On a picture-perfect Pure Michigan morning, I decided to forego my trip to the Park and stroll through the ‘hood capturing images of harvest décor to use for this American Thanksgiving post. While strollin’, I was trollin’ for scarecrows.
The last few years, my Thanksgiving posts were a scenario where scarecrows gathered for a holiday feast. In 2019 I told you how those sweet ragamuffins tackled Turkey Day and last year I even gave those guys and gals a moniker and a voice. But, at the risk of repeating myself, I’ll forego that ritual this year and just concentrate on presenting the cutest in the crowd instead.
I’ve always had an affinity for scarecrows. Their whimsical appearance always give me a smile when I see them, from their silly and often-lopsided grins, wispy straw “hair” to the cute costumes with the stuffing poking out their dresses or britches. But scarecrows aren’t scary –that’s a misnomer. If they’re supposed to scare the crows away, I don’t see it … even when they resemble a crow themselves.
The best of the bunch, (in my humble opinion of course), are below.
So … if you’ve scrolled down this far, it’s time to celebrate harvest time in the ‘hood. This homeowner always creates a display featuring his handmade scarecrow surrounded by lots of harvest time goodies. It was the first stop I made.
For the homeowners who piled huge pumpkins atop straw bales …
… I am sure most weren’t fit to use for carving fancy-schmancy jack-o’- lanterns …
… or making pumpkin pie, as the Fall heat wave would have surely pureed the guts of those gourds.
Folks may enjoy their turkey and trimmings today, but will be sure to save room for a slice (or two) of pumpkin pie. It seems this mischievous munchkin also loves pumpkin … behold the chunks he has chomped in this pumpkin.
He was gnawing at it when I happened by. “Oh good – this will be a cute picture” I thought. But he took his pumpkin chunk “to go” running lickety-split up the nearest tree. I said “you can come back down dear – it’s not MY pumpkin!” But he taunted me and stayed up top – who could resist taking a photo of this angelic-looking face?
Whether you’re a nibbler like our little buddy here, or you gobble ‘til you wobble, enjoy the day. Click here for a special Thanksgiving greeting.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Lots of great holiday characters Linda,but the best you saved for last! I bet he’d like a peanut Turkey!
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Thanks Wayne and I agree with you – what a sweet little face chomping on his piece of pumpkin that he gnawed off. The morning sun, (which sometimes was a pain when taking these pictures due to the shadows), filtered through the trees and gave a little glow to his face. I’m sure he would like a peanut turkey. The squirrels are all getting so fat … just the last two or three weeks. They get an extra layer of fat and heavier fur from Mother Nature and their gait is more of a waddle than their usual scamper these days.
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Just thinking about them waddling about makes me smile! They have a contest for the fattest bear! So they should have one for squirrels too!
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Yes – they are very plump – you just gave me an idea for a post Wayne. I’ll fat shame them a little for a WW post. 🙂
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Those photos were both fun and beautiful. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Thank you Anne – glad they gave you a smile today. Happy Thanksgiving back at you!
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Happy Thanksgiving
, Linda.
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Thank you Kim – same to you!
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What a delightful collection of scarecrows you have gathered for our enjoyment. A happy Thanksgiving to you.
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Thank you Anne – glad you liked them. I do like their cheery faces and people have them in their front yards with harvest decor until Thanksgiving. Thank you for the well wishes too.
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Our neighborhood (with mostly older people) does not decorate much for Halloween. Maybe the occasional pumpkin and a fall wreath on the door. I didn’t do anything because of the renovation. Lovely scare crows. I used one at my old house.
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We have some people in nearby neighborhoods who tear down the Halloween decorations and immediately put up Thanksgiving decorations, mostly the inflatable turkeys or Peanuts characters dressed as pilgrims. The inflatables don’t photograph too well as the background sometimes makes the photo too busy. Some homeowners really go all out – these were the cutest scarecrows of the 2021 crowd.
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Happy Thanksgiving, Linda!
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Same to you Pam – last year I remember your post said you did not all gather for the holiday. I hope with vaccines and boosters, it was a more normal Thanksgiving.
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MUCH more normal, Linda. How about for you?♥️
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That’s good Pam – you and your family need some normalcy after this past 19 months. Quiet for me – it was a good day to be indoors after a totally rainy day.
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Quiet’s okay too, Linda, but if you lived closer I’d invite you to my house for dinner. ♥️
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Aw, that is very nice of you to say that Pam. It can be too quiet sometimes. ♥️
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Especially if you work at home.
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Yes, very true Pam. Thank goodness for walks at the Park. I don’t always speak with my boss daily, more on an e-mail basis.
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That’s tough, Linda. We are all suffering a bit for lack of contact with other people. ♥️
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This is true Pam – I hope this new COVID strain does not send us back to square one.
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It’s very scary – again!
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Yes it is Pam – finally Michigan is down one notch from the worst COVID stats state in the nation. Minnesota has usurped us. It is worrisome and I’ve had both shots and booster.
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Mask 😷 up!!
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Yes, for sure. I don’t leave home without it!
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Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for sharing your Fall Fest photos!
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Thanks Laurie – same to you. I know you enjoyed the feast with loved ones gathered around.
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Happy Thanksgiving, Linda! Great pics, as usual! I love the squirrel’s front paws; to me, they look like hands! I guess it wanted some pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving! 😁😊
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Thanks Tom – glad you liked them. Yes, those little paws looked just like hands, wrapping those little claws around the pumpkin chunk he absconded with. He looked pretty pleased with himself. Happy Thanksgiving to you as well.
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I’m becoming even more fond of squirrels! 😊
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They are so cute sometimes Tom … the antics and the facial expressions make my day! I took some cute pictures yesterday at the Park. Last night we had snow and freezing rain … they are saying to themselves today “oh, the snow is here now – now we eat sporadically!”
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I enjoyed all your photos, Linda! What a cutie that closing squirrel photo is! I hope you’re having a Happy Thanksgiving.
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Thanks Rebecca – that was my favorite photo of the bunch too. The sun was filtering through the trees and lit up his face – he was clearly enjoying that piece of pumpkin. We had an all-day rain unfortunately so no walk for me today and quiet otherwise. Happy Thanksgiving to you as well.
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Wow your neighborhood really goes in for decorating. Loved the card too. Happy Thanksgiving Linda – enjoy your weekend off!
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Yes they do and a block over, they took down the Halloween decorations and put up Thanksgiving decorations, mostly the inflatables, a few Peanuts characters dressed like pilgrims. Glad you liked the card too. It was pretty – yesterday’s card was funny and I couldn’t resist using it to go with that big turkey. Thank you Joni. I was productive today, doing some decluttering from Winter provisions, etc., now the rest of the time for relaxing.
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Nobody puts up pilgrims here, but I know Americans love their Thanksgiving! It’s more low key here. Did I miss yesterdays card with the big turkey? Glad to hear you had a productive day. I spent the day trying to fix my computer problems (finally did with some tech phone help to reinstall a program) and dealing with Cogeco again – they have to come back to fix the tv problem with the pixels breaking up (on all channels except CNN where I am currently watching all six of the Stanley Tucci show I just blogged about. It must be Thanksgiving fill-in shows, as there is no news on Thanksgiving! The earliest date they can come back to this time replace the box is Monday….grrr
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It was not the usual Jacquie Lawson card – handprint turkeys were dancing. I am behind in Reader again, but because I did three posts this week and didn’t get here until later tonight. Will try to catch up tomorrow. I am going to go read now. In decluttering, I found the books I bought in September at Meijer; I had treated myself for all the issues and errands this year brought. I will finish this Sisters story by Danielle Steel, then read Nicholas Sparks “The Return” maybe over Christmas. I like his books. In 2019, I read a book for each long holiday – I have to be more diligent about reading.
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I have the latest John Grisham, but it’s not very good and i’m having a hard time getting into it. He’s usually pretty good. I have no post ready for next week, so will have to think on that – it gets harder the closer to Christmas, as I’ve already done so many Christmas theme ones, and really what is there left to say about Christmas.
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One of the books I got in September was “A Time for Mercy” by John Grisham … hopefully that’s not the one you’re reading. It is a paperback. I haven’t read him for years … the original bestseller probably. Long time ago. It is not going to be nice weather … more leaves to do as next week is the last day for yard waste – so have to do it today due to snow tomorrow … not one leaf I have raked is from my tree … it is an ornamental, not even red yet and not dropped leaves. Do a post on old toys, dolls.
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I did a post on old toys/dolls back in 2018 I think. Snow on the way. I enjoyed A Time for Mercy, but it sort of trailed off at the end, as his books often do. I’m reading his latest, The Judge’s List, but it is slow going,and not very suspenseful and I’m half way through. He does not write well as a female protagonist. It must be cold raking – I could hardly walk yesterday, too much of a temperature change.
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Well, so much for that and you can’t do holiday baking. Are there any holiday displays to go to where there are no crowds – how about a tour of holiday lights in the neighborhood. Are they blogworthy? I won’t look forward to reading that Grisham book then. I am looking forward to the Nicholas Sparks Book (“The Return”), which I guess will be Christmastime now. I’m behind in Reader, but I have some comments to do first. I have over 100 SPAMs again – it started morphing into larger numbers a few days ago. I took the car for a little drive as we have the snow today/tomorrow/Monday night and it was brutally cold this morning – just 22 when I left. It was cold at the Park and there was no sun. Got home about 11:30, put the car in the garage and started raking – did not rake one strip before it started snowing – hard. Miserable out. Snow was sticking last I looked, but not on cement, just grass. I hope it stays that way, though it will be 48 later in the week, so it will melt. Lots of accidents around here though.
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I might just take a blogging break around Christmas, not too many people reading then anyway, same with Thanksgiving weekend. I have an idea for next week and another one on book reviews. We have a Celebration of Lights but I’m not driving to it, and I don’t have much luck with nighttime pictures anyway. Tonight was a scaled down version of the local Santa Clause parade but I’ve blogged about that before, and it started snowing around suppertime. We have a couple of inches now. I hope it melts soon and you can get your leaves raked. I like not having to go anywhere or drive in this!
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It would be a perfect time to take a blogging break if you’re out of fresh ideas. I have often said that I would run out of things to write about if not for walking and taking pictures. I’ve only taken pictures at night once and that was years ago of Tivoli Gardens on a trip from our hotel room. It was Midsummer Eve and it was a carnival-like atmosphere and all lit up. I would not go to anything right now due to COVID (and now this latest COVID variant which I heard there are two Canadians have it, just returned from a trip). Scary. We have had a live nativity scene in a local church – it is at night, two weekend nights in a row. I always thought I’d go to see it, but not now during a crowd, nor at night. I have seen it on the church’s FB page – they have videos. I thought it might make a nice post, but having not taken night-time pics, plus not wanting to go out in the dark (our crime is bad), not a good idea. We not only had snow (three inches at least) but freezing rain, so I did not walk at all and spent a half-day sorting through pictures taken in November … three long posts, two short posts and I don’t want to sort through pictures for a long time. I now can’t see the backyard leaves and no chance before the end of yard waste. One year, many years ago, they never picked up leaves after the third week of November. You could take them to the dump, but I wasn’t going to put dirty bags of leaves in the car, so had to put them in the backyard and a tarp over them – scared to death if something crawled under there and died over the Winter when I uncovered it in the Spring.
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Well there won’t be any blog for this week as I’m having computer problems again tonight. The Cogeo guy was back today and fixed the tv problem by switching out the box. He checked the internet and modem, so it must be my computer. I don’t want to take it in to the shop this week as it is a long drive and more snow is on the way. We might have had a couple of inches but no freezing rain. I spent today getting quotes on new tires, which I should have done earlier. I think the new variant is already in most other countries in small quantities as they think it’s been in South Africa since October. I am limiting my outings to essential errands and appointments. Mom has a third booster booked in december but there are no plans on offering it to anyone under 70 so far, as they are also trying to do the 5-11 year olds.
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Well that’s great your mom has her booster scheduled; hopefully due to the new variant, they will try to schedule everyone as soon as possible. They have lowered the age for boosters. Michigan is no longer the #1 state for COVID stats – Minnesota has that title, but we are #2. Now we are #1 on the news for school shootings – that school shooting today is in a neighboring county about 50 miles away from me. As for your computer, Best Buy here has the Geek Squad and you can have them remote into your computer and they can try and do a fix to avoid having to go to a computer store. I know you have Best Buy there, but there are other computer services so that is an option. I don’t blame you not wanting to commit to anything during a potentially snowy week – I am the same way. Our snowfall of 4 inches did not materialize, but we got about 2 inches, most which has melted on cement/sidewalks, so I can walk again tomorrow. It might be slippery on the path like yesterday though – that’s how it was yesterday. The older I am, the less I like Winter.
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I think the local health unit is concentrating on doing the 5-11 year olds in schools now – they don’t seem to be able to mult-task, and now they don’t have the arenas to use for mass immunization sites because hockey is back on! Personally I think they are just trying to pass it on to the pharmacies. I don’t expect it to open up to lower ages until Jan/Feb. That’s a good idea to remote in from Geeks. I have an appointment scheduled with the library tech person next week, so hopefully she can help me out, and it’s free. The school shooting is tragic, but it all goes back to gun control – if the dad hadn’t bought a gun 4 days earlier those kids would be alive….
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They are really pushing for boosters now and free COVID tests for home now with your health insurance. This morning there was one case in the U.S. – now three cases. So many things to worry about. That’s better if you can have it done for free – the Geek/remoting in option is good to avoid taking it into the shop. On our computers are work, we have a “share type of team site” with the computer guy and he uses that to remote in so he takes hold of the computer to fix it. There may be charges against the parents for negligence – some stories online seem to suggest that the father bought the gun for his son. He had posts on social media to show his new gun. They will decide by tomorrow if they are charged or not. We had many schools close down today due to copycat people calling in threats – the FBI was brought into track down those people. I’ve been watching the press conferences since Tuesday (they are available on the news channel) and reading on it – it has been interesting watching/hearing things unfold.
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I thought I had replied to this, but yes it has been interesting. Glad they caught the parents/fugitives, but the whole situation has been very bizarre, and scary for the people in that area.
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I had made some plans to go to Heritage Park yesterday. I’m about 50 miles from where this incident took place and the police said they had withdrawn $4,000.00 from an ATM near their home, while their attorneys (they each have separate counsel) said they weren’t nearby. I said to myself “do I have to worry they are in my neck of the woods?” They were found in that building which was just a few blocks away from our office. There are many schools still slated to be closed tomorrow and maybe Tuesday due to the copycats … that’s very sad too. The whole incident is bizarre and sad and I’ve followed it closely since day one. It will be a very emotionally charged trials I would think, even if time passes. Someone fainted during a Friday night vigil, there were screams and the crowd panicked. The Sheriff and the County Executive had to call for calm as people began to exit quickly causing commotion – you don’t even hear anymore about the concert where the people were killed/trampled – too many big stories just fading away as bigger, more horrific stories usurp them.
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Love your scarecrow pics! They couldn’t even scare off a tiny kitten. Lol
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I know – they sure were sweet!
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What a great post Linda! Mind you, scare crows are a bit creepy 😉 — I’ve got a great one for you next week. My working title is “It’s all Linda’s fault” — Now I need to mess with that Fairy Door and super glue and all things attached … Have a lovely weekend!
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I will look forward to seeing the post and will you get the gnomes finished for Gnomevember?
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I got a bit mad … I really looked into it but making gnomes yourself turns out to be a prizy project. Plus, maybe Gnomevember is cutting it a bit tight. A project deserves some time 🙂 However, I have a few Lego Gnomes that we picked up on the flea markets this year. Not all lost just yet but def. a work in progress!
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Yes, they make it look so easy to do, but that is the plants, which aren’t expensive … the cute stuff, which essentially make the faerie garden costs an arm and a leg. The Lego Gnomes sounds fun too – hope you do a post on them.
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Great, great pics. I felt part of it all.
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Thank you Barbara – it was a gorgeous day, one of those days it just feels good to be outside enjoying the sunshine and mild temps, especially since you know Winter is on the way. I hated to come inside to go to work as I was enjoying myself so much. We had our first snowfall last night, complete with freezing rain and more snow tonight and tomorrow night too – at least it will be 50 degrees later in the week, so the ice and snow will be gone then for sure.
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Not sure how I missed commenting on this post! Love the Happy Harvest sign and the scarecrows. You have some very creative people in your area! The squirrel was adorable. 😊 Thank you for the beautiful e-card! I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving, Linda. 🦃🦃🦃
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I don’t usually post on Thursdays is probably why, but for special holidays I bend my rules. I wonder how I did three posts a week before this year. This morning we had freezing rain in the early a.m. and several inches of snow so I sorted through a ton of photos to make three long posts and two Wordless Wednesday posts down the road. I really like the harvest time decor in the area – the Christmas decor never seems to be as elaborate and nowadays more people are going for the inflatables or laser lights and that means the inflatables are usually collapsed and the lights turned off when I walk. Glad you liked the e-card too. I thought it adds a special touch to the holiday greeting. My Thanksgiving was quiet but nice – how about yours Barbara?
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Ours was quiet, too, with my sister and brother-in-law. We had take-out turkey dinner for the guys, clam chowder for my sister who dislikes turkey, and my gut-friendly chicken slow-cooker meal. Then we watched a movie, took a walk through a shopping village to see some holiday lights and came back home and did 2 jigsaw puzzles. We had snow flurries yesterday, just the right amount of snow. 😉 In my humble opinion, I think those inflatable Christmas decorations are pretty tacky. But I love all the new things they’re doing with lights these days!
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I enjoy chicken in the crockpot too Barbara – I made that and with green beans, mushroom soup, along with other vegetables and Durkee onion rings on top, I could imagine it was a big turkey feast. It doesn’t seem all that different to me as we were always a small family. I like a little snow for ambiance too … however, our snow Saturday morphed into freezing rain. The streets were clear today, so I’m sorry we’re getting three or more inches of snow tonight. I’m not a fan of the inflatables either. I like the traditional decorations much more and the light features are wonderful. Today on the news they said to get your fresh trees as soon as possible as they will be difficult to find and are going at $10.00 a foot – we had a real tree when I was young, but not after that, so I’m not sure what they usually cost. I hope you get yours from the tree farm without a hitch!
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Your crockpot chicken dinner sounds perfect for Thanksgiving, although I can’t have most of those dearly missed additions to it with my gut problem. 😦 But I’m making do with chicken, peeled potatoes and peeled carrots, with a few herbs.
Ugh! Freezing rain has got to be the worst precipitation winter has to offer. Sorry you’ve already had some. Not looking forward to that.
We did get our tree without a hitch, the day after Thanksgiving. It was raining but there were still lots of people there. 🙂
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I do like the crockpot Barbara. I follow a blog where there is a different recipe every day, most are simple to put together. Diane had a lot of crockpot dinners and that convinced me to buy my first one last year. I’m sorry you can’t have the other items … that does limit your meals unfortunately. Whatever kind of precip we got last night had to be some rain as that snow was heavy this morning. I thought it was fluffy and would just take a few minutes – it was not, but it was not slippery this morning thankfully. Glad to hear you got your tree – one less errand to do to need to mix and mingle with others after Thanksgiving holiday get-togethers. You got the rain we had on Thanksgiving.
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Beautiful pictures, I love all the colors! Don’t you just love the Jacquie Lawson cards? That was nice to put on your post with even more colors.
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Thanks Diane – lots of people decorate around here for Fall/harvest … more so than Christmas decorations. (Nicer weather when you decorate maybe?)
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My favorite is the first scarecrow with the hat and suspenders, hands in his pockets. Quite the friendly-looking fellow. And points to whoever decided a sunflower could make for a decent scarecrow face. That brought a smile too.
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I found quite a few cuties in the neighborhood this Fall Dave. I even left a few off since I wanted to include the mischievous munchkin and pumpkin shots. There’s quite a variety and I love the sunflower face one as well – sunflowers bring a smile anyway. There’s a fundraising event at Heritage Park called “The Scarecrow Stroll” and people buy a wooden frame from the Conservatory and decorate it like a scarecrow. Then they put them around the park and people vote on them. They have characters, like the Headless Horseman, wandering around the grounds. I wanted to go, but was reluctant because Michigan’s COVID stats have been so high – we are back to being #1 in the nation again. Hopefully next year things are better. It would be a fun post.
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