Naturegirl7's Halloween Adventure

Most of our costumes were homemade. Mom was handy with the sewing machine and made most of our clothes. One year, when I was in fourth or fifth grade, I got to wear a "store bought" plastic princess costume, complete with mask. That was the year that we went to town and did trick or treating in a friend's neighborhood. Less than an hour into the fun, I was sweating and the mask was shoved on top of my head. By the time we went back to the car, the plastic costume was in shreds. To this day I never again wore a plastic costume or a mask. I learned early that cloth and face paint were the way to go.

Each October, Coushatta would have a parade to celebrate the parish fair and Halloween. One year, I was selected to ride on the elementary school King and Queen's float in my little silver glitter costume that was left over from the May Fete performance the year before. (That's me on the King's left.) We recycled costumes back then. In fact that little costume was still in the closet of the old house for years after.

Scarecrow Black Cat Card by naturegirl7

The animals of Halloween were always a part of my life. When the leaves fell from the trees in autumn, we could observe the birds of prey on their perches along the highway. Sometimes at dusk, we would see owls.

Cats were with us year round, for as long as I can remember. At Halloween, black cats were the Halloween symbol that I wanted to draw or paint for the Halloween art projects that we made at school. Today, I continue to be akin with nature and animals. I have two black cats that have chosen to be a part of my life as well as an orange and a brown tabby.

Harvest Canvas Print by Crazy_Rat_Lady

Our family always had at least one party around Halloween because my younger brother, my nephew and I all had October birthdays. One year we had a giant party combining all three special days. The teenagers of my age group congregated on the carport where we played the hi-fi stacked with 45's and danced and ate from the tables that were loaded with Halloween and October goodies.

My brother and nephew (who were five years younger) and their friends were out in the yard where my Dad had built a fort out of hay on the side of the hill on which our house stood. There were toy guns and places to hide and they all had a great time playing war and hide and go seek.

Another enjoyable teenage adventure was the night time Halloween hayride, with a date. We were supposed to sing Halloween songs and tell ghost stories, but it was a little nippy so most of us just snuggled down in the hay to enjoy the ride and ...err... the beautiful Fall leaves.

In October, the weather gets cooler in Louisiana, so everyone heads outdoors. The men to hunt and the women to gather. I was always torn between the two, but I did more gathering than hunting.

Mom and us girls would head to the yard and the woods to look for natural materials to make decorations for the house. As I walked through the forests and fields, I was always fascinated with the colorful mushrooms as well as the many twigs, fruits and berries. Once we got back to the house, we would use our creative talents to place the found objects into seasonal arrangements and crafts.

When I went to college at LSU in Baton Rouge, south Louisiana became my home. I had been to New Orleans before, as a teenager, because my father's family was originally from there, but experiencing the fun as a young adult, without supervision was a different story.

I enjoy the Halloweens in the south. The costumes are excellent and the people down here really know how to have a good time, no matter what they are celebrating. Halloween in the French Quarter is an experience like none other. It's sort of like Mardi Gras without the parades and the crush of people, but stranger.