Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Snow on Pumpkins



Frost on the pumpkin is a saying heralding the advent of autumn and the end of summer. But snow on the pumpkin? Who was dreaming of a white Halloween when they saw this 30 days ago? I have snapped images of local Halloween decorations in the past, so I wandered a bit to catch what I knew would be an unsettling juxtaposition. Snow on Halloween. I guess for Minesotans it’s a common occurrence but for us here it’s unnerving at best, what’s next, snow in August. Expect the unexpected. Remember the Nightmare Before Christmas, the surrealistic stop-animation cartoon that plays with our subconscious experience of the holiday season. Iconic images signify our holidays, pumpkins for All Hallow’s Eve; Snow our winter solstice bacchanal of cozy joy known as Christmas. But these two images are not supposed to inhabit the same place. That was the unsettling clash Burton had cinematic fun with. I feel unsettled. The Saturday Ice Storm was fierce, relentless. Probably the first of many. Usually we see this kind of winter after December, well into January. Slush in October? Taking out the winter clothes before I put the shorts away? Snow on Pumpkins? It’s just so weird. Be afraid, be very afraid.




 



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