the squibix family blog

Not only did we have a great time with a fine bunch of folks who are obsessed with the same dumb thing we are, Harvey and I both finished first in our age divisions. It wasn't a super-competitive group, but it was still rewarding. Zion, who took down the last two events in the Junior division, was third this time, and his friend was fourth.

Most of the folks there were long-time players—it was especially nice meeting up with a family we had spent some time playing with before the pandemic but hadn't seen since. One junior was new to the scene, though, and besides being the only girl in the room she also wasn't entirely in the know about what makes a good deck. She came in with lots of energy and enthusiasm, but when the final round finished with her fourth straight loss she looked ready to give up on Pokemon entirely. I didn't want that! I had brought a box of spare trainer cards (in the distant hope that we could borrow the missing cards and put together the deck I had hoped to have) so I gave her a bunch of those, and then gave her one of the packs that I got as prizing. Hopefully that makes a difference, and we'll see her again at the next event. Because playing Pokemon is fun!

That's Monadnock, by the way. It could totally be a day trip from our house—it's just about an hour and a half away—but I wanted to be able to climb it in a leisurely fashion, and I wanted time to relax at a campground too. So two nights of tenting, with the climbing day in between. My original thought was to leave after Backyard Farm Club on Monday afternoon, but when I broached the idea Sunday it was too sudden for Zion. He needs more warning than that, reasonably enough. So we went Wednesday afternoon instead, after Park Day. Which means we got a late start, since Park Day is so hard to leave, and then with the steady drizzle I didn't feel great about trying to start a fire for supper so we stopped on the way for McDonalds (and a salad for Harvey at Hannafords) and got later still. Getting the tents up in the rain and rapidly falling dark was a little stressful, but we made it happen and then enjoyed a delightful evening of reading books and (in my case at least) being glad of not having to cook.

Thursday morning dawned bright and clear, and we took our first real look around the campground. It met our approval. We breakfasted on cereal and milk and bagels, then read some more before getting packed up for the main event of the day. All four backpacks were stuffed with lunches, warm clothes, and most especially water bottles, after our very thirsty experience the last time we climbed a mountain (I really should write about that trip!). At least, most of our packs were stuffed with water bottles; when we got to the trailhead Harvey found that he had left his at the campsite. For a minute he though he'd left his shoes too, so we were all set to go back, but then he found them. And I loaded him up with the almost-full gallon jug of water I had planned to leave in the car for our return, and we headed up.

The way up Monadnock is steep and long. And kind of unrelenting, really. Most of the hike is a steady slog up a wide, cobble-y path that feels a lot like a stream-bed. At least there were a few big slabby bits to provide some interest.... plus, as we got higher and higher, glimpses of some amazing views. There was also lots of water, which was delightful on what had turned into a surprisingly hot day.

Towards the top the trees started to thin out, and we really felt how high we were. And the last bit was totally exposed rock, just like a real mountain. There were even a few spots where we needed to use our hands to get up! It felt like a real accomplishment to make it to the top, and it would have been more amazing yet if there hadn't been 30 or 40 people up there already.

Oh well, at least it wasn't a couple hundred like it would have had it been a weekend. We found a spot a little ways from anybody else (and out of the swarms of bugs that for some reason were plaguing much of the summit) and had our lunches. After lunch I read the boys some of the chapter book we're doing together, and we took pictures of fall foliage and red squirrels.

Of course, having gone up we had to go down again. That wasn't easy either. We took a slightly different path, one that was supposed to be a little longer but less steep. It was steep enough, and long enough too. At one point I was sure we had already descended well below our starting point—maybe to the center of the earth. No, it just takes a long time to get down 1,800 vertical feet. Eventually we made it back to the parking lot and the visitor center, where we were delighted with the water fountain and the bottle filler. And with the benches, to be honest; I was entirely ready to sit down.

After we had restored ourselves for a little while we wandered over to the gift shop, where the boys took advantage of my pride in their endurance by buying them souvenirs: an otter for Elijah, a coyote for Zion, and a pocket knife and sticker for Harvey. Plus two gatorades. Then we headed back to the campsite. As hot as we were climbing the boys had been very much looking forward to swimming in the pond when we got back down, but it turned out that after over five hours of exertion (and seven hours away from our tents) we were ready for a rest. Good thing we brought lots of books! And good thing that I had planned a simple dinner, because I didn't have much energy for cooking (and all that I did have was taken up by starting a fire with the wet wood we collected). But never fear, there was enough fire for marshmallows to finish the day.

Even better, we brought some friends along! Despite some nervousness on my part we got there with plenty of time to spare, so the kids had some time to play at the best playground. They're the biggest now, but never mind that, it was still lots of fun. For a little while at least; then we headed over to Mass Ave to stake out a spot and wait for the parade. We were super early, but since nobody had bothered to restrict parking along the street there wasn't actually that much room to sit. Which means that after we found a good spot lots of other people came and stood blocking our view up the street. Boo.

But never mind that, we could see things right in front of us, and there was plenty to see. Bands, of course (though not as many as usual); also dancers, kids on stilts, hula-hoop experts, and activists. A lot of people concerned about rents. Only one group passed out candy, but that was enough for us all to get a piece, and there was also a group passing out hot dogs. Seems good!

After the parade the majority view held that going into Harvard Square for Octoberfest would be too much, so we headed back to the car. Plus there was some strong interest in making some music ourselves! So after I put some lunch together for the gang—muffins and cake at church plus candy and hot dogs at the parade were all just snacks—we grabbed some five-gallon buckets and trash cans and did some serious drumming. Some neighborhood friends joined in too, and then when we were done with drumming one of them went home and got his trumpet so we could do some more melodic music too. It was pretty awesome! Honk is definitely inspiring. I'm glad it's back!

It was a costume party, but a relaxed one where the guests were in no way obligated to keep their costumes on or act in character. Or even have a real costume; one of Harvey's friend just wore a t-shirt reading "404: costume not found". Harvey ordered an awesome feathered mask and wore his cloak from Halloween a few years ago; he said his costume was "someone at a costume party". Elijah was a white ninja with a face-paint scar. Zion's ninja costume was in the wash so he went as himself. It was all fine.

The kids all played outside for a while, first running around and hitting each other with things (enough of them were warriors of some kind as to make it inevitable) and then they sat down around the picnic table and played Mafia. Harvey had planned a water-balloon activity, with candy prizes, but his friend who was going to bring the balloons thought the party was Sunday so he wasn't there (so much for all the delay to make sure everyone could come!). So they just ate the candy. Then there was the taco lunch, with beef, two kinds of beans, and soy crumbles, plus homemade flour tortillas. And lots of chips.

After lunch they all went and played Smash Bros for a while—not my favorite but definitely something 11-15 year olds can get together on (Elijah and his friend played outside some more). Then there was cake—a yellow cake with lemon buttercream frosting was what Harvey asked for, and he liked the fall-hued zinnias I decorated it with—plus ice cream and also apple pie. The kids had eaten a whole bag of peanut-butter cups at that point, along with a fair number of twix bars and smarties, so I have to say they didn't do the real dessert justice... but on the plus side nobody threw up and we've been enjoying the leftovers since.

It was a good party, to be sure. But maybe not enough to make it up for Harvey for being so late. We should have another one!

Of course, the museum property is changed entirely from what we were used to back when the kids were little, to say nothing of what it was in 1982. The original building closed a couple years ago, and while the new one is pretty awesome, it doesn't capture the DIY 1970s (1982 was totally the 70s) amazement of the original. And since then the property has added a big new parking lot with enough solar panels to power the entire operation—super cool!—which required taking down most of the trees that used to make up the Fairyland woods area. The boys felt the sting of the changes even more strongly when they got spoken to for not wearing shoes in the outdoor play area and for being too far away from a parent (I suppose it is mainly a museum for little ones).

Still! Most of the time was fantastic. Despite being big enough to survive without supervision, the boys were entranced by all the exhibits. They loved that they remembered so much about them from a couple years ago, and also they were able to appreciate it all at a little more sophisticated level. We enjoyed playing with prisms, magnets, sand tables, and musical instruments, and we all had to admit that the water room and air tubes in the new museum are easily better than the original. And of course all three boys made pictures on the pendulum table. If we could still get in for a dollar with the SNAP card we'd definitely be going a couple times a year, and if you have younger kids it might even be worth the price of 2022 admission when it comes back next month. It's a great place!

Yes, Leia (or should that be Luke?!) is actually not a hen. As I said to the rest of the family when I knew for sure, "Leia will never lay a single egg." We had ordered sexed chicks, but sexing chickens is not an exact science, I suppose. It's too bad—but not because we don't like roosters! They're lovely, and as I've said before I think that the crowing actually adds a lot to the general ambience of the neighborhood. Most of the time, at least; Leia has been kicking off the morning's crowing at around 5:00, which isn't terrible, but we're into the winter half of the year now... that translates to 3:30 at midsummer, if not earlier!

Well, whether or not we could get used to it—I think we could!—doesn't matter, because the neighbors can't be asked to. Roosters aren't allowed in our part of the world. At least not yet; I can see that changing in 15 or 20 years if interest in backyard farming keeps developing at the pace it has been lately. So we had to find Leia a new home. And being part of the 4H poultry club really helped! One of the member families had lost their own rooster a few months ago, and were thrilled to take Leia off our hands. So with a mix of sadness and relief we packed him up Saturday morning (in a carrier borrowed from another 4H friend!) to bring him to his new home in Newton.

They're not actually allowed to have roosters in Newton either, but this family has done better outreach work with their neighbors, and they're also prepared to use a crow collar on him. Aside from the collar I think he's going to have a great life down there: they're actively wanting to increase their flock naturally, so if all goes well he'll get to see lots of his chicks grow up amongst the bamboo and cherry trees in his new yard. With the stress of potentially angry neighbors hanging over me I would have paid someone to take him; instead we got to give him to grateful friends, and we got a big bag of black walnuts in return! Plus we can even go visit him some day. I wonder if he'll remember us?

It was slightly stressful transitioning from a busy morning at church to getting ready to walk into someone's house and sing for them, but aside from the boys trying to walk briskly holding full cups of hot chocolate ("don't spill on your shirt", I told Harvey; "I did!" he answered) we managed it. And Harvey did great with all aspects of the audition: answering questions about himself, smiling for a photo, and doing his best singing on command. He hadn't had time to prepare anything, but that was fine; they just tested him on pitch-matching, then explored his range by having him sing the first half of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in many many keys (he wondered afterwards why it was that his voice was so shaky; I told him that's what happens in auditions).

As he finished, the show's music director asked what experience Harvey had with singing. When I told him we just do a lot of music at home, he wondered if I sang too. I had to admit that I did, so he suggested that I should audition myself. I tried to demur, saying that this was Harvey's thing, and plus I had the littler boys to think of, but he wasn't having it. "It's a family opera," he told me. "And they can join too!"

So we all three auditioned. Each of us had to do less than the last: I sang plenty, but much faster than Harvey. Elijah volunteered to go before Zion and did fine; just a couple minutes was enough to show off all his strengths and limitations. Zion stood behind a chair and did his best not to take part at all, but he loves singing so much he couldn't resist singing along when it was supposed to be Elijah's turn, and then he was persuaded to give just enough to give a sense of his considerable range. Then of course we all had to get photographed and measured (Harvey told us how it was done).

Zion and Elijah still aren't convinced that they want to be in an opera. In fact, right now they might be convinced that they don't. But we were all so proud and happy Sunday afternoon as we left the auditions, that I hope they change their mind. They're both fantastic singers, and getting to be part of a big production seems like a great opportunity. I told them we'd all go to the organizational meeting and see what it's like; that'll be towards the end of November. Stay tuned!

Gilson Pond campground is a pretty cool place even if you don't leave your site: the hilly terrain means that each site is unique, above or below the road and often with wooden platforms hanging off the slope to make enough room to pitch a tent. And they're well-spaced out too, so there's lots of woody slopes to play in between sites. Which we did! (the boys also enjoyed using the spare platforms as stages and battle arenas).

And just beyond the boundaries of the tenting sites there's a pond, a stream through a gorge, and cliffs to climb that are small enough to be doable for younger ones but still big enough to be interesting. And wide open white pine woods: we started off following a trail, but then bushwhacked a ways in search of a shortcut back to our site, and it was even fun just walking through the pines (and along the giant trunks of a couple that had fallen!). It's just the sort of landscape that would be perfect for an outdoor adventure camp with a group of kids; as much fun as we had with just the four of us, we immediately started planning a return trip next year, with friends!