Three Little Maids...

... collect Halloween candy on our front porch in Montana and pose, pose, pose because they know how cute they are. They may be dressed as Minnie Mouse and friends, but somehow they remind me of singers of a favorite Gilbert & Sullivan piece, "Three Little Maids From School Are We." I sing it to myself all evening as we entertain friends and neighbors and hand out the candy to hundreds of kids swarming the south side of town. (Is it lame to be posting about Halloween nearly a week later? Yep. But I've been busy, and I have photos to share. Today may be rain-turning-to-snow with lots of talk about Thanksgiving dinner plans, but Halloween remains on my mind.)

Nakia, across the street, is the Queen of Hearts. Her son, Andrew,  will soon finish his Darth Vader ensemble.  I hear a hearty  "Off with their heads!" as I exit their yard.

Spiders are key themes on our Halloween block. We pick up a cheap-and-cheesy one at Kmart and accessorize it with two light-up, oversize, red-and-white eyeballs that I found at Celebrations gift shop  (http://www.celebrations-ky.com/) in my hometown of Louisville, Ky.

Charlie the dog gets dressed as a bucking bronc and shows up on our front porch with cowboy barely holding on to the saddle. Photo credit goes to a friendly Kathleen Driscoll (http://www.kathleendriscoll.com/).

Charlie's owners, Heather and Jeff, go for a Dead-and-Breakfast Halloween theme complete with their own handmade sign, one of many that they sell in Missoula as well as Hamilton (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Salvage-Sign-Co/565840236763511?ref=stream).

Meanwhile, around the corner, John and Karol and Sarah (from right to left) celebrate Halloween in fine costumed style (silver-eye courtesy of my camera's odd and rarely-used flash).

A witch hat on a chair at Karol's party. (Karol operates a shop called Acquired Taste, https://www.facebook.com/acquiredtasteboutique?ref=stream).

And my own angry pumpkin bids everyone a good night as the candy runs out and older kids take over the street. We turn off the light and head inside for wine!

Copyright © 2013, Becky Homan