We Saw a Chicken …

SuperLanterns Last All Summer Long

a carved neep Halloween lantern sitting on a rotting stained wood surface with greenery behind it. It is very deeply rotted/dried, and it has almost completely caved in. It looks almost skull-like

Written by

scruss

in

I’m Scottish. For Halloween, it’s traditional to make lanterns out of turnips. How this was done before power tools, I’ll never know.

In 2015, I decided to make a traditional neep (that’s Scots for swede/rutabaga/turnip/tumshie) lantern. Yes, I used a holesaw, and turnip goo went everywhere.

a glowing neep lantern in the dark. Round eye holes, smiling mouth and a gap at the top emit yellow candle light. Be glad you can't smell this.
Neep Lantern —Age: 0 days

It looked pretty good on the day:

a neep lantern in the light. It has round eye holes, smiling mouth and a gap at the top. The outer skin has been pared off at the front
Neep Lantern — Age: 1 day (Halloween)

Unlike pumpkins, turnips last. I left it out in the front garden.

the same neep lantern, except it's been outside for over a month. The eyes are no longer round and the surface is puckered, turning the smile into a cynical leer
Neep Lantern — Age: 43 days

It went very wizened:

a Halloween lantern that has been carved out of a neep (= rutabaga/swede/tumshie/turnip) but left outside over winter. The surface is extremely wizened, and has sunk into itself. Remnants of the outer skin cling onto the back on the vegetable. It is extremely unpleasant.
Neep Lantern — Age: 124 days

It disappeared towards the end of May 2016. This was the last time I saw it:

a carved neep Halloween lantern sitting on a rotting stained wood surface with greenery behind it. It is very deeply rotted/dried, and it has almost completely caved in. It looks almost skull-like
Neep Lantern — Age: 203 days

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