August was Mickey Mouse for Halloween (courtesy Robbi Behr, proven master of last-minute construction paper costumes).

Kato was “Fireman,” a “costume” he put together by slipping into his fireman-themed raincoat, which he has had for several years (because he refuses to grow). That was it: No careful cutting and taping, no effort, no fuss. This kid doesn’t mess around with such discouraging details.

Alden, on the other hand, was “Owl with Pink Feathers,” a costume she created entirely on her own, over weeks and dozens of hours of careful cutting and taping of individual feathers.

Halloween started a little early, as the various students of Garnett Elementary gathered for a parade in the schoolyard. Here is Alden with her wonderful first grade teacher, Mrs. Hopkins. Alden loves Mrs. Hopkins so much that she occasionally gets tearful on Friday afternoons due to the fact that she will she will have to wait two whole days to go back to school. She requested this picture be taken so that she could “remember” Mrs. Hopkins over the eternity of the weekend.

Halloween night was magical this year. Though the evening was cool, the tall ships were gathered along the Chestertown waterfront for the annual Downrigging festival, the time of year when the old boats take down their sails as they prepare for winter dormancy.

The moon was high, the water was calm, and Robbi’s fancy new camera was able to capture it all.

Including this odd juxtaposition of colonial ships, a homemade owl, a self-confident ice princess, a bashful fireman, a cold and befuddled Mickey, and a plain old dad.

Our last stop of the night was the home of the kids’ beloved teacher Holli, who was generous with the treats. Note that Kato’s yawn is no comment on the relative excitement of Holli’s porch. It was, as porches go, downright thrilling.

We various grownups celebrated the Halloween weekend by opening our doors to the Downrigging public, sharing our books and letterpress stuff to anyone who wanted to spend a few minutes out of the wind.

Upstairs was an entirely different scene. As parents browsed below, our living room became a kind of catch-all for the younger generation. At one point, mid-afternoon, there were 12 children from six different families in my charge. In the midst of this refugee crisis, one of them decided he was hungry. Moments later, all of them joined in, chanting collectively for sustenance. I opened every box of macaroni in the house and made a heaping cauldron of the stuff. Not long later, peace returned. Approximate peace. We’re still in the process of cleaning up the living room.

At various moments throughout the weekend, we went outside. Fall is upon us in force. Cool days. Falling leaves. The sense of transition in the air.

I love this shot of my dog and my boy.

And this one of my dog and my girl.

And this one of my other boy, who somehow managed to elude the dog (and who seems to have recovered from the haunting boredom of Holli’s porch).

Sunday afternoon was busy in the upper studio. Tons of folks came in to shop our books, and collectively, they pretty much wiped out our inventory. Throughout the weekend, we sold between 150-200 books, which felt pretty good.

Downstairs, Jodi was selling cards so quickly she couldn’t keep them on the shelves.

We were completely overwhelmed by (and unprepared for) the interest in our Haywire stuff, and now we are scrambling to build up our inventory in advance of the web launch, (which will happen within the week, we believe).

All in all, it was a very good weekend. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by to check out our stuff, who gave candy to our costumed children, and who happened to cheer for our homespun owl as she flapped her way down High Street in the Halloween parade on Sunday afternoon.