Orange Dogs

Orange Dogs! No.. my dog, Ezzy, is not being dressed up as a pumpkin for Halloween. I am not even one that dresses her up as anything as I am quite sure she would probably eat any costume that I put on her! As matter of fact, I am not even talking about Ezzy or any other dog. I am referring to a caterpillar. My citrus trees were under attack by some unknown assailant that was chewing off some of the leaves. It seemed to prefer the new, tender leaves so I figured that I would not have a difficult time finding the culprit. I looked and looked. I peered under and atop the leaves. Finally..there it was! Staring me in the face (as much as a caterpillar can stare) was an orange dog! I understand the reasoning behind the "orange" part of the name even though they are not orange. They are particularly fond of citrus leaves..lemons, limes and..get this..oranges! But to be honest, it beats me as to why they are called "dogs". They do not resemble a dog at all. Rather, they bear a strong resemblance to bird poop! I mean a really strong resemblance! They even smell bad! The strange thing about the Orange Dogs is that they will eventually turn into a beautiful Giant Swallowtail butterfly! How does something so ugly make the change into such a beautiful creature as a butterfly is beyond me. You talk about your "Ugly Duckling" fairy tale!

After the caterpillar incident, it was time for some more Halloween fun! I put up some more garland of Fall leaves and then headed for the entryway. This room is far becoming my favorite "theme" room. The parlor look was coming along right well after hanging the creepy cloth curtains and arranging the shelf of "family portraits" but I still wanted to add some more "special effects". The old cast iron parlor stove looked bland sitting there vacant and unused. To build a real fire in it would be a tad stupid since there are no stove pipes to vent the smoke. Fake fire! I wanted a dark and gloomy "parlor" to greet guests on Halloween night and a grate full of smoldering embers would be perfect. To create this look, I first placed a crumpled piece of aluminum foil on top of the grating in the stove. Next, an unobtrusive wire basket from the kitchen shelf would hold my "embers". Two (twenty count) strings of white lights, a piece of orange glass and some clear glass marbles became my fire. This was topped with enough tiny (two inch) pine cones to cover most of the marbles. The wires from the lights were strung up through the back of the stove where the piping should go and plugged into an extension cord. Now the moment of truth.Would it appear to be hot coals? Yes!! It worked! The "blinkers" on the

lights added the look of "burning" coals. I now have a fiery wood stove that won't heat up this tiny room on Halloween night! No need to cook my guests! Little by little, my creepy parlor is coming to fruition! Maybe a few ghosts should be enjoying this cozy little nook..we shall see!!!