it’s always fall at the mod lodge – i suppose it’s in large part cuz my birthday falls on autumn’s first full day. it is certainly my favorite time of year, the baring trees & falling leaves open up the sky & are an awakening to me. the child inside also still excites over the pending holiday season, where my fave xmas song is now actually a cheery winter’s ditty, “let it snow” (esp that classic dean martin recording), where all that it takes to make a day a holiday is having loved ones close by who can hang with me, curl up, eat, drink & be merry, even if the wind howls & the snow blows. but then, i love the beauty in snow too as it falls & blankets the world in crystalline white.
but this page is not about the winter or snow; it is about the fall. being a midwesterner, the colors of fall are pumpkin, persimmon, bittersweet blossom (imo the most beautiful flowering vine of all) – deep & varied orange hues, toasted & cinnamony, warm & rich in color, colors of thanks, colors of leaves & liqueurs….
autumn also evokes halloween & all the iconography that halloween lore requires, from black cats to pumpkins to the dark side of just about anything – a side we all possess & should celebrate with the gusto and reverence of any dia de los meurtos festival. why, at the mod lodge, there’s a family portrait on a shelf in our family room, comprised of a line up of 5 mexican-made ceramic skulls, spooky/jolly talismen lovingly chosen to represent each family member. & max the cat is a second generation black cat, as to me they are the most beautiful, luckiest cats of all…
as for pumpkins, the optimist in me also sees each orb as a golden carriage-in-waiting, where belief + proactivity can still make dreams come true, dreams that neither possess saccharin silliness or any sort of age limit. they are part of an age-old story-telling tradition that has rather accurately reflected society from day one: good vs evil, fate vs taking charge, hate vs love, all very real challenges we confront as we move through life. that glass shoe could not have been a comfortable dance shoe if you really think about it, but it does represent waltzing on the clouds, & so be it.
enjoy this selection of mod lodge details, all in keeping with modlodgeluv homage to all things autumnal & the magic therein…
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modlodgeluv 