Here are my picks for the best Halloween themed plants.

Ghost Plants

I never did identify this plant. You can see the post here: Ghost Plant. These were gowing alongside other ghost plants / Indian Pipes – Monotropa uniflora

I’m tempted to call them Zombie Pods. Why? I was struck how they looked so much like the UnDead version of the seedpods of Grass of Parnassus – Parnassia glauca.

Well whatever they are – stick them in your Indian Pipe and smoke them.

Got Milkweed?

What’s Halloween without fangs?

Toothpaste Slime Mold – Lycogala epidendrum

Here’s one for the kids. This is a special Halloween toothpaste. Have them brush their teeth with this after every piece of candy they eat. I guarantee it will curb their candy cravings.

———————————————————————————————–

For all those that have wondered what happened to me – I’ve joined the ranks of the UnDead with a moderate case of Zombie flu I picked while down on Long Island. I’m home now but it’s going to take some time before I quit craving brains.

I went down to dig up the entrance garden. Everything must go, in a couple of weeks there’s going to be a huge hole where the house now is. I managed to get most plants transplanted to other areas but the stone I haven’t touched yet. I wasn’t eating enough brains and my strength waned to the point I needed to come home and recharge my batteries.

I’ll have to go back in a week or so and continue ripping things up – carefully.

I stopped at a historic marker for two fallen War of 1812 soldiers yesterday. I’ve driven by that sign for years only giving it a glancing thought, never stopping but always thinking someday I will.

The marker is on County Route 24 (St. Lawrence, NY) in the Town of Pierrepont and located between the hamlet of Pierrepont and Brown’s Bridge. It is closer to Brown’s Bridge than Pierrepont and not far off Rt. 56.

A ‘trail’ leads about 200 feet into the woods to a grave site marker where these two veterans lie in rest. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this site is maintained and not forgotten.

The location is lonely and quiet promoting a sense of thoughtful reflection. Two soldiers left behind, one unknown and the other with a surname well known in the north country were put to rest here. But there is something unsettling about the place and I had a feeling of unrest. I sensed a presence, a longing for lost family and friends.

Something was whispering to me ‘Here I am’ in the silence.

I don’t believe in ghosts. The whispering came from my own mind. Or did it? This spot had the most Ghost / Corpse plants I’ve ever seen. The pale white translucent plants crowded the area near the grave then suddenly stopped as I moved away.

Monotropa uniflora

But these were not the only weird plants that had sprouted. Another ghost like plant outnumbered the Indian Pipes.

I’ve looked but had to give up trying to identify these plants. I searched and searched and did find one photo of these on line but the photographer had them mis-identified as Indian Pipe – monotropa uniflora. Look close at the flower structure and it’s easy to tell they are not.

It’s a bit eerie how two ‘Ghost’ plants in this spot reflect the soldiers buried here. One easily identified while the other remains Unknown.

It’s odd that I started my woodland wanderings at another location looking for ‘Dead Man’s Fingers’ and somehow ended up here. Although the two locations are not that far apart I somehow was detoured away from my next planned stop in a totally different direction.

The two ‘group’ photos are linked to a larger size (1024 x 768) suitable for desktop wallpaper.