We'll close out the week with this Deadhead I ran into along the banks of the Thames last month on my trip to Europe. London, UK; September, 2009.

As we continue our All Hallow's Eve week here at the Grind we thought we'd--OMG!!!!! Someone put a knife through my granddaughter's brain!!!!!!!!!!! Portland, Oregon; July, 2009.

Finally, let's throw in some creepy-crawlies. (There are more of them in this photo than at first meets the eye. Click on the thumbnail to count. I found 8.). Ashland, Oregon; October, 2006.

And you have to have pumpkins, right? Like these carved for a contest by the residents of the place where I work. Redmond, Oregon; October, 2008.

It's All Hallow's Eve week here at the Grind. And of course one starts any decent Halloween celebration with cobwebs, right? It looks like these French spiders have the right idea. (click on the thumbnail to count the plethora of webs). Canal du Nivernais, Burgundy region of France; September, 2009.

For 10 minutes at the top of each hour nightly, a plethora of twinkly lights are lit on the Eiffel Tower. Waiting when it's a tad cool can be a trial. Luckily, there was little wind this night, so the reflection was pretty decent. (click on the thumbnail for much more detail) Paris, France; September, 2009.

Dusk along the Yonne River. While I actually took this shot, I posted it to a photo web site a few days ago and someone took it into an HDR program to 'enhance' it and then sent it back to me. This is their final product, which I do like. Vincelles, France; September, 2009.

One of my faves: Todd Snider at the Sisters Folk Festival. Sisters, Oregon; September, 2009.

Fall foliage along the Yonne River. (Better color if you click on the thumbnail) Burgundy region of France; September, 2009.

Since I live in a small, rural town in the US, I was a little surprised to see this outdoor restaurant scene. Of course, major metropolitan communities--especially in Europe--all likely have large populations of people from the Middle East, I hadn't actually come across something like this before. I think it was the hookas that caused the surprise more than anything. My initial thought process was all jumbled up with visions of Alice in Wonderland and my own 70s counter-culture roots (Somebody cue the Jefferson Airplane). But it did click after a while. Camden town, London, UK; September, 2009.

The centuries-old Catholic church with it's beautiful shadows, columns, and pipe organ. Châtel-Censoir, France, September, 2009

A ferris wheel at the base of some big pointy thing. Paris, France; September, 2009.

Another participant in the Mayor's Festival parade along the Thames River stands on a float under a representation of Jesus. (Click on the thumbnail to get a better look at those clothes she's almost wearing). London, UK; September, 2009.

Yours truly holding our rented boat Saintes tight against the lock wall on a feeder leg of the Canal du Nivernais. (click the thumbnail to notice I'm actually holding both the front and rear lines around the bollard) Near Vermenton, France; September, 2009.

The very first rays of the morning sun hit Mt. Bachelor (center) and Broken Top (right). Taken from LaPine, Oregon; October, 2009.

It's gothic abbey of St. Germaine stands guard over the ancient city of Auxerre, France. Auxerre was a flourishing Gallo-British centre, Antissiodorum through which passed one of the main roads of the area, the Via Agrippa (1st century AD) which crossed the Yonne River (Gallo-Roman Icauna) here. In the third century it became the seat of a bishop and a provincial capital of the Roman Empire. In the 5th century it received a Cathedral. In the late 11th-early 12th century the existing communities were included inside a new line of walls built by the feudal Counts of Auxerre.

Bourgeois activities accompanied the traditional land and wine cultivations starting from the twelfth century, and Auxerre developed into a commune with a Town Hall of its own. The Burgundian city, which became part of France under King Louis XI, suffered during the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion. In 1567 it was captured by the Huguenots, and many of the Catholic edifices were damaged. The medieval ramparts were demolished in the 18th century.

In the 19th century numerous heavy infrastructures were built, including a railway station, a psychiatric hospital and the courts, and new quarters were developed on the right bank of the Yonne.

In 1995 it was named "Town of Art and History".

I captured this shot when I was there in September, 2009.

There she is: Cleopatra. Well, at least there are the outer wrappings of her mummy. What's left of her is actually inside all that. British Museum, London, UK; September, 2009.

Just a little farm house: Actually, this is the Chateau de Faulin near Lucy-sur Yonne, along the Canal du Nivernais in the Burgundy region of France; September, 2009.

A stain glass window in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey. A sign out front states "(t)he building, consecrated in 1523, is the third on the site. Since 1614, St. Margaret's has been the church of the House of Commons. Windows commemorate Caxton and Milton, who worshipped here, and Raleigh, who is buried in front of the alter, under the glorious window made for King Henry VII and Catherine of Aragon in c1520...." (click thumbnail for more detail) London, UK; September, 2009.

A quiet moment in Chartres, France; September, 2009.

While walking in London, we came across this young woman creating huge soap bubbles, usually oblong. But there were a few that were more round. I was fortunate enough to capture this one, which was over a foot in diameter. (clicking on the thumbnail will give a better view) London, UK; September, 2009.

A very small section of ceiling in one of the wings of the Louvre. (Click on the thumbnail for MUCH more detail). We think of all the art that is inside the Louvre, but I never personally understood how the inside of the building itself is also a work of art in many places. More on that over the next several weeks. I mean on the one hand, you could understand its anger when the public got a view of this place after the revolution; on the other hand, they were aware enough to preserve a lot of it and make the whole thing into an art museum. Amazing. Paris, France; September, 2009.