but arrived there by a different evolutionary track. Corvids use tools, solve problems and, yes, form memories.

Maybe it was my mom telling me to watch out for those crows when I was young, but I developed a preoccupation with crows and their behavior and my library grew to reflect that. Here are a few of my favorites.

Gifts of the Crow, by John Marzluff and Tony Angell: Has a lot of very informative and entertaining anecdotes about corvid behavior. Parts of it explain the evolution and functions of the brain, which can be little hard to get through if you don't know much about neurobiology, but I don't think anything is lost if you skim through those parts.
Crow Planet, by Lyanda Lynn Haupt : More crow behavior and observational stories
Mind of the Raven, by Bernd Heinrich: Observations of raven behavior in the wild and in captivity
Arabel's Raven series, by Joan Aiken: A very cute and funny series of children's books about a girl named Arabel and her mischievous pet raven, Mortimer. Not a lot of science in these, but lots of funny raven behavior.

Backyard texture

The overcast skies of fall act like a giant light diffuser and familiar things in my back yard take on textures I never noticed before.

Ravelry

Apparently at some point in 2009 (which was kind of a black hole year for me, let's not talk about it) I joined Ravelry. I don't remember doing this, nor do I remember why I signed up and then never did anything with it. Nevertheless, it sat there dormant for three years until the other night I had the brilliant idea to join Ravelry. So, I guess the point is I'm on Ravelry and if you are too, we should be friends.

My user name is JuneKelly. Click the photos below to go to the project page. You know, if you feel like it.

Discovery Park

This guy swooped in about six feet from our faces and hung out on some power lines looking regal and posing for photos for a while.

Discovery Park used to be a naval base, but now it's a beautiful, at times over-grown, park full of trails and clusters of old military buildings. It's very easy to forget you're still in Seattle city limits while you're here.  A couple of years ago, they had to shut the park off to visitors for a little while because there was a cougar lose in the park (cue the jokes about hiding your teenage sons). This was a problem because, even though Discovery Park isn't smack in the middle of downtown or anything, it is right next to a populated residential area. Seattle is unique that way. You can be in the middle of a forest and still, technically, be in the city.

The Return of Handmade Style

I don't think I spent any time in front of the sewing machine or with knitting needles in my hand for the whole summer, but as soon as people started talking about pumpkin spice lattes, it's like an instinct kicked in and the knitting needles started clacking again. This scarf was based on this pattern. I changed it by making it wider, and making the wedges slightly bigger. I also added some button holes at the end, so I could wear it like a cowl. I sincerely hope this giant cowl trend stays around for a while because I love them. I know some people don't agree and think they look silly, but I don't care, I say make 'em even bigger and fluffier.

Modern Enlightenment

Modern Enlightenment 

 SZ (Süddeutsche Zeitung) #8 Spring 2012Photography: Ola Rindal

Models: Johanna Fosselius and Luisa Bianchin

Styling: AÏcha Reguieg

Beautiful gingers and beautiful light

Images via here