The Musings of Brian Groce

The kids took in quite a haul last night since the weather was nice and since we took them to my parents neighborhood again this year since people actually give out candy there (including full sized candy bars…and hot dogs)…for some reason most people/households in my neighborhood don’t partake in much of anything that involves decorating, landscaping, mingling, etc.  That’s fine I suppose, but it makes for a boring Halloween through New Years.

(Our first Christmas in our house I lit up the entire roof with Christmas lights…which made it easy for people to find our house (and gave me quite an electric bill)…but lately I’ve just stuck with some “icicle” lights and can tell anyone who hasn’t been to our house to look for the house with Christmas lights…and I’m not exaggerating.)

Anyway, back to Halloween for a moment…

We didn’t get started until around 7 pm (so much for the “official” trick-or-treating hours) and wrapped things up around 8:15 pm or so.  Last year it was so cold that I think the kids might have lasted 45 minutes (probably less), but last night was truly ideal…a little brisk but not too cold, on the brink of raining but not raining, with the wind howling and rustling leaves down the street.  Very ideal indeed.

But Halloween is over and now it’s time to start talking turkeys, pies, football and Christmas and New Years parties.  There are only three weeks until Thanksgiving and eight and a half weeks left in the entire year.  Where, oh where, does the time go?

Apparently “trick-or-treating” will soon be a thing of the past in Indianapolis…

In Marion County, trick-or-treat hours are from 5 to 7 pm.

Police are reminding parents to keep their trick-or-treaters safe this Halloween.

• Try to finish before dark
• If trick-or-treating at night, carry flashlights
• Costumes should be visible in the dark

Ugh, hello, McFly? Need I really point out why this doesn’t make sense?

I’ll be *lucky* to have my kids ready to go by 6:30 pm…and that’s if we skip dinner. And due to new DST nonsense, the sunset is 6:45 pm this year, so for us that means it will be dusk at 7:00 pm.

Man, what happened to the days of 6:00 to 9:00 pm “official” trick-or-treating hours where you’d actually stay out until 9:30 pm when every last porch light was out? And when it was dark around 6:00 pm here in Indy.

Not that my kids really need to be out more than an hour, but still, this window just isn’t very realistic. I’m sure the police are thinking saftey first, as there is an abundance of kooks running around, but come on, this is a weekday.  Even until 8:00 pm would be much better for parents who have “day jobs” and don’t want their children wandering the streets alone.

Anyway, there’s an excellent chance you’ll find me toting my kids around after the 7:00 pm “close of Halloween”.  At least until the kids are bored or the last light has been turned off.

After two record setting (for all of October) 90+ degree days and an upper 70s day yesterday, our normal fall weather seems to be upon us.  While it was neat, and a bit odd, that my kids were able to play in the hose and their pool in October (you’re usually lucky if you can do that in mid-September), I am ready to be able to open the windows up in the afternoon to get the cool breeze flowing through the house.

The main downside that I see is that my pepper plants are probably going to bite it.  We’d had a decent first crop, but with the warm weather the plants began to flower again a few weeks ago and there are a ton of new peppers growing.  No such luck with the tomatoes though.

Anyway, I think I’m going to have to retire the shorts for the season and break out the jeans and long-sleeved shirts.  And then to make a run for new clothes for the kids once we figure out what still fits and what doesn’t.

OK, am I nuts for being aggravated that it’s hot this late into the year? Back in September it looked like Fall was on the way, but the past few weeks have been nothing but 80’s and even 90’s, as is the forecast for the next few days…

…and I think the oddest thing is that I was outside last night sitting on my deck, in shorts and a t-shirt, getting “eaten”by mosquitoes. What’s up with that? Aren’t mosquitoes supposed to be dead by now?

But my complaint isn’t so much the fact of the warmth, or even getting eaten by mosquitoes, but the fact that we’re probably going to miss out on the normal Fall weather and that the changing leaves aren’t going to be quite as spectacular.

For those of you unfamiliar with Indianapolis weather, our average high on October 1st is 71° and the average low is 49°. On October 31st the average high is 58° and the average low is 38°. So the temperatures drop quite rapidly and you usually only have a few weeks of the really nice mid-60 degree weather that I really cherish. And right now our lows are around are average highs.

So I’m hoping that next week brings more normal temperatures and that we still get our Fall weather, just pushed back a week or two. Because it’d really be nice to take the kids Trick-or-Treating without needing to wear jackets for costumes.

Ah, Fall is in the air…

The 2007 Indiana State Fair is over, the kids are in school, football season is under way, my garden will have soon produced its last “fruits”, I’ve already been apple picking (twice), the stores are clearing out the “back to school” and any remaining summer items to make way for Halloween candy, costumes and decorations, and best of all, after a seemingly long hot streak of 90+ degree days, the weather is starting to get back to normal…

While it only lasts for a very brief 6 weeks or so, I love Fall in Indiana and look forward to it with anticipation every year. Due to the hot weather the leaves probably won’t be as vibrant this year, but they should still put on a show. (If you’ve never been to Indiana in October, I encourage you to do so…especially Southern Indiana where we have a ton of trees.)

And while I’m thinking about Fall, we’re currently planning our October shows for Utter Oddcast & the Trolley Dodgers Podcast and we will need your input and help in the coming weeks for stories and such, especially for our themed Halloween podcast(s). Feel free to send items our way. And also, please check out both shows this month. We released a new Trolley Dodgers episode yesterday and will release one more episode this month. And we have a total of nine (yes, you read that right…9!!!) Utter Oddcast episodes that will be release in September (as of today, three are currently available and the other six will be released over the remainder of the month). And please leave us feedback via comment, e-mail form (td, uo) or voicemail at 317-565-4250.  I’ll post more info about that within a few weeks.