Things that go Bump in the Night...

Yesterday was Halloween.  In earlier cultures the precursor to modern Halloween was associated with the end of the agricultural year and a night when the dead were thought to walk among the living.  Here's a few pictures of Hereward Farm with a distinct Halloween/Samhain feel.


First we have the obligatory straw bales and pumpkins.  The Cinderella pumpkins growing near the orchard are not quite ready.

While on the subject of Halloween, this next pic is of a clay face mask that was found in the shrubbery at the front porch when we first moved in.  Leaning over and seeing this face staring up at you was a little unnerving.  I am not sure exactly what this mask is supposed to be but the plan is to bury it in consecrated ground with an ample supply of Holy Water as soon as possible.

The next pictures show what really walks the farm in the dead of night.

The signs of deer have become more pronounced recently.  Given the scratchings I had this image of a huge buck walking the fields.  The wildlife cam caught a picture of a deer recently.  Rather than a large buck this looks more like Bambi with an eating disorder.

The next pictures show the distinctive tracks of a raccoon.  These tracks were found around the chicken run on the top field this morning.  Such evidence of raccoons underscore why we must lock the chickens up in their coop every night.