Fairhope, Alabama, USA

Witches, along with ghouls and goblins, will dominate both earth and sky tonight. Some may even show up at your front door. Please don't pretend you are not at home! If you do, you might get a trick. It's far easier to ward off such evil by doling out treats. [2005]

Ortanna, Pennsylvania, USA

Here's a mailbox that must cheer up the letter carrier. Not! Still, fashioning a coffin into a mail receptacle is a unique idea and especially appreciated around Halloween. Do you think the property owner may add some ghouls and goblins to celebrate the beginning of the low-sun season? [2021]

Johns Island, South Carolina, USA

Every residence needs a house guardian, especially this time of year. Ghouls and goblins will soon be pounding the streets, perhaps intent on mischief. Surely the alligator who lives in the swamp grass near this home's mailbox will be able to ward off unwelcome visitors. [2012]

Ronceverte, West Virginia, USA

Beautiful begonia! But, what's overhead? A former bridge that has had its pavement removed. That's good for the begonia, which now gets more light and does a better job of inspiring pride in the community (along with the flag, of course). [2021]

Springfield, Massachusetts, USA

The muses abhor empty spaces. As a result, visual art often takes over the outside surfaces of electric boxes. Think of them as mini-murals. "Small changes in your kid's eating habits can make a big difference": a worthy message and nicely designed. [2022]

Newport, Rhode Island, USA

 

It's time to repent! Churches, especially those with steeples, are among the buildings most frequently adorned with clocks. Trinity Episcopal Church may have begun life with a bell tower to mark the time, but the rector later added a clock: a bell for all to hear and a clock for all to see. Don't be late for worship. [2008]

Marion, North Carolina, USA

It's time to buy! Clocks are frequently seen outside jewelry stores. Why? (1) It attracts attention on the street. (2) It communicates accuracy and symbolizes trust. (3) It carries a "don't delay, buy now" message. (4) It is a reminder that the best fully jeweled watches are available inside. [2011]

St. George, Utah, USA

It's time to save! Please put some of your earnings in a savings account so your local bank has some money to lend (and make money on). To say thank you, many banks perch a clock outside as a public service. That was especially important before the era of inexpensive wrist watches, which essentially privatized times. [2009]

Campbelltown, Pennsylvania, USA

There goes the natural history of a forest somewhere in the Lebanon Valley of Pennsylvania. Don't you wish you could read those tree rings? That's another way of saying: Don't you wish you were a dendrochronologist? Geographers honor their work since they make it possible to understand the history of climate change. [2019]

Navarre, Florida, USA

The first snows of the season fell on the "lower 48" this past week. Most squalls delivered not quite enough to build a snowman. Oh, well. Snowmen can be made of material other than snow, at least ersatz snowmen. Snowmen? Didn't you get the gender-neutral memo? We now call them snow people! [2017]

Harborton, Virginia, USA

Harborton is one of the most picturesque towns on Virginia's Eastern Shore. It has retained a post office (and, therefore, an identity) of its own. It also seems to be proud of its postal history. To see more of Harborton's postal identity, check out Geographically Yours Welcome today. The entire month is devoted to postmarks and post offices of Accomack County. [1992]

Aleppo, Syria

You find yourself in a Near Eastern bazaar and see something like this for sale. Of what value are they? As the fibrous roots of what has become known as the toothbrush tree, they are the best you can buy for brushing your teeth. Miswak dates back to the pre-Islamic past, but the fact that the prophet Muhammad used it regularly assured its continued use. [2001]

Cruz Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

A case of asymmetric aesthetics: Home builders have crept up the slope to gain oversight of the harbor. Their views have improved. Boat owners have anchored in a harbor ringed by lush, forest-covered slopes. Their views have deteriorated as trees succumb to houses. Fast forward to see how many more houses degrade the viewshed from the water. [2014]

Cape Eleuthera, The Bahamas

A school on the island of Eleuthera is trying to lead the Bahamas into energy independence by demonstrating the power of solar energy and wind power. See the wind turbine towering above the building? [2014]

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Let's give credit where credit is due: Kaoshiung has not buried its life-giving stream (so important to its history) in a culvert underground. That is what so many cities around the world have done with their water resources: put them out of sight where they can't be appreciated for their scenic and ecological values. [2011]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

A water fountain, one installed to serve thirsty neighbors, reduces the scale of a city. It can transform a city neighborhood into a rural village. As urbanization has increased, water, like many other goods and services, has become privatized (delivered to individual homes) rather than available to the public at large from a community source. [2018]

Istanbul, Turkey

Roasted chestnuts and roastin' ears: Both are for sale on the busy streets of Istanbul. Chestnuts have been a part of Mediterranean culture for hundreds of years, but roastin' ears ("corn on the cob" to most) are a contribution of the Americas, the birthplace of maize. The lesson: Indigenous culture and immigrant culture can complement each other. [2014]

Tel Aviv, Israel

History and culture can be on vivid display in a city's street signs. History: Eliezer Ben-Yehuda has a special place in the history of Israel because he developed the modern Hebrew language. Culture: Three languages + three alphabets = one street sign design. [2010]

Toulouse, France

History and culture can be on vivid display in a city's street signs. History: Toulouse may be French speaking (place) today, but in the past it spoke the langue d'oc (plaça). Culture: The region of France south of the Loire River still thinks of itself as culturally distinct from the Paris Basin and uses its ancient language to maintain an identity as Occitania. [2005]

Brussels, Belgium

History and culture can be on vivid display in a city's street signs. History: The "ancient" names are on display. Culture: Belgium's two largest cultural-linguistic communities are given equal time: French (rue) is first because Brussels in predominantly French-speaking; Flemish (or Dutch) follows (straat). This is the street of worms. [2015]

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Most people could not name, let along locate, Bulgaria's second largest city, but this directional signpost makes it look like Plovdiv is at the center of everything. It casts a spell of importance over the city's central square. Okayama, Japan, is only 8300 km away and Petra, Jordan, is only 549 km. [2010]

Columbus, Ohio, USA

"Today, we also acknowledge the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities. . . we do not seek to bury these shameful episodes of our past — we face them honestly, we bring them to the light, and we do all we can to address them." President Biden, 2021. [2017]

Bastrop, Texas, USA

A phenomenon of the 21st century is the tiny house movement. As if tiny houses were anything new! Tiny houses have always been with us. In some parts of the world, they took the form of tiny apartments. Are you enough of a minimalist to enjoy living in a house this size? [2015]

Freeze, Idaho, USA

It's always noteworthy when the outbuilding is bigger than the barn. Both look like they are of similar age. If fact, both look like they have prolonged their existence beyond their useful lifetimes. Their destiny is simply to succumb to the elements. [2019]

Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA

Outdoor dining, weather permitting, may be the urban equivalent of having a picnic in a bucolic woods. Does that make these parasols (call them umbrellas if you want) equivalent to a tree canopy? [2022]

New York, New York, USA

An expectation of every city is to mimic the bucolic pleasures of the countryside. What better place for a morning pick-me-up than by the waterfall! Incorporated into this scene is acoustic art: The sound of gushing water seems to bring peace and solace, even if you are amidst the hubbub of midtown Manhattan. [2021]

Providence, Rhode Island, USA

You can watch as Garfield's cousin gets a spit shine on the streets of Providence. Sometimes, pounding the pavement is as good as going to the theater: performance art everywhere! [2021]

Sturgis, South Dakota, USA

If you live in Pennsylvania, Sturgis means pretzels. If you live in the Dakotas, Sturgis means bike rally. In fact, when most people think of Sturgis in late summer, they picture scenes like this. But, all year, the town authorities do their best to keep the rally juices flowing. With local pride on the hillside, the brand is affirmed. [2019]

Saxis, Virginia, USA

The Eastern Shore of Virginia (ESVA) is often left off Virginia maps, hence the slogan here. Each of the communities shown on this map has a post office of its own, with one exception. This month, Geographically Yours Welcome will feature a complete gallery of Accomack County post offices and postmarks, starting with the county seat. [2007]

Biloxi, Mississippi, USA

Category 4 hurricane Ian just finished battering the Caribbean, Gulf, and Atlantic Coast of Cuba and the U.S. In 2005, its record-breaking predecessor, Katrina, a category 5 hurricane, made landfall in Louisiana but devastated every coastal community in Mississippi, too. In this case it was Biloxi. Photo taken about 6 weeks after impact. [2005]

Boring, Maryland, USA

How would you like to be a Methodist minister with this church on your resume? The Boring United Methodist Church, located in Boring, Maryland. Almost 30 years separate the two signs. Compare them, and the times they represent. What changes do you predict have beset the congregation? [1991 and 2019]