Pumpkin Head and Santa Claus

These photographs are new, since I haven't posted in some time due to a crashed hard-drive. The fall was very good, especially the time before and after Halloween when it was nice and warm. Spencer got really excited about Halloween this year, especially over pumpkins. He ran around the house for three months, yelling "Pumpkin head" certainly inspired by this scary looking pumpkin head above from his school field trip to the pumpkin patch.

When Christmas came around, everything was Pumpkin head, but also with Santa Claus. Spencer seems to blend them together, so Santa is kind of a frightening guy that comes down your chimney when you say trick or treat.

Now that my computer is fixed, I'll get to the summer photographs sometime in February, when it's -20 degrees and I'm sufferning vitamin B deficiency.

January during the melt!

One of the "Pumpkin heads."

Spencer scored this baloon at our friend's Christmas day party. More fun than toys, really....

Spencer got a harmonica, so maybe he'll dig Tom Waits, too.

With our new dog, Sam (estimated to be 70-130lbs!).

Hanging out at the train depot.

Waitng for the California Zephyr.

Russian Flats badlands.

State Capitol, known as the _enis of the Prairie.

Towing the Pharaoh.

BN&SF.

Pumpkin mania.

Sam, the puppy (estimated to be 70-130 lbs!).

Spencer and Abe bro-down.

Homeboys of the south Flats.

Return to 1970s education, ride the Magic Bus...

Flower power is the best! Like dig it.

Speaking to the pumpkins, while the pumpkins speak back.

Invert the State

I hope that all my family and friends who visit the blog to see what we are doing had a good New Year. Since finally having a break from the demands of book publishing and travel, it's been great to be at home and play guitar and listen to music (between urban jaunts with Spencer). These three albums by Lungfish and Bardo Pond are my favorite guitar-based psychedelia albums; Lungfish is closer to the sonic simplicity of the Byrds, 13th Floor Elevators, and 60s psychedelia, while Bardo Pond is closer to a melodic Crass or Flipper, or the UK psyche bands like Flying Saucer Attack, My Bloody Valentine, Spaceman 3, and that scene. These albums are worth checking out, a whole new approach to playing the guitar.