A White Halloween in Hyde Park

We had some snow today! In October!

There was a light amount falling in the AM, but it just kept going througout the day. Downtown, at times, it looked like an absolute snowstorm. I had no idea it would continue all day, and even less of an idea that there would be any kind of accumulation at all!

Walking home, the trees were all covered.

Our tree, Tippi, looking incredibly unusual with all her leaves and branches weighed down with snow. In my head, it felt like seeing Mr. T. walk out of the shower – “Wait, what’s wrong with your hair?”

With the cold, we definitely saw fewer kids this year for Halloween. Given some of the issues Hyde Park had last year with teenagers (a lot of kids gather along 53rd, and then get moved along towards the end of the night en masse)… several streets organized to keep their lights on and stay out/present until 10:00 PM.

Liz and I were down for this, but definitely hadn’t planned for the cold. Luckily for us though, our neighbors are awesome! Several different houses prepared all sorts of fantastic things, and shared a lot with one another.

We got glasses of chai, glasses of hot cider, there was chili available, and we also got cookies! And at one point, my neighbor Mark came over with a bottle of scotch (and some plastic shot glasses in his pocket).

While Liz and I didn’t mingle and move out beyond out front porch, we were fortunate enough to have several folks stop by to visit us. Towards the end of the night, our neighbors Mark and Anna hung out with us on our porch (they had run out of candy, and brought over a big Igloo of hot cider and cookies).

Despite the cold (I eventually broke down and put on my winter jacket), it was a really fun time. There was a great sense of camraderie, with all the various neighbors out and about. I’d like to think that if it were warmer, more of us would have been out and chatting.

A Halloween chocolate chip cookie.

It ended up being quite a long night, with us calling it sometime after 9:00 PM. By this time, we hadn’t seen any kids for about 20-30 minutes, and decided it was time to pack up.

We continue to feel very lucky to have found this street, and to have moved here, alongside all these great folks. While it was a limited bit of interaction tonight, it made me think how fun it might be to have an actual block party (when the weather is more cooperative).

Related:
Halloween in Hyde Park
Putting Tippi in the Ground
Halloween in Hyde Park (2015)